Wal-Mart site comes under initial review

Wal-Mart or wetlands•

More than 100 Latrobe-area residents turned out for a public hearing Thursday on the potential environmental impact of a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter in Unity Township.

But there was no clear consensus among the handful of citizens who offered testimony at the state Department of Environmental Protection proceeding at Latrobe Elementary School.

Traffic and economic concerns were set aside for purposes of last night's testimony, which was to focus solely on J.J. Gumberg Co.'s application to the department on behalf of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

The Pittsburgh-based developer is seeking two permits from the department that are required to build a 183,645-square-foot store along the eastbound lanes of Route 30 - just east of the Route 982 cloverleaf.

The company has reportedly negotiated purchase options with property owners in that area to create the 25-acre parcel, which borders the eastern side of Kurela Road (TR 526), near Edgewater Terrace.

'It's an assemblage of 10 properties,' said Fred Reitano, J.J. Gumberg vice president and director of new business. 'It's not a site of first choice, but, nevertheless, it was available and properly zoned.'

But the firm and the international retail giant it represents need more than the correct zoning designation to pass muster for the proposed development.

In July 2000, the township planning commission agreed to recommend preliminary approval of the site plan. But a month later, the same advisory board unanimously rejected the plan based on pending required approvals from several agencies, including state transportation and environmental departments and the Westmoreland Conservation District.

DEP officials reported last night that the developer filed its joint permit application with the department in December 2000.

Betsy Mallison, DEP community relations coordinator, explained that J.J. Gumberg needs a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit and a water-obstruction and encroachment permit.

The first permit deals with stormwater discharge only during construction, Mallison said. 'Discharge during operation (of the development) falls under the purview of the township.'

The encroachment permit, she said, is needed to fill in 1.75 acres of wetlands and relocate about 1,000 feet of an unnamed tributary to Nine-Mile Run.

Prior to accepting testimony, Mallison reminded residents to limit comments to issues regarding wetlands and water quality.

'This is not a hearing to tell us whether or not you want this development in your township,' she said.

Reitano noted the developer 'is very sensitive to the letters we have received from neighboring residents concerning water quality and other environmental concerns. And we have identified several sites for wetlands mitigation.'

Mark Haibach of Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc. of Pittsburgh said eight wetlands areas have been identified and delineated, ranging from 200 square feet to about one acre in size and totaling two acres.

The firm, which is working with J.J. Gumberg on the project, also has conducted an environmental impact assessment of the project area, as well as an aquatic study of the tributary.

'We did not find any fish (in the stream),' Haibach said. 'But we did find one species of frog and 11 types of bottom-dwelling aquatic insects.'

But the few residents who testified seemed to be split over whether the project would help or hinder the area.

'This unnamed tributary was created by Latrobe Construction Co. when they put the four-lane highway (Route 30) in back in 1960,' said Kurela Road resident Clifford Todd. 'I think this upgrade (the Wal-Mart project) would drain out what was manmade in the first place.'

Richard O'Donnell of Edgewater Terrace countered that (water) runoff from the proposed Wal-Mart site would lead to more pollution of Nine-Mile Run because of salt and chemicals from the paved surfaces.

'A lot of people in this room know it's wrong to build a Wal-Mart there. There are other places,' O'Donnell said. 'To me, the only reason they want to build it there is, it is as close to Ligonier as they are ever going to get.'

'It's clear from the outset that disruption of these wetlands is unsuitable,' said Edgewater Terrace resident Mary Stubbs, who urged the department to deny the permit application.

'This site is really too small for such a large building,' Stubbs added. 'The analogy that comes to mind is that of Cinderella's wicked stepsister trying to squeeze her big feet into a little glass slipper.'

But Paul McCommons argued the project site 'was not always a wetlands,' and blamed its present soggy state in some spots on runoff from the residential development of Edgewater Terrace.

'I've spent a lot of money putting drainage ditches in to catch that water,' McCommons said, citing problems with mosquitoes in stagnant water on or near his property. He suggested the new development could be a beneficial solution.

'The only reason it's a wetlands is because the water can't get away from there,' he said. 'Let's be fair about this. Don't tell half the story.'

Latrobe Mayor Vincent Lucchetti testified that city officials are concerned with the development's potential to cause flooding in the Fifth Ward and other areas.

'We would like to see that taken into consideration by DEP,' Lucchetti said. 'This affects not only Latrobe, but everything that lies downstream, as well.'

Joe Snyder, a DEP biologist involved with the permit application, said the comments would be taken under consideration in the department's technical review process.

A determination could be expected 'within the next couple of months,' Mallison said. Comments will continue to be accepted through July 6 and should be addressed to Tim Dreier, Water Quality Management Programs, DEP Southwest Regional Office, 400 Waterfront Drive, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222.

'And of course,' Snyder added, 'any final action DEP takes can be appealed.'

In the meantime, the DEP permit isn't the only application under review.

Jim Pillsbury of the Westmoreland Conservation District reported last night that J.J. Gumberg's application to that agency for an erosion and sedimentation permit also has yet to land a recommendation for final approval.

'We reviewed the erosion control plan and found certain deficiencies,' Pillsbury said, noting the developer's engineers 'responded and cleared up many but not all of them.

'So this plan has not yet met all of the state requirements.'