The East Whiteland Township Board of Supervisors Meeting on Tuesday May 13th at 6:30 pm will be the LAST opportunity for the Board to hear from the community on the Bishop Tube Final Land Development Plan before they must make a decision on May 31st. Please attend and make your voice heard to tell the Board they are empowered to and should say NO to the plan.
Bishop Tube is a 13.7 acre site located on the east side of Malin Road, south of US Route 30 in Chester County. This site was formerly used to process precious metals and fabricate tubing and pipeline products. Since the plant closed in 1999, the site has been left heavily contaminated with chlorinated solvents, acids, heavy metals, and TCE (trichlorethylene) – a dangerous chemical linked to fetal heart defects, kidney cancer, leukemia, and other illnesses. Little Valley Creek, an exceptional value stream, runs through the site and has been found to have contaminants in it as well.
Constitution Drive Partners has proposed development on the Bishop Tube site that includes building ~92 new homes, would cut down trees, and damage the creek and wetlands of the site. Community members have been fighting this development for nearly a decade and want to see the site fully remediated, and preserved as natural, open space for present and future generations to benefit from and enjoy. Community members hope to also have the site named in memory of Larry Stauffer, a dedicated activist of his local environment who originally brought attention to what was going on at Bishop Tube, to carry forth his legacy of not just protecting the environment but of being a good neighbor and friend to all who knew him.
Tuesday, May 13, 6:30pm
Township Administration Building
209 Conestoga Road, Frazer, PA 19355
Join us to tell the Board to say NO to the Final Development Plan
Learn more about Bishop Tube at bit.ly/BishopTubeToxicSite
If you are coming to the May 13th East Whiteland Township Board of Supervisors Meeting, we encourage all folks to share their own personal stories in their public comments and to tell the Board to Just Say NO for Final Land Development Approval. Here are also some suggested talking points if you would like to include them in your public comment:
We are offering folks to conclude their comment with this piece to stand in solidarity with other community members
- It is very clear, based on the status of the remediation process, applicable state regulation, applicable municipal ordinance, the obligations for both procedural review and substantive protections provided in the Pennsylvania Green Amendment under Article 1 Section 27 of the Pennsylvania constitution, the Zoning Hearing Board determination, the Township’s Preliminary Plan Approval, and the Court of Common Pleas decision in Delaware Riverkeeper Network v. East Whiteland Township, that the East Whiteland Board of Supervisors is fully empowered under the law, and obligated to the residents and natural resources of the town, to reject Constitution Drive Partners request for Final Land Development Approval. Just say no and allow this site to be preserved as natural, open space for the benefit of our community and for future generations.
- The Bishop Tube site contains TCE (trichlorethylene), a dangerous chemical linked to fetal heart defects, kidney cancer, leukemia and other illnesses. According to a 2020 investigative report, the EPA found TCE damages the human body at a level 500 times greater than previously thought. Contaminants have also been detected in the Little Valley Creek, which runs through the site. Failure to properly and completely remediate contamination at the site, combined with new development, is a threat to our environment, health, safety, and peace of mind.
- A Village Way access might be required if the equipment needed for the cleanup doesn’t fit under the Malin Road overpass, plus the current townhouse plan includes an emergency entrance at the end of the street. These possibilities could result in a permanent traffic entrance for the general public, transforming our quiet neighborhood into a daily thruway with attendant noise, accident threats and harmful impacts on property values.
- There are numerous studies showing that greater access to and even just viewing of nature has positive affects on mental health such as stress reduction and increased focus and even feeling more energetic. Green spaces can even reduce noise and promote relaxation. Turning Bishop Tube into natural, open space, would be of great benefit to this community and future generations.