On January 9, the Department of Environmental Protection announced it has approved Chrin Landfill’s application for a permit renewal and an expansion at its facility in Williams Township, Northampton County.

The combined actions allow Chrin to continue operating until January 6, 2030, and to expand its existing landfill by 30 acres to the east.

The expansion consists of a partial overlay on the existing disposal area, as well as a new 32.7-acre disposal area to the east of the existing landfill. The total landfill height will increase between 30 and 40 feet.

The expansion project does not propose to increase the daily maximum and quarterly average waste acceptance rates for the landfill. The permit expansion will allow Chrin to dispose of waste in the expansion area for approximately eight years.

Chrin’s operating permit was set to expire in January, and the permit renewal will extend Chrin’s permit term for the entire landfill for 10 years, which is a standard permit renewal term.

“DEP carefully reviewed the information contained in the permit applications and felt both provided sufficient information to meet the regulatory requirements to expand and continue to operate,” said Mike Bedrin, director of the DEP Northeast Regional Office. “We also gave careful consideration to the comments received from residents and Williams Township.”

Chrin applied for the permit expansion in July of 2015. A public meeting was held on March 21, 2016, to discuss the project and a public hearing on the permit application was held on January 20, 2017, at the Wilson Area High School to take testimony from residents. A 30-day comment period followed where DEP accepted written comments and subsequently prepared a comment/response document.

DEP issued its Environmental Assessment of the expansion application in February 2019. Some of the benefits recognized included host fees to the township (which can be used to cover local issues like roadway maintenance), positive impacts on local employment, and free waste and recycling services.

DEP’s review also noted mitigation measures the landfill has proposed and implemented to limit potential harms associated with traffic, air quality, water quality, odors, and litter. Capping and landscaping plans will also help mitigate the known visual impacts of the expansion.

Following its environmental assessment, DEP conducted a technical review of the expansion application. This included, among other things, an evaluation of the overall design and proposed construction methods of the project, a review of the groundwater monitoring plan, examination of subsurface investigation results, and a review of the waste acceptance plan.

During that process, DEP required Chrin to revise its Nuisance Minimization and Control Plan to specifically address potential gas odors from intermediate slope and capped areas.

Chrin has also committed to enhanced surface emission monitoring and an aggressive geosynthetic capping schedule in these areas to ensure the mitigation of odors from intermediate slope and cover areas.

Click Here for a copy of Chrin’s expansion permit and renewal.

Media questions should be directed to Colleen Connolly, DEP Northeast Regional Office, by calling 570-826-2035 or send email to: coconnolly@pa.gov.

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[Posted: January 9, 2020]

1/13/2020