WILLIAMSPORT – The Department of Environmental Protection has imposed a civil penalty against State College residents John and Diane Niebauer for violating the Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management Act at the couple’s illegal disposal site in Clearfield County.
The $75,905 civil penalty covers DEP’s laboratory expenses for analyzing samples collected at the site in Bigler and Boggs townships, as well as inspection and enforcement costs.
The penalty follows a $50,000 fine assessed by the Clearfield County Court of Common Pleas after John Niebauer entered a “no contest” plea to criminal charges filed against him by the state attorney general for illegal disposal at the site.
“In accordance with the Solid Waste Management Act and the state’s policy on civil penalties, this fine addresses the Niebauers’ infractions and the financial burden placed on the commonwealth while investigating the site,” said DEP Northcentral Regional Director Robert Yowell.
This agreement replaces a previous order regarding the Loggers Equipment property they own in Clearfield County. Under the new legal agreement, the Niebauers are to remove all solid waste from the site by Nov. 1, and not backfill any known contaminated soil areas until a final inspection and report is complete.
A DEP inspection of the property in September 2002 determined that the unpermitted disposal of solid waste had affected about 500 square feet of wetlands and about 300 feet of the stream channel to an unnamed Moravian Run tributary.
Passed by the legislature in 1995, Act 2 established cleanup standards for different kinds of contaminants in soil and groundwater, so that once attained, the site could be redeveloped for commercial or industrial use.
“This cleanup has taken far too long,” Yowell said. “DEP expects the Niebauers to meet the new cleanup deadline in November or they will be fined an additional $250 per day.”
In addition, the legal agreement allows the Niebauers to apply for a general permit from DEP within 45 days to address the final disposal of the screened soil.
To date, the Niebauers have removed 19,835 tons of waste from their site and disposed of it at the Total Waste Landfill in Negley, Ohio.
The Niebauers have paid $9,905 of the civil penalty, with the remainder to be paid in 11 monthly installments of $6,000. The money goes to the state’s Solid Waste Abatement Fund, which is used to pay for cleanups statewide.
For more information on the Waste Management program, visit the DEP Web site and use Keyword “Waste Management.”