B&E withdraws permit application

MEADOW LAKES — A business that operated an unlicensed landfill and gravel pit for years along Pittman Road has withdrawn its application Thursday for a conditional use permit, following a review by borough staff.

Mat-Su Borough planner Mark Whisenhunt said it was unclear B&E could meet the criteria for a conditional use permit. The landfill had been slated for a hearing Aug. 3.

“They are withdrawing because they’re going to be over 20 acres, and don’t qualify for a conditional use permit,” he said.

Instead, company officials told Whisenhunt they would seek approval for what is an “interim materials district” for larger areas.

“The process for the district is very similar to the process for a conditional use permit,” he said.

For conditional use permits, property owners typically submit a request for the special permit, which is ultimately decided by the planning commission. In the case of a materials district, the property owner submits an application, which is then either recommended or rejected by the planning commission, while the borough assembly ultimately makes the final call, Whisenhunt said.

The business likely faces a difficult sell to residents in either case. The Meadow Lakes Community Council voted unanimously to oppose the conditional use permit, according to a memo issued July 8 to Whisenhunt, in which residents testified that the landfill had measurably impacted their quality of life.

B&E construction had operated the landfill for years, and even supplied gravel to a company administering a borough roads project when the lack of permitting was discovered last year. When the company applied for an administrative permit in summer 2014, borough officials rejected the application.

Cleanup efforts in the area of the site have been underway all summer. B&E’s first attempt at settlement with the Department of Environmental Conservation drew biting criticism, though the company has since hired a consulting firm both to prepare the application and oversee work at the site.

Borough officials also said Thursday cleanup at the site had been extended until the fall over fire concerns, but avoided giving a completion date because the DEC is overseeing cleanup.

A date for a new hearing on application for an interim materials district has not been set.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.