By Christine Haines
Rostraver Township commissioners are taking action against the Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill and County Hauling, which are both operated by Noble Environmental.
Township officials had been trying to pursue action through the state Department of Environmental Protection. A few months ago, Commissioner Devin DeRienzo announced that the DEP had fined the landfill for a variety of violations, but officials say little has changed at the site.
Township Solicitor Tim Maatta sent a letter to the landfill owner putting him on notice that the landfill is considered a stormwater hotspot. The designation under a 2001 township ordinance comes because garbage trucks are stored, fueled and washed at the landfill.
“As such, the Landfill is required to have a pollution prevention plan. Please furnish us with a copy of that plan by January 15, 2021,” Maatta wrote in the Dec. 14 letter.
John Lorenzo, chairman of the township commissioners, said muddy run-off from the site continues to cause problems on Tyrol Boulevard, especially now that winter is here. When the landfill uses its street sweeper to remove mud from the roadway, salt put down by road crews to prevent ice is also swept up.
“They had this issue last winter and here we are again,” Lorenzo said. “We’ve had our code enforcement out there.”
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