A Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection representative will attend an Eldred Township meeting to answer questions residents have regarding a proposed water extraction permit currently before the township's zoning hearing board.

Staff from the DEP's Clean Water Program will be at the meeting Wednesday night to answer general questions about the permit review process.DEP will also have personnel on hand to discuss Act 124 which establishes rules for diesel truck emissions and idling."We will only be answering general questions about the permit review process. We will not be answering specifics about Nestle's plan to withdraw water from that area. DEP does not have any type of permit application from Nestle yet, so it would be unethical to answer questions from public about that," according to Colleen Connolly, Community Relations Coordinator Department of Environmental Protection's Northeast Regional Office.Representatives of the Delaware River Basin Commission will also be in attendance and available to answer questions.The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. at the Kunkletown Fire Hall.The projectAt the end of December, Nestle filed its permit application requesting a special exception permit for water extraction in Kunkletown.According to Nestle hydrogeologist Eric Andreus, while the permit process is ongoing, Nestle will continue to monitor flow, quality and water levels, but the bulk of its studies of the Chestnut Spring are complete.The complete permit application is available online at

www.nestlewaterspa.com/proposed-project/zoning-application.In the meantime, there are a number of ongoing "tests" of a different nature.On Dec. 17 a number of residents of Eldred Township filed an appeal against the township and its supervisors, claiming that the ordinance which allowed the property owner to enter into a lease agreement with Nestle Waters NA for the proposed extraction of 200,000 gallons of water daily was unlawfully enacted.The appeal is based on theposition that a change made to the township's zoning ordinance in 2014 made "water extraction and bottling" permissible as a special exception in a "light manufacturing" zone, rather than in a commercial zone as in other townships in the area.A number of other residents have since joined the appeal as intervenors.Eldred Township belongs to a regional planning group known as CJERP, and the change made to the ordinance in May 2014 makes the Eldred ordinance inconsistent with the other townships in the group.The appeal filed by the residents contends that the change was made for the benefit of one resident and that the change was improperly advertised and therefore unlawfully adopted.On Jan. 6, Ricky Gower, who owns the property where the extraction would take place, filed a petition to intervene as an appellee in the suit.His petition says that Gower and his attorney, James Wimmer, submitted comments on the draft of the zoning ordinance, "as documented by the minutes of the March 20, 2014, public meeting."The petition also states that "Mr. Wimmer asked whether the definition of water extraction could be considered light manufacturing, not industrial, and could the zoning changes be revised to reflect this? The minutes of the March 20 meeting state that 'the planners concurred with this request.' "Gower's petition adds that he and Nestle acted in "reliance" upon the provisions of the ordinance, that both parties have "expended substantial funds in planning, design, scientific studies and other efforts to develop the proposed Nestle project."