DEP has not made a decision on whether or not they will hold a public hearing. We encourage everyone to contact Colleen Connolly, PA DEP, at 570-826-2511 or by email at coconnolly@pa.gov and request that a meeting be held on this important matter. As Dunmore Councilman Vince Amico states “The more information that’s put out to the public, the better off we all are”.
https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/.../jessup-council-votes...
Jessup council votes to send letter to DEP over landfill leachate discharge
BY FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY, STAFF WRITER / PUBLISHED: FEBRUARY 5, 2020
In a show of support for Dunmore, Jessup council voted this week to send the state Department of Environmental Protection a letter urging it to hold a public hearing regarding the Keystone Sanitary Landfill’s proposal to discharge treated leachate into two local waterways.
“I think the towns should stick together,” said Jessup Councilwoman Rella Scassellati. “It will affect all of us — just like the power plant affects more than just Jessup.”
The landfill submitted three permit applications to the DEP in December, presenting plans for an alternative leachate treatment method that would allow it to discharge the liquid into Eddy Creek along Marshwood Road and into Little Roaring Brook near Dunham Drive. The landfill would also spray the treated leachate onto its dirt roads to keep dust down. Leachate is the liquid that percolates through trash piles.
The DEP deemed one of the landfill’s permit applications administratively complete and ready to be reviewed, but it needs more information from the landfill before it can begin reviewing the other two, DEP spokeswoman Colleen Connolly said in an email. The DEP will not make a decision on a public hearing until all three applications are complete, Connolly said.
The landfill currently treats its leachate and discharges it into Pennsylvania American Water’s sewer system. PAW then further treats the leachate at its South Scranton treatment plant and discharges the effluent into the Lackawanna River.
Under the landfill’s alternative discharge proposal, it would treat the leachate to a greater degree before discharging it into the waterways.
Scassellati compared Dunmore and its contention with the landfill to the fight between Jessup residents and Invenergy LLC’s 1,485-megawatt Lackawanna Energy Center power plant. Specifically, the energy center had floated plans to discharge treated wastewater into Grassy Island Creek in Jessup, though it eventually opted to discharge into the borough’s sewer system.
Dunmore Councilman Vince Amico, who asked the DEP in December to hold a public hearing, said he spoke to Jessup council members about the proposed discharge plan during a recent Sierra Club meeting.
Amico wants experts to explain what would be discharged and what the treatment process is. Having a public hearing is vital, he said.
“The more information that’s put out to the public, the better off we all are,” he said. “More information is always better.”
He lauded Jessup officials for requesting the hearing.
Contact the writer:
flesnefsky@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5181;
@flesnefskyTT on Twitter