SAINT CLAIR - The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has issued a permit allowing Blythe Township to construct and operate a new municipal waste facility on 252 acres of land along the Burma Road, Colleen Connolly, a spokeswoman for DEP's Northeast Regional Office, said Monday afternoon.
The facility has been bitterly opposed by Saint Clair area residents and officials.
"The Blythe Recycling and Demolition Site will accept only construction and demolition waste and will have a 1,500-ton daily volume limit," Connolly said in a press release sent via email.
"The agency's review shows that Blythe Township has met the regulatory application requirements for the permit to be issued," William Tomayko, waste management program manager at DEP's Northeast Regional Office, said in the release.
Blythe Township has also met financial assurance obligations required under DEP's municipal waste regulations to operate the 109-acre lined disposal area, which will include leachate collection and treatment and gas management systems, Connolly said.
Albert J. Lubinsky, chairman of the Blythe Township supervisors, was glad to hear the news when contacted Monday afternoon.
"That's good. That's nice. But right now I have no comment on it," Lubinsky said.
Lubinsky said he did not know what the time frame would be for construction and the start of operations.
"We have to talk to our attorneys and we'll get back to you on that," Lubinsky said.
James D. Larish, president of Saint Clair Borough Council, was shocked when he heard the news Monday afternoon.
"We did not hear anything from DEP lately. I'm stunned that it's been approved," Larish said.
Larish said the matter will be discussed at council's next regular meeting, at 7 p.m. Aug. 7 in borough hall.
While Blythe Township has been working to get DEP's approval for the project for the past eight years, the Saint Clair borough has been fighting to prevent it, Larish said.
"We must have spent approximately $700,000 in attorney and engineering costs fighting it," Larish said.
Taryn Fatula-Galavage, Saint Clair, one of the concerned citizens who spoke out against the proposal repeatedly since 2003, was stunned when she heard the news Monday afternoon.
"I am extremely disappointed and saddened by the DEP's approval of the BRAD's landfill. However, it is not a total surprise considering our current governor and his administration's blatant lack of environmental responsibility. The very same issues which caused the denial of the landfill the first time have not gone away and assuredly still remain. They include: The landfill's close proximity to a public water source which serves not just Saint Clair but also Port Carbon, Mechanicsville, Pottsville and thousands of county residents; the fact there will be increased truck traffic and pollution traveling directly through our neighborhoods and directly through a school crossing at Hancock Street in Saint Clair, and the lack of sufficient safety plans in the case that something may go wrong," Fatula-Galavage said.
"The harms of this landfill still outweigh the benefits as was found by DEP in their first review. Unfortunately, DEP fails to 'protect' many things, they merely regulate how much we must endure," Fatula-Galavage said.
Frank J. Staudenmeier, chairman of the Schuylkill County commissioners, said Monday that previously the commissioners went on record stating they had "very serious concerns" about the project because of its proximity to Saint Clair borough. "We have no control over DEP, but what we can do is make sure that all the rules and regulations are adhered to and make sure DEP pays close attention to it," Staudenmeier said Monday.
In February 2004, Blythe Township submitted an application to DEP to construct the waste facility, according to Connolly.
"As required under DEP regulations, the application Blythe Township originally submitted in 2004 has gone through a series of reviews, including an environmental assessment, also called a 'harms-benefits analysis' and technical review," Connolly said.
In December 2006, a public hearing on the application was held at Pottsville Area's D.H.H. Lengel Middle School Auditorium. Of the 39 people who provided testimony, most spoke out against it, according to The Republican-Herald archives.
In April 2008, DEP denied the application, noting deficiencies in it. But the township appealed.
As the township fought to get approval for its permit, a group of concerned citizens opposed the project. They called themselves SC FORCE - Saint Clair Families Organized to Retain a Clean Environment. And Fatula-Galavage was one of their most outspoken members.
"We've kind of disbanded over the years. People lose interest. We haven't held any formal meetings since 2008," Fatula-Galavage said Monday.
In August 2011, DEP approved Phase I of the township's permit application. This was due directly to a decision by Michael Krancer, DEP's secretary, according to newspaper archives.
"When the agency previously denied the application, Blythe Township modified it and addressed issues related to the harms-benefits analysis and technical review, which made it possible for the permit to be issued," Connolly said in her press release Monday.
Larish had a different view of the situation.
"When Gov. Corbett got in office he put Krancer in as the head of DEP and Krancer overturned everything," Larish said.
"It is my hope that after hearing of this news, local townships and boroughs join together and continue to fight this and appeal DEP's decision in order to save out pristine water sources and protect the health and welfare of the residents of Schuylkill County," Fatula-Galavage said.