WILLIAMSPORT – The Department of Environmental Protection found operational and safety violations on five of 13 trucks during a recent landfill inspection in Tioga County.
The inspection was conducted Wednesday at the Phoenix Resources Inc. construction/demolition waste landfill in Duncan Township.
“We made this inspection a priority to help improve compliance with DEP’s environmental regulations and state traffic safety laws,” said DEP Regional Director Robert Yowell. “We have conducted thousands of trash truck inspections over the past several years because we want to remove unsafe trash trucks from the highway.”
DEP inspectors noted two violations for not having proper signs; two violations for holes in the tarp; two violations for no valid Act 90 written authorization; and one violation for having an Act 90 sticker in the wrong location.
All of the violations were against waste haulers, not the landfill.
Trash haulers must obtain 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 transport; leaking loads; improper covers over the waste; trucks that are overweight or otherwise overloaded; and log book or record-keeping violations.