So far, 2020 has been the year of the crazy, unbelievable story. So to balance things out, here's the most predictable headline you'll see this year: The Keystone Landfill threatens to sue the town that hosts it unless the town does exactly what it wants, when it wants, and how it wants. In related news, the Pennsylvania DEP seems fine with KSL's approach. As always.
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https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/.../landfill-threatens...
Landfill threatens litigation if Dunmore council sends letter opposing expansion
BY FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY, STAFF WRITER / PUBLISHED: JUNE 11, 2020
Keystone Sanitary Landfill threatened to sue Dunmore Borough if council sends a letter to the state Department of Environmental Protection opposing the landfill’s proposed 42-year expansion plans.
The DEP is in the midst of its final phase of reviews for Keystone’s Phase III expansion.
The expansion would allow the landfill — located in Dunmore and Throop — to continue bringing in trash until 2064, totaling an additional 94,072,940 tons of waste, or 188 billion pounds, according to the landfill’s 42.4-year expansion plans. As part of the final review, which began in April, the DEP opened a 60-day window for public comment that began May 1 and will conclude June 30 at 4 p.m.
Borough council voted, 7-0, to send a letter opposing the expansion during its May 11 meeting and finalized the letter this week, though it has not been sent yet.
During a council meeting Monday, borough solicitor Michael P. Perry discussed the threat of a lawsuit from Keystone.
“Keystone does not want … the borough council to send the letter, so we’ve been discussing that issue with them, with potential litigation threatened by them if we did send the letter based on the prior landfill agreement,” he said.
However, Perry does not believe the litigation would be successful.
“The 2014 (host) agreement … permits the council to make any type of comment they want with regard to the landfill and any expansion of it,” he said at the meeting.
Councilwoman Janet
Brier said the two-page letter, which council still has to sign before sending, addresses the borough’s health concerns over the expansion and how much garbage the landfill has already taken in over the past decade, among other issues.
“We’re in a situation of environmental degradation, and we want to remedy it,” she said.
Council is also copying the letter to officials at the local and state level in hopes of prompting government leaders to comment, she said. Officials include Gov. Tom Wolf, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright and state Rep. Kyle Mullins, D-112, Blakely.
“They need to comment one way or another on this,” she said.
Scranton City Council also unanimously voted last month to send a letter of opposition to the DEP, citing health and environmental concerns.
Throop Borough Council has not sent a letter to the DEP, council President Rich Kucharski said. Council is leaving the decision up to the DEP, he said.
“Essentially, our position was DEP is the entity that either approves or disapproves,” he said.
Attempts to reach landfill officials were unsuccessful.
The public can mail written comments to Roger Bellas, waste management program manager, DEP Northeast Regional Office, 2 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701, or email him at rbellas@pa.gov.