Dive Brief:
- A landfill in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania has been fined by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
- The Tervita landfill in Rostraver Township was ordered to pay $160,000 by the DEP due to an ongoing failure to control odors. The funds will be placed into the state's Solid Waste Abatement Fund.
- A consent order and agreement also requires the landfill to submit progress reports on a monthly basis that must outline its efforts to handle the issue. Failure to comply will result in a $1,000 per day fine.
Dive Insight:
The smell is methane gas created from waste buried underground that mixes with Methyl mercaptan and escapes into the air. Residents have been exposed to the odors for two years, and have filed a class-action suit against Tervita Corporation, an environmental services company based in Canada, with U.S. operations in Houston, Texas. The lawsuit is still pending at this time.
Tervita's permit renewal for the landfill expires in July; the local township board has urged the DEP to deny the renewal, and filed a formal resolution in August.
