‘This will give us data that we have never received’: Group of residents say air samplers will reveal impact of trucks, warehouses | Lehigh Valley Regional News

EASTON, Pa. – A device that measures truck emissions will help to shed light on the impact of diesel trucks and the warehouse industry, a group of concerned Northampton County residents say.

At their suggestion, Northampton County Council voted Thursday to allocate $52,980 toward placing air samplers around the county to measure the emissions.

That vote was 6-3, with Republican John Cusick joining Democrats Kevin Lott, Tara Zrinski, Ron Heckman, Kerry Myers and Council President Lori Vargo Heffner in favor. Republicans John Goffredo, Thomas Giovanni and John Brown voted no.

Goffredo challenged the value and intent of the plan, which was presented last month by four county residents: former council president Greg Zebrowski; Andrea Wittchen, principal of sustainability company iSpring Associates; Lehigh University Professor Breena Holland; and attorney Charles Elliott.

Goffredo said air pollution is a known problem, and that local, state and federal money is already being spent on seeking data about emissions.

“What are we going to do about it?” with the new data, he asked, adding later, “Are we going to tell people to drive less, to go to work less?”

Wittchen said the data recorded by the 20 samplers, and another 20 in Lehigh County if funding is approved there, will provide information about the impact of diesel trucks and the warehouse industry.

“This will give us data that we have never received,” she said.

Wittchen said Pennsylvania state agencies have only two monitors in the Lehigh Valley. With more information, she said the county could take a lead role in helping communities deal with warehouse proliferation.

The county has no role in planning or zoning, which determines where warehouses can be built. Final land-use decisions are up to each municipality.

“I understand that the big hot topic is warehousing and truck traffic,” Goffredo said. “A lot of people depend on those jobs.”

He said that people who work in industries that use lots of fossil fuel “are starting to feel like second-class citizens,” yet at the same time, everybody in the region buys products from warehouses.

Market demand is what is driving the warehouse industry, he said.