Concerns about Rostraver Township landfill site being investigated by state AG鈥檚 office
The Municipal Authority of the Borough of Belle Vernon processes domestic sewage at its plant on the shore of the Monongahela River.
A garbage truck leaves the Westmoreland Waste Sanitary Landfill in Rostraver Township in this 2017 file photo. The state attorney general's office has taken over an investigation of alleged pollution violations from the landfill, said township solicitor Timothy Maatta.
ROSTRAVER TOWNSHIP 鈥� Township Solicitor Timothy Maatta told the commissioners that state Attorney General Joshua Shapiro鈥檚 office has agreed to look into alleged issues at the Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill at the request of Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck.
Rebecca Franz, chief deputy attorney general of the environmental crimes sections in the office, is handling the matter, Maatta said.
However, Ro Rozier, a spokeswoman for the landfill said Thursday that Shapiro鈥檚 office only had involvement in an injunction and is not conducting any further investigation of the landfill.
Franz joined Fayette County District Attorney Rich Bower and Washington County District Attorney Eugene Vittone at a press conference last month, as the two prosecutors announced a 90-day delay in a hearing to permanently bar the landfill from sending wastewater leachate to the Belle Vernon Municipal Authority.
Authority members said the leachate from the landfill, also known as Tervita Rostraver Township Sanitary Landfill, was polluting the Monongahela River, causing potential harm to residents of Fayette, Washington, Westmoreland and Allegheny counties.
Members of the authority voted to terminate a contract with the landfill on May 15, prompting Bower and Vittone to successfully petition a judge for a temporary injunction to stop the flow. The 90-day delay of a full hearing, announced May 23, was so that both sides could work toward longterm agreement. During that time, the landfill remains barred from discharging any effluent containing contaminated chemicals into the Monongahela River. The landfill also won鈥檛 send or pass through wastewater, contaminants, leachate and any other substances to the authority.
Rozier said the landfill has 鈥渮ero citations or violations for our leachate quality from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the DEP routinely monitors our landfill. In good faith, WSL decided to shut off the pipe even though we are not in violation of any water quality standards.
鈥淭hat water is now being sent offsite. We will continue making large investments in onsite technology to improve leachate quality that will exceed government standards,鈥� she said.
Because the landfill is in Westmoreland County, Maatta said he sent a letter to Peck in late May, asking him to determine if the landfill is piping leachate鈥揷hemical-laden fracking waste鈥搕o the Belle Vernon sewage treatment plant, where it is then discharged into the Monongahela River.
In addition, Maatta asked Peck鈥檚 office to conduct air, ground and water quality tests around the landfill site.
Maatta said Peck notified him last week that state investigators would handle the matter.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 go directly to the attorney general and ask for an investigation,鈥� said Maatta. 鈥淚t has to go through the district attorney. Peck asked me to put everything in writing, which I did. He then sent a referral to state attorney general鈥檚 office, which agreed to proceed with the investigation. They have the resources and the experience that we don鈥檛 have.鈥�
Maatta said the attorney general鈥檚 office has agreed to share its findings with township officials as the matter progresses.
Debbie Fought, a resident of Rostraver Township, wants to see more accountability from the Department of Environmental Protection.
鈥淚 beg you to ask for more tests,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our right to have clean air and water in this commonwealth.鈥�
Commissioner Devin DeRienzo said township officials would keep on top of the situation.
鈥淲henever we get a complaint, we investigate it then pass that information to the DEP,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut right now, I don鈥檛 have a lot of faith in the DEP. This is in the attorney general鈥檚 hands right now.鈥�