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Pa. DEP "R&D" permits allowed dumpiing of millions of tons of possibly hazardous waste
A settlement between environmental advocates and the DEP may curb some abuses.
Pa. DEP "R&D" permits allowed dumpiing of millions of tons of possibly hazardous waste
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has some pretty sweet loopholes it seems — that is, from the perspective of those who are looking for creative new ways to dispose of potentially toxic materials. One of those loopholes: research and development permits, which in one case, allowed a company called Hazelton Creek Properties LLC to dump two million tons of untested and potentially dangerous construction and demolition waste into an abandoned mine.
Save Us From Future Environmental Risks (SUFFER), a Hazleton, Pa.-based advocacy group, filed suit, and they've just reached a settlement with the DEP and another one with the company. The settlement should help stem the abuse of the R&D permits. Jennifer Clarke, executive director of the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, explains that Hazleton Creek Properties had theorized that dumping a mix of coal ash, demolition waste and dredged river silt would create a hard concrete that would then safely fill up the mine shaft; the DEP would consider that a "beneficial" use, since it seals up a gaping hole in the ground. "We said, 'Well that's great, but we have to wait until 2.2 million tons are delivered and then see?' Then it's really too late." After all, once the stuff is dumped in, it's almost impossible to remove.
The settlement will require companies to provide more and better information in permit applications, and to meet testing benchmarks, as they go — so that large-scale environmental disasters are avoided. "You won't have the situation we had here," Clarke says. "With these benchmarks along the way, if it's not working then the DEP can put a stop to it."
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