On April 28, the Department of Environmental Protection announced it executed a consent order and agreement (COA) with Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill, LLC and County Hauling, LLC for Waste Transportation Safety Act (Act 90 of 2002, Chapter 62) violations that primarily occurred in 2019.

As part of this settlement, the companies have agreed to pay a $25,000 civil penalty, and also to fund a community environment project (or projects) valued at $25,000 (in lieu of paying an additional $15,000 civil penalty).

Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill, LLC owns and operates the landfill of the same name located in Rostraver Township, Westmoreland County and County Hauling, a waste transportation company.

On numerous occasions between December 31, 2018 and July 3, 2019, County Hauling used two trucks to transport waste to the Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill for disposal without valid Act 90 authorizations, and the landfill accepted the vehicles for disposal of waste.

Act 90 authorization is required for all waste transportation vehicles transporting municipal or residual waste to processing or disposal facilities in Pennsylvania, and facilities are prohibited from accepting waste from waste transportation vehicles without valid authorization. 

DEP originally calculated a proposed $40,000 civil penalty for the violations and later accepted the companies’ request to consider a community environmental project (CEP) for a portion of the penalty.

Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill and County Hauling are required to pay a $25,000 civil penalty into the commonwealth’s Waste Transportation Safety Account.

As part of this agreement, the companies are also required to provide $25,000 in free landfill disposal and waste transportation services for cleanup projects identified by DEP in lieu of payment of the remaining $15,000 civil penalty.

Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill and County Hauling have five years to provide $25,000 in free waste transportation and landfill disposal for cleanup projects identified by or referred to DEP.

This amounts to transportation and disposal of 250 tons of waste, or 25 30-cubic yard roll-off containers.

The operators are required to receive DEP approval, provide DEP with receipts within two weeks of disposal, and provide quarterly statements.

Environmental Justice Communities

The landfill is located in close proximity to three environmental justice (EJ) areas. DEP will prioritize CEP proposals within EJ areas, which are defined as a census tract where 20 percent or more individuals live at or below the federal poverty line, and/or 30 percent or more of the population identifies as a non-white minority, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the federal guidelines for poverty.

Click Here to learn more about DEP environmental justice areas.

Contact DEP For Cleanup Services

To be considered for CEP services, organizations should contact Ben Williams at 412-442-5806 or benjwillia@pa.gov to make DEP aware of environmental cleanup projects.

DEP also executed a consent assessment of civil penalty (CACP) for off-site dirt and mud tracking violations that occurred between December 2, 2020 and February 2, 2021 and collected a $27,500 civil penalty.

DEP previously executed two COAs to address violations by Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill in October and February 2020.

Visit DEP’s Southwest Regional Office Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill webpage for more information on enforcement actions.  Questions should be directed to Lauren Fraley, DEP Southwest Regional Office, 412-442-4203 or send email to: lfraley@pa.gov.

To learn more about waste transportation requirements, visit DEP’s Municipal and Residual Waste Transportation Safety Program webpage.

For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website, Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter, sign up for DEP Connects events, sign up for DEP’s eNotice, visit DEP’s Blog,  Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

[Posted: April 28, 2021]

5/3/2021