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Pa. Sen. Santarsiero: DEP investigating Rockhill Quarry records

State Sen. Steve Santarsiero and Rockhill Quarry attorney Robert Gundlach Jr. exchanged contentious letters with the DEP over the controversial Rockhill Quarry. Gundlach accused Santarsiero of disregarding facts while making demands to the DEP, while Santarsiero said the DEP is conducting its own investigation.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is conducting an internal investigation into past practices at the Rockhill Quarry in East Rockhill, according to letters written by state Sen. Steve Santarsiero, D-10, of Lower Makefield, as part of a quarrel with an attorney for the quarry.

In late January, Robert Gundlach Jr., an attorney with the Warrington offices of Fox Rothschild representing the quarry in legal matters, wrote a four-page letter to DEP secretary Patrick McDonnell alleging “potentially troubling statements” Santarsiero made during a public meeting earlier that month. Among Gundlach’s concerns were that Santarsiero “questioned” the credibility of DEP records and told local residents he “demanded” the DEP complete an investigation into the quarry.

The public meeting, which was also attended by U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1, of Middletown and state Rep. Craig Staats, R-145, of Richland, followed the Jan. 13 publication of an investigative report by this news organization reviewing hundreds of pages of DEP records on the quarry dating back to the 1980s.

The 140-acre quarry was re-opened in late 2017 after several decades of dormancy, angering nearby neighbors. But owner Hanson Aggregates Pennsylvania maintains, and has been publicly backed by the DEP, that it removed at least 500 tons of rock every year, the bare minimum to keep its state mining permit active through the decades.

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