Keystone Today

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued the following announcement on April 30.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced that it has moved on to the second phase of its review of Keystone Sanitary Landfill’s permit application for expansion at its facility in the boroughs of Dunmore and Throop in Lackawanna County. The technical review phase began earlier this month after DEP received the landfill’s response to the department’s July 2019 environmental assessment letter.

“The department is ready for this next phase of the permit review process as we continue to do a thorough review of the application,” said Mike Bedrin, director of DEP’s Northeast Regional Office in Wilkes-Barre. “We encourage anyone with public comments to continue submitting them.”

The environmental assessment letter reviewed the harms and benefits of the proposed expansion and DEP determined that the benefits outweighed the known and potential harms. The letter can be viewed on the DEP website here: https://www.dep.pa.gov/About/Regional/Northeast-Regional-Office/Community%20Information/Pages/Keystone%20Landfill%20Expansion.aspx

The technical review phase will evaluate certain engineering aspects related to the proposed expansion: these include but are not limited to landfill design, subbase, liner systems, slope stability, leachate collection, landfill gas collection, capping, and final cover. Additional aspects include construction phasing, storm water management, ground water monitoring, and nuisance minimization and control.

Both the environmental assessment and technical review are part of the overall review of Keystone’s March 2014 application for expansion within the landfill’s currently permitted area, however no final decision has yet been made on Keystone’s application. Upon completion of the technical review, DEP will then issue a final decision.

Prior to the environmental assessment determination, DEP issued two review letters regarding the expansion in October of 2015 and in May of 2017. In addition to the review letters, DEP accepted public comment, which included holding public meetings in Dunmore and Throop boroughs as well as a meeting with municipal officials. A public hearing on the application was held on July 18, 2016.

In April of 2019, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) along with the federal Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry reviewed data collected by DEP and issued a Health Consultation Report in response to the community’s concerns about harmful environmental exposures from the landfill. DOH’s full report can be found at: Keystone Sanitary Health Consultation Report. 

Those wishing to comment during the technical review of the application can do so by mailing written comments to Roger Bellas, Waste Management Program Manager, DEP Northeast Regional Office, 2 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre, 18701 or by emailing him at rbellas@pa.gov. Public comments will be received by the department until June 30 at 4:00 PM. The public can still send those comments despite the office being closed during COVID-19.

Once the DEP Northeast Regional Office re-opens in accordance with the phased re-opening plan, a copy of the environmental assessment letter and the landfill’s response will be available for review between the hours of 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM. No date has been set for that re-opening.   Appointments for reviewing the application materials may be made by calling 570-826-2511. 

To read the documents on DEP’s webpage, click here: https://www.dep.pa.gov/About/Regional/Northeast-Regional-Office/Community%20Information/Pages/Keystone

Original source can be found here.