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EPA Issues Consent Order To MAX Environmental Technologies To Ensure Compliance With Hazardous Waste Rules At Westmoreland County Facility

On April 29, Max Environmental Technologies, Inc. has agreed to a consent order that includes several actions to ensure compliance with federal and state hazardous waste safeguards at the company’s waste facility in Yukon, Westmoreland County, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced.

The Mountain Watershed Association issued a press release on the announcement-- see below.

MAX owns and operates a 160-acre facility, surrounded by agricultural and residential properties, about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

According to EPA, this site is an area with potential environmental justice concerns.

MAX conducts waste operations under permits issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation Recovery Act. RCRA is the principal federal hazardous waste storage and disposal statute.

Among the hazardous wastes at the MAX facility are wastewater treatment sludge, corrosives, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, selenium, silver, electric arc furnace dust, and waste acid/pickle liquor.

Waste management units include five closed impoundments, an active solid waste landfill, waste storage tanks and containers, hazardous waste treatment units, and a leachate management system that generates sludge from wastewater treatment.

EPA officials inspected the facility in March 20-24, 2023, to determine MAX’s compliance with environmental regulations, including the terms of its PA DEP-issued CWA and RCRA permits.

According to EPA, its inspectors documented several RCRA permit violations, including but not limited to: (1) unlawful disposal of hazardous waste in the solid waste landfill at the facility, (2) failure to maintain a containment building, and (3) failure to keep the hazardous waste containers closed to prevent hazardous waste release.

The Consent Order announced today addresses RCRA and state hazardous waste requirements.

MAX has agreed to immediate measures to eliminate the potential release of solid and hazardous waste into the environment and to ensure that future ongoing operations do not cause or contribute to releases at the facility.

The RCRA consent order requirements include, but are not limited to:

-- Prohibition of disposal of untreated and treated hazardous waste in the facility’s landfill, unless it has been reviewed and analyzed by a third-party auditor and unaffiliated PA DEP-accredited laboratory.

-- Retention of an EPA approved third party Professional Engineer to perform a structural evaluation and recommendations to repair or modify the containment and processing building and containment pads.

-- Monitoring and sampling of residential wells adjacent to the facility.

-- Monthly progress reports and meetings with EPA project managers to evaluate the compliance actions stated in the Consent Order

Stipulated Penalties

The consent order includes stipulated penalties for violating the order of $73,045 for each day of violations.

EPA worked closely with PA DEP in investigating conditions and negotiating this consent order that addresses compliance with RCRA and state hazardous waste compliance.

EPA and PA DEP are currently reviewing MAX’s compliance with its CWA permit.

Click Here for a copy of the EPA consent order.

Delisting The MAX Hazardous Waste

At the request of MAX Environmental, DEP and the Environmental Quality Board are considering a regulation change to delist the sludge generated from the treatment disposal impoundment and landfill leachate as a hazardous waste from both the Yukon and Bulger facilities.

The proposed regulation was published for comment in January 2022 when three virtual hearings were held. Read more here.

A final version of the regulation was discussed with DEP’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee in December 2022. There is no timetable on when the regulation is to be finalized. Status of rulemaking.

For more information, visit DEP’s MAX Environmental Delisting Hazardous Waste webpage.

Reaction

The Mountain Watershed Association issued this press release on the announcement.

On Friday, April 19, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency filed a Consent Order on MAX Environmental Technologies, Inc., allowing its Yukon facility to continue operations in a limited capacity.

This landfill stands out as the only facility in Pennsylvania that is permitted to treat and dispose of hazardous waste from commercial and industrial sources. However, it has a long history of violations and is in serious disrepair, according to EPA’s March 2023 NEIC Civil Investigation and December 2023 Notice of Violations.

Violations highlight MAX’s long list of failures to do the following: Properly Monitor Facility - Operate and Maintain Facility - Provide Training to Staff - Meet Hazardous Waste Treatment Standards - Maintain and Repair Containment Building - Prevent Precipitation Falling Onto Hazardous Waste - Inspect And Maintain Leachate Collection System - Conduct Daily Inspections - Keep Containers of Hazardous Waste Closed - Maintain and Operate in Accordance with Permits - Follow Proper Sampling Procedures - Minimize Hazardous Waste Release.

Along with restricted operations, the order includes an expert evaluation of its current operations, increased oversight by the EPA and DEP, and a requirement for MAX to make improvements to the facility.

After learning about the order, the Yukon community reeled, seeing the action as a major oversight in protecting the community and the environment.

“The legacy of issues at MAX Environmental are a forever stain on the Yukon area,” says Stacey Magda, managing community organizer at Mountain Watershed Association. “When EPA conducted their past due investigation, they noted 50 pages of ongoing issues at the facility. This should have been an opportunity for our regulators to get it right for the first time in the history of this facility, by permanently shutting the site down.”

"Max's permits show they estimate less than a year left before it reaches capacity. This community has had to deal with the impacts for over 30 years and for many, this feels like too little too late," says Stacey Magda, managing community organizer at Mountain Watershed Association.

MAX Environmental was established over five decades ago, then owned as Mill Service. The landfill in Yukon opened in 1963.

Mountain Watershed Association hosts monthly meetings in Yukon. To stay up to date with any developments regarding the order and MAX Environmental, please join MWA’s mailing list.

NewsClips - MAX Environmental:

-- TribLive: EPA To MAX Environmental Yukon Landfill Operator: Fix Violations Or Face $73,000 A Day Fine

-- TribLive: Yukon Landfill Could Pay $275,000 To Settle Pollution Claims From Lawsuit

-- TribLive: Yukon-Area Residents Rip Lawsuit Settlement With Landfill Operator

Related Articles - MAX Environmental:

-- Environmental Health Project: 75% Of Hazardous Waste Accepted At MAX Environmental Yukon Facility In Westmoreland County Comes From Shale Gas Industry; Sludge Proposed To Be Delisted As Hazardous Waste [PaEN]

-- Mountain Watershed Assn. Will Install Warning Signs Around Wastewater Outfall Of MAX Environmental Technologies Yukon Facility In Sewickley Creek, Westmoreland County [PaEN]

Related Articles - Recycling/Waste:

-- PA Resources Council Glass Recycling Program Honored With Governor's Award For Environmental Excellence [PaEN]

-- EPA Issues Consent Order To MAX Environmental Technologies To Ensure Compliance With Hazardous Waste Rules At Westmoreland County Facility [PaEN]

-- Keep PA Beautiful 2024 Summit For Community Stewardship In Scranton Oct. 16-17 [PaEN]

-- DEP: New Location For May 21 Meeting/Hearing On The Renewal Of The Air Quality Permit For Covanta Municipal Waste Combustion Units In Montgomery County [PaEN]