Rostraver Twp. landfill fined

By Christine Haines

chaines@yourmvi.com

Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill in Rostraver Township has been fined $59,000 by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The fine was imposed for violations of the landfill’s permit, the Solid Waste Management Act and state regulations. The $59,000 will go into the commonwealth’s Solid Waste Abatement Fund.

The violations occurred between July 31, 2019, and Sept. 24, 2020, according to the consent order. 

Rostraver Township Commissioner Devin DeRienzo said it remains to be seen if the company will comply with the consent order and correct the ongoing problems.

“The consent order has been in the works for eight months, and during those eight months violations continued,” DeRienzo said. “These are day-to-day operational items that don’t seem to be a concern. Every business has overhead, but those pieces of equipment are vital to the daily operations of a landfill.”

“We are working side by side with the DEP to resolve these issues so we can continue to be a good community partner,” Ro Rozier, spokesperson for Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill, stated in an email.

During the July 31, 2019, inspection, the DEP found log books showing what section of the landfill was in active use that had not been kept up to date for more than a month. 

Outdated log books were also found during inspections conducted in August and October 2019 and in January and February of this year, the order states.

The July 2019 inspection also showed issues with the leachate collection system being clogged, with that same violation noted during the Oct. 30, 2019, inspection as well. 

During the October 2019 inspection it was also learned that a truck leaked leachate onto the ground as the still-pressurized hose was disconnected.

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