HARRISBURG- Department of Environmental Protection inspectors found violations on one out of every five trash trucks stopped at five landfills and a waste transfer station in southwestern and northwestern Pennsylvania last week.
The inspections are part of an ongoing statewide effort to ensure that trash haulers comply with environmental regulations and highway safety laws.
All of the violations were against haulers, not the landfills.
DEP inspectors in the northwest revisited Seneca Landfill in Butler County and Tri-County Transfer Station in Mercer County for the second consecutive week, finding violations on 28 of 118 vehicles. DEP issued 20 notices of violation for leaking loads, vehicle enclosure issues, and failure to have an emergency response plan.
“The percentage of trucks entering these facilities with significant violations caught our attention during the last round of inspections,” DEP Northwest Regional Director Kelly Burch said. “The most recent results show they still haven’t learned their lesson. We’ll continue to stop these trucks to keep people safe and our environment clean.”
In the southwest, DEP found 44 violations on 29 of the 171 trucks inspected at Valley Landfill in Penn Township and Greenridge Reclamation Landfill in East Huntingdon Township, both in Westmoreland County; Laurel Highlands Landfill in Jackson Township, Cambria County; and Mostoller Landfill in Somerset and Brothersvalley townships, Somerset County.
In all, 57 of the 289 trucks DEP inspected were found to have violations.
DEP issued 11 summary citations, 19 notices of violation and 14 written warnings for leaking loads and problems with signs, waste containment and waste enclosures for vehicles using these southwestern Pennsylvania facilities. Three trucks did not have valid written Act 90 authorizations, and two trucks did not have the proper Act 90 sticker.
Trash haulers must get authorization from DEP through Act 90, the state’s Waste Transportation Safety Act, to haul trash in Pennsylvania. DEP inspectors look at compliance history, and if outstanding violations exist or there is an inability to comply with Act 90 regulations, the state can revoke authorization.
In addition to checking the Act 90 authorization, DEP inspectors also look for fire extinguisher and sign violations; drivers not properly managing waste during transportation; leaking loads; improper covers over the waste; trucks that are overweight or otherwise overloaded; and log book or record-keeping violations.
“We’ve made these inspections a priority –- conducing thousands over the last several years –- and we’ll continue these efforts to remove unsafe trash trucks from our highways,” DEP Southwest Regional Director Kenneth Bowman said.