Palmerton authority eyes land around its wells
Ex-zinc maker's acres would assure agency access to its facilities.
By Kevin Pentón Of The Morning Call
Over the years, few have answered a holding company's call to buy the contaminated assets of a bankrupt zinc company that left parts of Blue Mountain looking more like the moon than a part of the Appalachian Trail.
But Palmerton now is interested in acquiring acres left behind by the borough's creator and former principal benefactor, the former New Jersey Zinc Co., which deforested the northern side of the mountain with decades of unchecked smelting.
Palmerton's municipal authority, which oversees public water lines laid out by the former company, is interested in a tiny portion — 20 to 25 acres next to wells in the southern part of the borough and land around a pump house near the abandoned West Plant off Route 248, Borough Manager Rodger Danielson said.
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-...-newslocal-hed