"It's a win win!" Says Al Magnotta on behalf of polluters everywhere.
Full article below on how the Landfill and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection DEP work together to frame a fine for repeated violations as a benevolent act. Merry Christmas, NEPA.
https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/.../article_650aaf23...
Landfill, DEP reach agreement to accept waste in lieu of $113,000 fine
The landfill will accept 2,500 tons of illegally dumped waste in Taylor at a lower rate, totaling the cost of its fines
BY FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY STAFF WRITER
In lieu of nearly $113,000 in fines for violations involving leachate storage and groundwater degradation, the Keystone Sanitary Landfill will accept about 2,500 tons of waste illegally dumped in Taylor.
The state Department of Environmental Protection and the landfill in Dunmore and Throop reached an agreement where Keystone will take in 2,509 tons of construction and demolition debris that had been dumped at A Plus Power Washing, 15 S. Keyser Ave., according to the agreement executed Friday. In 2016, Michael Lee Stine of Northampton County was charged with dumping more than 23,000 tons of the debris in four counties, including 8,200 tons at the Taylor business. At the time, the DEP estimated it would cost $459,200 to clean up.
Stine admitted to dumping the debris in 2017, according to the DEP. He pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal mischief — third-degree felonies — and five counts of unlawful contact, according to court paperwork. He was sentenced to 10 years of probation. Stine has not removed the debris, according to the DEP.
The DEP entered into a similar agreement with the Grand Central Sanitary Landfill in Northampton County last month. Instead of paying a $50,500 fine, the landfill agreed to take in about 1,000 tons of waste that Stine had illegally dumped in the county, according to the DEP.
Keystone’s fines stem from three violations.
On Nov. 9, 2016, the DEP said it issued the landfill a notice of violation after determining leachate had leaked from the liner in one of Keystone’s lagoons, seeping into and impacting the groundwater. Leachate is the garbage juice that percolates through piles of trash. The DEP determined the groundwater had degraded. Both the leakage and groundwater degradation violate state law.
Landfill consultant Al Magnotta emphasized Friday that there was no public health issue stemming from the water degradation.
The DEP also issued a notice of violation Sept. 20, 2018, citing the landfill for storing too much leachate in its lagoons. The landfill is supposed to regularly be at 25% or less of its total storage capacity for leachate to account for storms or issues with the leachate treatment system, DEP spokeswoman Colleen Connolly said in an email. The landfill is allowed to temporarily exceed 25% in the event of storms or treatment issues as long as it works to lower the amount of leachate in a timely manner, she said.
However, for the majority of time between October 2016 and August 2018, the landfill’s leachate storage totals ranged between 27.72% and 85.77% of total capacity, according to the DEP.
The landfill has addressed the violations, including reconstructing its lagoons and lowering the amount of leachate stored in them, the DEP said. The DEP determined the landfill had reduced its leachate storage below 25% on Feb. 18, 2019.
The violations totaled $112,905 in fines. Instead of paying the fines, the landfill will accept the waste in Taylor for $45 per ton, according to the agreement. Normally, the landfill would charge about $65 to $70 per ton, Magnotta said.
“I think it’s a win-win all the way around,” he said.
Noting a fire at the site several years ago, Taylor Borough Manager Dan Zeleniak was enthusiastic about the work.
“This is a good thing if we can get rid of it. It’s a mess,” he said. “It’s just waiting to catch fire again.”
The landfill has until Dec. 11, 2021, to fulfill its agreement.