Rostraver officials oppose landfill leachate system permit

By CHRISTINE HAINES
chaines@yourmvi.com
The Rostraver Township Commissioners Wednesday officially went on record opposing the construction of a leachate evaporation system at the Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is currently accepting comments prior to issuing a construction and air quality permit for temporary operation of the system prior to issuing an operating permit.
The commissioners’ comment is an unequivocal “no” regarding even temporary operations. The commissioners Wednesday adopted a resolution opposing the evaporation system, which will be sent to the DEP along with a letter objecting to the proposed facility.
“Our resident’s safety and health are the No. 1 priority. These people have a right to clean air, and to not have potentially numerous dangerous toxic chemicals pumped into the air endangering their quality of life and health,” said Commissioner Chairman John Lorenzo following the meeting. “There are far too many unknown factors with this system for anyone to think it is a safe and viable option. This is why other facilities similar to the landfill are not using this dangerous system.”
The resolution notes that the landfill has had a track record of violations, including polluting the Monongahela River with the leachate it now wants to evaporate. The commissioners encouraged surrounding municipalities to adopt similar resolutions.
The public comment period for the air quality permit for the evaporator ends Monday. Individuals or other municipalities wishing to go on record regarding the air quality permit for the evaporation plant may do so by writing to Melissa Jativa, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, 400 Waterfront Drive, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222; mjativa@pa.gov; or fax 412-442-4194. Each protest or set of written comments must contain the name, address and telephone number of the person submitting the comments, identification of the proposed Plan Approval (PA-65-00125A), and a concise statement of the objections to the plan approval issuance and the relevant facts upon which the objections are based.
“Right now it is a proposal. Hopefully they won’t go through with it and the resolution and the letter will have an impact,” Lorenzo said.

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