WILLIAMSPORT – The Department of Environmental Protection has fined Michael’s Disposal of Bloomsburg, Columbia County, $6,000 for municipal waste hauler violations uncovered last May during a surprise inspection at the Lycoming County Landfill, DEP Regional Director Robert Yowell announced today.
“DEP staff inspected a garbage compactor vehicle owned by Michael’s Disposal and discovered violations of three different state waste laws,” Yowell said. “Waste haulers are well aware of our requirements, and there is simply no excuse for these violations.”
The violations discovered during the May 2006 inspection included no Act 90 waste hauler authorization letter in the truck available for review; no sign identifying the type of waste being transported; and no daily operations log available for review.
In addition, during a July 2006 administrative file review, DEP staff determined that the waste-hauler sticker attached to the front driver’s side of the compactor during the time of the inspection was not valid for that particular truck. The company later resolved that violation.
The state laws violated by the company included the Waste Transportation Safety Act, the Solid Waste Management Act, and the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling, and Waste Reduction Act.
Half of the $6,000 civil penalty will be deposited into the Pennsylvania Solid
Waste Abatement Fund, which finances cleanups of illegal dumps and other public health hazards across the state. The remaining $3,000 will be deposited in the Waste Transportation Safety account, which is used for the administration and enforcement of the Waste Transportation Safety program.