Pennsylvania EPA rejects company's request for a landfill permit

PORTERSVILLE, Pa. (AP) -- The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection rejected a proposed landfill site next to McConnell's Mill State Park.
The permit request by Sechan Limestone Industries had drawn protesters to the park who said the 91-acre landfill would pose a risk to Slippery Rock Creek, which flows through the park and is a water source for several communities.
In a letter, the DEP said Sechan "has not demonstrated that the benefits of the proposed landfill clearly outweigh the harms."
The proposed landfill about 25 miles east of Youngstown would straddle Butler and Lawrence counties and hold nonhazardous industrial waste.
Sechan has said materials going into the landfill are less risky than household waste. The company is reviewing the letter, company officials said.
The company can appeal the decision, but DEP spokeswoman Freda Tarbell said the chance of a reversal is minimal.