CLEARFIELD – PA Waste LLC has submitted a new permit application again proposing the construction of the Camp Hope Run landfill, announced Clearfield County Commissioner Tony Scotto, chairman, on Tuesday.
More specifically, it has proposed a landfill and supporting features to be located on an approximate 845-acre facility boundary. It would contain an approximate 217-acre waste disposal area with support facilities and buffer areas.
PA Waste sent its cover letter and Phase I of its permit application to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on June 30. It was received by the DEP on July 3 and a copy was recently hand-delivered to the commissioners.
According to Scotto, PA Waste will complete its landfill application in two phases, which is permissible under Act 101. He said that if Phase I received approval, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the DEP will approve Phase II.
“PA Waste previously submitted a permit with several deficiencies,” he said. “It was our thought and our impression that this wasn’t going any further, but now that isn’t the case. There’s a new application, and we’re starting this process over.”
Scotto said the DEP will now begin a 60-day review period. It will include an introductory meeting to go over the proposed landfill and the DEP’s review process with officials from impacted municipalities. It was noted that there will be a separate meeting open to the public.
Clearfield County Solid Waste Authority Director Jodi Brennan said she hasn’t reviewed Phase I of the new permit application and wasn’t yet able to indicate if it was the same, similar or different from the first.
Brennan said as soon as she completed her review, she would report back to the commissioners on any significant changes, as well as on whether or not PA Waste had addressed any of the DEP’S previously identified deficiencies.
Commissioner Mark B. McCracken said the DEP hasn’t indicated the reasoning behind PA Waste completing its new application in two phases. He said it wasn’t typical for landfill permits, and the commissioners planned to request public meetings for each phase.
McCracken said “the core” people who opposed the first proposal have remained involved, and there opposition is expected to be as equally high.
He said the commissioners also planned to be the voice of opposition for the citizens who would be adversely affected, and they will take the lead from them.
Solicitor Kim Kesner advised county officials to focus on determining the differences in the PA Waste permit applications and whether or not it had addressed any concerns, such as lack of need, adverse impact on infrastructure and danger to public safety and the aquifer.
According to previously published GANT News reports, PA Waste of Feasterville, Bucks County, submitted its first landfill permit application to the DEP in September of 2006.
The first permit proposed for a new, double-lined municipal waste landfill on a limited 221 acres and located within an 845-acre facility boundary. It was proposed to accept 5,000 tons per day of municipal waste.
However, the DEP denied PA Waste’s landfill application in April of 2015 due to numerous technical deficiencies. In May that same year, PA Waste appealed the DEP’s decision.
In spring of 2016, PA Waste pulled the plug on both its appeal and its first permit. This past April, the commissioners were notified about PA Waste’s intentions to submit the new landfill proposal.
