CLEARFIELD – PA Waste LLC has requested another extension to respond to the more than 70 deficiencies identified by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) within its proposed Camp Hope Run landfill permit.
PA Waste has proposed the construction of a landfill that would be located on an 845-acre facility boundary along state Route 153 in Boggs Township. It would be double-lined and able to receive 5,000 tons of waste daily for the next 25 years, according to previous GantDaily.com reports.
At Tuesday’s commissioners’ meeting, Joan Robinson-McMillen said the DEP had received a letter on Feb. 28 from PA Waste. In the letter, PA Waste requested an extension until Nov. 21 to respond to the DEP’s Aug. 1, 2013 pre-denial letter.
The DEP acknowledged that PA Waste had requested additional clarification on the deficiencies listed in the pre-denial letter and verbally committed to further investigation of the proposed landfill location. PA Waste has since indicated that resulting updates and changes to the application will require additional time.
According to Robinson-McMillen, the DEP has considered the PA Waste request and approved an extension to appeal the deficiencies outlined in its pre-denial letter. The original response date, she said, was Oct. 24, 2013, which the DEP has extended multiple times.
This time, she said the DEP has requested that PA Waste provide a written commitment to conduct further groundwater investigations, a work plan and tentative schedule, such that it can approve them prior to March 31.
If these documents are deemed to be acceptable, Robinson-McMillen said the DEP will further consider an extension request up to Nov. 21. The DEP’s review of these documents, she said, will aid in establishing the timeframe for which an overall extension is granted.
If these documents are not received and or deemed unacceptable, Robinson-McMillen said the DEP anticipates receiving PA Waste’s complete response to the pre-denial letter by March 31.
Commissioner Mark B. McCracken said the DEP has finally put PA Waste under a short deadline. He noted that PA Waste has had eight months to respond to the deficiencies, and an extension to Nov. 21 would be “unreasonable” and “ridiculous.”