When Rebecca Smith bought her home in the Poconos, she says she thought she found the perfect place to spend time with her grandchildren and soak in the outdoors.
Now, she says a 702,000 square foot warehouse threatens to take away her dream.
Atlanta-based Core 5 Industrial Partners, LLC, wants to clearcut nearly 75 acres of forest in Pocono Township, Monroe County, to build a warehouse nearby approximately 22 houses. The warehouse would be built on top of protected wetlands, according to developers’ plans.
Both the wetlands and the nearby Pocono Creek are protected under the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The wetlands are listed as exceptional value (EV), which means they should be “protected at their existing quality; water quality shall not be lowered.”
The DEP approved the developer’s stormwater permit on Jan. 14.
PennFuture, an environmental nonprofit, filed an appeal to the DEP against the permit on Mar. 3, arguing the department “failed” to protect the quality of local wetlands and Pocono Creek. The Warner Road project will damage the creek without “economic or social” benefit.
WVIA reached out to Core 5 and have not heard back.
DEP Spokesperson Colleen Connolly responded in an email, “The department does not comment on ongoing litigation.”
PennFuture Lawyer Brigitte Meyer said her organization filed the appeal because they believe Core 5 has not done enough to show they are following DEP regulations and that DEP was too lenient in its review.
Smith fears the warehouse will take away her privacy. She lives on Kevin’s Lane, right beside where developers plan to build a driveway for heavy machinery and trucks. Core 5 will have to build a retaining wall around its property, but Smith worries that it’s too little, too late.
“Their plans are butting right up to my property line. You know, they're basically going to be driving through my backyard at that point, my well is, if it's 30 feet away from the site, I'm lucky. I mean, I don't see how anybody can think that this [location] is viable … We are a street of residential homes with wells,” said Smith.
Environmentalists criticize the developer for putting local waterways at risk of excess drainage, according to PennFuture’s appeal.
Smith said Kevin’s Lane already deals with frequent flooding. Any changes to existing forestry will harm nearby residents and their properties. The township has tried building new stormwater piping to fix the problem, but Smith said it’s been largely unsuccessful. “Boulders” and piping were strewn across the road shortly afterwards, unable to divert the water from the floodplain.
“I literally had to call them the next day and tell them to come back, because it rained and washed everything out.”
She’s especially upset with the Township Board of Commissioners for granting the project 16 waivers, some of which she said lowered barriers to stormwater permit approval. She says local officials have put her family’s health at risk.
“I would love to ask them … ‘Would they want this in their backyard and how would they feel about their drinking water being contaminated?’ … Because I bet their answer would be ‘No,’” said Smith.
She said previous plans to build housing complexes in the area had been turned down by the board because wetlands cannot be built on.
“I'm not understanding what is the difference today,” said Smith.
WVIA reached out to Pocono Township officials and has not heard back.
Local environmental group weighs in
While Smith said she is not confident in the board, she said she’s grateful for the support of local environmental groups like PennFuture, Pocono Regional Citizens Group and lawmakers like State Rep. Maureen Madden (D-Tobyhanna), who have spoken out about the project.
“I’m really happy to know that there’s still people out there that care about our community and our water,” said Smith.
Lisa Buchholz, president of Pocono Regional, a Monroe County-based environmental advocacy group, hopes legal action will push Core 5 to develop “wisely, appropriately and responsibly.”
Instead of building on top of wetlands, she argues developers should build on vacant gravel lots and replace abandoned warehouses and other buildings.
“If there's a piece of land that is already destroyed, [maybe] a business could take over and build something that the community would benefit [from] … I think we could work together on economic development and growth and not have it at, y’know, the expense of our water in the area and our environment,” said Buchholz.
She added that she is not against development, but criticized the widespread development of warehouses across the Poconos.
Buchholz emphasized that her anger with the project has “nothing to do with Core 5” itself.
“Core 5 just happens to be the name attached to the project … it's not personal at all … [But] we have to protect our waters, community and our environment. Y’know, that's where it's personal,” said Buchholz.
Buchholz said she’s worried sick over “the amount of stress” Smith faces over the pending project.
“Every day she doesn't know if she's gonna lose everything that she built,” said Buchholz.
