LAWRENCE COUNTY Landfill plan tabled

The landfill would take in 2,000 tons of residual waste each day for 10 to 15 years.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Lawrence County planners say they don't have enough information to consider plans for a proposed residual waste landfill near McConnell's Mill State Park.
On Thursday, board members tabled Sechan Limestone Industries' request for a land-use approval until they get more information.
Plans call for the residual waste dump to be constructed on about 40 acres in Lawrence and Butler counties, near the state park and Slippery Rock Creek. About 10 percent of it would be in Lawrence County.
Concerns about creek: Opponents of the landfill say they are concerned about waste infiltrating the park and creek, which is a water source for southern Lawrence County.
Sechan owner, Robert Sechan Jr., owned another company in the mid-1980s that operated a hazardous waste landfill in that same region and was fined $100,000 for letting waste seep into the creek.
A Sechan spokesman said the proposed landfill would not include hazardous waste, only residual waste. Residual waste landfills accept such things as ash from coal-burning plants and residual waste incinerators, contaminated soil, ceramics, pharmaceutical waste and pesticides.
The proposed plant would take in about 2,000 tons of residual waste each day and be filled in about 10 to 15 years, said Michael Quinn, project engineer.
Issues not addressed: County planners, who are looking only at land-use issues, say the plans submitted last month by Sechan's engineers did not address sewage, utilities, traffic patterns in the dump or plans to control storm drainage and erosion.
"The plan really isn't ready to move forward," said James Gagliano, county planning director.
County planners said they would also like the company to finalize a developers agreement that would have Sechan paying the township a fee for local programs and activities that will provide health, safety and general welfare to residents.
Gagliano said something similar will likely be requested by Butler County officials.
Company response: Sechan's attorney, Raymond Hoehler of Cohen & amp; Grigsby of Pittsburgh, said the company will address all of the issues and return the plans to the county planning commission.
He did not know how long that would take.
Hoelher said the company intends to apply in early May for its landfill application from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.