Westmoreland Commissioners not ready for landfill decision

By Christine Haines

chaines@yourmvi.com

The Westmoreland County Commissioners need more information and more time to analyze that information before deciding whether they should enter into a cooperative agreement with the Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill in Rostraver Township.

The landfill had been seeking an agreement so the county can apply for a state grant on behalf of the landfill to construct a compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station at the site. 

The CNG facility would be used to power a fleet of vehicles operated by the waste hauling and processing company. It could also be used to operate a proposed leachate evaporation system at the site, which is currently under review by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Westmoreland County Commissioner Doug Chew, who has a background in chemistry and biochemistry, said the proposed agreement was submitted to commissioners just two days before they were to vote on it last week, asking the county’s redevelopment authority to apply for a $1 million grant from the state’s capital projects fund to construct the CNG plant.

“Forty-eight hours from agenda to a vote is simply insufficient time to properly vet a $1 million grant proposal, regardless of the project,” Chew said.

Chew said he isn’t necessarily against the CNG facility, but he wants to make sure it’s done safely, given the radioactive nature of leachate.

“If that methane is pretty pure, this would be a very good source of energy,” Chew said. “The big unknown at this plant is the leachate that comes in has a good amount of radiation in it and if the scrubbers don’t clean it out, it won’t burn and it would be released wherever the vehicles went.”

To read the rest of this story, please see a copy of Wednesday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at https://e.monvalleyindependent.com.