NEW CASTLE Landfill proposal near park is denied

The proposal was sensitive because of its location, said a DEP official.
By JOHN SKENDALL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The Department of Environmental Protection has denied a company's application to build a residual waste landfill near McConnell's Mill State Park.
Robert Sechan, of Sechan Limestone Industries Inc., has 30 days to appeal this week's DEP decision to the Environmental Hearing Board in Pennsylvania.
Sechan planned to build the 42-acre nonhazardous industrial waste landfill on the border of Muddy Creek Township in Butler County and Slippery Rock Township in Lawrence County.
He has not yet announced if the company will appeal further.
The DEP issued its "Intent to Reject" Sechan's application in late June, providing the company with a final opportunity to prove the landfill would be more of a benefit than a harm, which is the DEP's standard criteria for granting proposals, said DEP sanitary engineer Joel Fair.
Fair said Sechan's application cited increased availability of jobs and charitable donations, but it failed to show that the benefit of such a project outweighs the "known and potential environmental harms."
"Of the most concern is the potential harm that may come from allowing a landfill to operate some 300 yards from the edge of the 2,500-acre state park that is a vital resource and attraction for the surrounding communities," said DEP Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty.
Fair said the proposal was a more sensitive issue than other landfill projects because the site is near a state park with many visitors.
Potential harms
Among the potential harms listed by the DEP were loss of tourism and recreational opportunities, property value impacts, increased traffic, noise, aesthetic impacts and air emissions.
Concerned citizens who submitted their comments for review identified many of the same issues, McGinty said.
Protesters of the project said the landfill would also pose a danger to nearby Slippery Rock Creek.
Sechan had said the materials going into the landfill are less risky than household waste.
According to the Pennsylvania DEP's Web site, residual waste is nonhazardous waste produced by industrial, mining and agricultural operations. Residual waste landfills can contain rubber, contaminated soil, ceramics, pesticides and pharmaceutical wastes.
If Sechan appeals further, the Environmental Hearing Board would announce its decision in six to 18 months, said Dave Mashek, company spokesperson.