Pennsylvania’s largest landfill is changing operations as a result of an investigation by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Keystone Sanitary Landfill (KSL) has faced technical deficiencies and violations over the years, and one project was put to a halt due to an inability to control offsite odors.
The landfill occupies 714 acres in the Dunmore and Throop boroughs. As a result of hundreds of odor complaints this fall, a solid waste specialist from the DEP did inspections and found that surface methane emissions have gotten progressively worse since July.
“Pulling away from the elementary school yesterday, there were multiple kids, little girls, actually with mittens on their hands, covering their face because of the smell,” Dunmore resident Tony Manger said. “That bothered me. So I made a bunch of phone calls complaining about it.”
In late November, the DEP announced they suspended the landfill’s Settlement Accommodation Plan (SAP), which was approved in 2021. The SAP allowed the landfill to add more garbage in areas where trash has naturally settled. The department states an inadequacy in controlling gas odors is not in compliance with the permit modification.
“When a permit is issued, DEP expects compliance with the conditions to minimize impacts on residents.” DEP Interim Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley said in a press release. “Every Pennsylvanian deserves access to clean air and clean water, and that’s why DEP is issuing this suspension and holding the company accountable for their actions.”
An approved Nuisance Minimization and Control Plan (NMCP) states that KSL will conduct enhanced surface monitoring on intermediate slopes monthly and evaluate the results to determine if additional gas mitigation efforts need to be implemented.
The landfill “respectfully disagrees,” and believes they are in compliance with the NMCP, according to a response issued November 30th. KSL’s rebuttal noted that the prevalent areas of concern are nonresidential, as the DEP claimed that most complaints were from the Casey Highway, Marshwood Road, and Interstate 81.
“The public in general is not qualified to either identify a specific odor or make a determination as to the origin of the odor,” Business Manager Dan O’Brien wrote. “Keystone has identified numerous business operations, infrastructure performance issues, marshes and poorly maintained drainage ponds in the immediate areas that produce odors.”
Nonetheless, KSL has taken action to mitigate the stench, including adding soil cover material and backfilling the anchor trench.
“It's no surprise at all that the landfill denies being the source of the landfill odors," said Michele Dempsey, an environmental advocate. "They have a long history of speaking out of both sides of their mouth. So we are causing these odors. But don't worry, we're working on fixing them. So we're not causing them, but we're fixing the cause of them, because we are causing them. “
More garbage
The DEP approved an expansion to increase the landfill’s disposable capacity in 2021.
“We, the community, objected to the expansion. Fought it as hard as we could,” Tony Manger said.
The landfill first applied for the Phase III Site Development, also known as the Phase III Expansion, in 2014, and after several technical deficiencies and correspondences, the expansion was approved in 2021. The expansion came with a major permit modification, adding many regulations for monitoring and analysis.
Michele Dempsey is an environmental advocate and board member of Friends of Lackawanna, a group that has filed an appeal with the Environmental Hearing Board to stop the expansion. She says this recent event heightens the community’s concern for existing harms and the threat for more.
"The part of the landfill where the Settlement Accommodation Plan is happening as about one percent of the acreage of the landfill. You know, that one small portion just has wreaked havoc on our area. And again, the smells are terrible, and they're a nuisance,” she said. “But they are just the beacon of the harms.”
Friends of Lackawanna conducted a Harms and Benefits Analysis, and found that property values, traffic and the economy suffer as a result of the landfill.
Last November, the Department responded to similar sentiments from concerned residents. The DEP received 233 odor complaints from Dunmore and Throop residents between September 1, 2022 and January 20, 2023.
A notice of violation dated January 2023 alleges that the landfill violated the Solid Waste Management Act in failing to perform regular and adequate inspections as required to reduce the potential for offsite odors. The notice, written by a compliance specialist from the DEP, cites “the offsite odors have been caused by uncaptured landfill gas and, to a lesser extent, leachate storage lagoon odors.”
Leachate forms when rainwater seeps through the garbage and the storage lagoon prevents leachate from polluting the drinking water, according to the EPA. The 2023 notice of violation lists failures to conduct surface monitoring, prevent air pollution, and to correct previous deficiencies.
“They can't handle the size of this operation today. And they will not be able to handle it when it's three times the size,” Dempsey said. “It's a disaster waiting to happen.”
“It's disgusting to me,” Manger said. “And, you know, frankly, makes me want to pick up my family and go elsewhere.”
