Whether the Keystone Sanitary Landfill could face any penalties for violating state regulations and its operating permit will depend on its response to the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The DEP sent the landfill a notice of violation last week for failing to control odors at its facility in Dunmore and Throop amid hundreds of complaints from residents and department staff confirming offsite landfill-gas odors numerous times in recent months. The Dec. 13 violation letter gave the Louis and Dominick DeNaples-owned landfill 30 days to submit a plan addressing the odors.
On Tuesday, in an emailed response to a list of questions about possible repercussions for the landfill, the DEP said, “The next steps, including the possibility of penalties, will depend on the adequacy of Keystone’s plan.”
The department has received 300-plus odor complaints from the community about the landfill since Sept. 1, according to the email.
DEP staff began conducting after-hours odor patrols twice a day starting Nov. 13 in response to the complaints. Staff detected landfill gas odors off of Keystone’s property during more than half of its 70-plus patrols, which include nights and weekends, the agency said. Most odor detections were on the Casey Highway and Marshwood Road.
The DEP previously cited the landfill for nine odor-related violations in January after receiving 233 odor complaints between Sept. 1, 2022, and Jan. 20. The department is working with Keystone to address the January violations, according to the email.
“Enforcement options, including penalty assessment, are still being evaluated,” the DEP said.
In November, the DEP blamed uncontrolled odors when it suspended the landfill’s ability to remove the cover from existing piles of garbage that had naturally settled in order to bring the trash piles back up to their original height and reclaim “lost air space.” The suspension affected less than 10 acres of the 714-acre landfill.
The landfill has stopped placing waste in the settlement area and is taking corrective action, including installing additional gas collection devices, placing soil covers and working to put final covers on the waste, according to the DEP.
In its most recent violation letter, the DEP said the landfill violated the state’s Solid Waste Management Act, Municipal Waste Management Rules and Regulations and the landfill’s own permit conditions because it failed to maintain a uniform intermediate cover — or temporary cover — over its garbage to prevent odors.
In addition to giving Keystone a timeline to respond, the letter said the violation “may result in an enforcement action under the Solid Waste Management Act,” though it did not explain what the action could entail.
After receiving Keystone’s plan, the DEP said it will review the responses and determine if they are sufficient to mitigate the odor issues.
“If Keystone’s responses are not strong enough, DEP could ask Keystone to provide more information and/or a stronger plan for odor mitigation,” the DEP said in its email. “If the department determines the responses are sufficient, Keystone will have to begin implementing the mitigations they proposed.”
Violations are reviewed on an individual basis, and each one is handled separately, the DEP said.
“However, patterns of noncompliance can warrant mandated modifications to permit conditions up to and including permit suspension and/or revocation,” the agency said.
Attempts to reach landfill officials were unsuccessful Tuesday.
Dunmore Council Vice President Janet Brier criticized the ongoing evaluation of the January violations and the lack of penalties.
“At what point, and how often, and how many violations will there be before there are repercussions for the landfill?” she said. “Why are there no repercussions for these violations?”
Brier also questioned what would lead to a noncompliant designation.
“How many violations will it take for DEP to take some action?” she said. “You have over 300 calls. Is it 500 calls? Is it 10,000 calls? … I’m asking for a number.”
Pat Clark, a leader of grassroots group Friends of Lackawanna, said it is “far past time for action.”
“What we’re interested in is the action, not the potential action,” he said. “We’re interested in the results, not the threats. We want to see something done.”
Friends of Lackawanna formed in 2014 to oppose the landfill and its now-approved expansion.
Clark contended the DEP should “zoom out a bit” and look at the landfill’s violations and other reprimands as a whole, rather than reviewing each instance on an individual basis.
“We’ve always wondered and been confused by how many bites at the apple this particular landfill is given to get things right,” he said. “They screw up. They say they’ll get things right. They don’t get things right, and then they get reprimanded and say we’ll get it right the next time.”
Throop Council President Rich Kucharski said his borough has always depended on DEP to regulate the landfill.
“I think their response shows that a progressive plan is in place moving forward including potential consequences if necessary,” he said in a text.
With the rise in odor complaints, the DEP said it is working to respond to them as quickly as possible. Beyond odor patrols, staff also thoroughly review methane monitoring reports at the landfill and conduct regular inspections multiple times a month to ensure compliance with odor mitigation regulations in Keystone’s permit, the DEP said.
“Residents deserve to live in their community without having to smell putrid odors,” the department said. “We are asking residents to continue to call DEP with odor complaints, and the department will continue its enhanced response and heightened patrols to make sure residents no longer have to deal with this nuisance.”
