FINALLY!! The DEP has suspended KSL's ability to pile new wase on already settled waste piles. Why? DEP informed the landfill that they have proved unable to maintain overall operational compliance and confirmed the odor issues are emanating from the landfill.
From the Scranton Times
The state Department of Environmental Protection has suspended the Keystone Sanitary Landfill’s ability to dump new garbage on top of settled waste after receiving hundreds of odor complaints and confirming that the majority originated from the landfill.
In a letter Tuesday, DEP Waste Management Program Manager Roger Bellas informed the Louis and Dominick DeNaples-owned landfill that the agency was suspending its settlement accommodation plan operations, or SAP, which allowed Keystone to reclaim “lost air space due to settlement.” The DEP links the SAP areas to a wave of odor complaints surrounding the landfill in recent months.
The landfill installs permanent caps on garbage piles that have reached their final elevation. The SAP addresses trash piles that naturally settle below that elevation. The suspension essentially halts Keystone’s work to remove the cap covering existing garbage and add waste on top of the area, DEP spokeswoman Colleen Connolly said. The suspension affects less than 10 acres of the landfill, she said. The landfill property encompasses 714 acres in Dunmore and Throop, according to the DEP.
Connolly directed questions about the suspension’s impact on operations to the landfill. Reached by text message Tuesday night, landfill consultant Al Magnotta said he was not up to date on the current status.
The DEP approved the landfill’s SAP on Feb. 17, 2021, with a condition that the facility must remain in compliance as it implements the plan, including with landfill gas odors and surface emissions, according to the suspension letter.
“The DEP has determined that KSL has been unable to maintain overall operational compliance; specifically, with regards to adequately controlling landfill gas odors resulting from activities related to the SAP operations,” Bellas wrote.
Bellas attributed the suspension to three factors: the significant volume odor complaints since September, DEP staff routinely confirming offsite landfill gas odors and the results of a Nov. 16 inspection.
Since Oct. 1, the department has received 200-plus odor complaints in Lackawanna County, and DEP staff confirmed the odors, Connolly said. The exact number of confirmed complaints was unavailable late Tuesday, though Bellas notes the majority were confirmed.
While responding to the complaints, DEP staff routinely detected landfill-related odors outside of Keystone’s property, with moderate to strong odors along Marshwood Road, the Casey Highway, Interstate 81 and other areas around the landfill, according to Bellas’ letter.