Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Waste Management will have to cease all disposal operations at its Tullytown landfill within two years, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
The order for the Tullytown landfill, which sits in both the borough and Falls Township, was announced Thursday.
Advertisements
Waste Management filed an application to renew their permit for the site for another four years recently. After a DEP review, they granted the company a two year permit and directed them to end waste disposal at the site in 2017.
“After a complete review of the renewal application and consideration of public input, we concluded that a balance had to be reached to allow disposal operations to continue, but for a limited amount of time so that the landfill could close in a structurally sound and environmentally safe manner,” said DEP Southeast Regional Director Cosmo Servidio.
The DEP said in a statement that complaints of ongoing odor, noise, bird and aesthetic nuisances played a large role in them directing the landfill to close. Most of the complaints that factored into the decision came from residents across the Delaware River in New Jersey.
Advertisements
“We therefore renewed the permit but also are requiring that all waste disposal operations cease on or before May 22, 2017, and that the landfill be completely closed and capped after disposal operations cease. During this time, WMPA (Waste Management) will need to minimize and control nuisances and will still be subject to enforcement actions or other measures, should offsite nuisances not be adequately controlled,” Servidio said.
Servidio said negotiations to resolve penalty liability for past violations are underway and the landfill is still obligated to try to control nuisances during the remaining operational life.
Advertisements
The landfill has operated in since 1988 and has undergone several expansions, including the recently-approved Valley Fill Expansion.
