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Garbage Factory

Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill

Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill (WSL)

This landfill produces significant health and environmental impacts to nearby residents in Rostraver, Monessen, and Belle Vernon.

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Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill (WSL) has been the subject of three Consent Decrees with the DEP in the past three years. The latest decree dealt specifically with the leachate problem that exists at the landfill.

 

Leachate is the water that naturally drains out of landfills as a result of rain falling on the landfill and the liquid contents of the refuse leaking out and flowing away from the site. In the case of WSL, this leachate is radioactive and contains multiple hazardous chemicals because WSL accepted drill cuttings and other unconventional gas well waste into the landfill.

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Neighbors surrounding the landfill are experiencing myriad health impacts, as well as the nuisance of  air, water, and noise pollution. 

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Currently, WSL has reapplied for a Title V Air Permit. This permit will allow the landfill to continue operating, endangering the surrounding communities. Write a comment to the PA Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) to encourage them to hold a public hearing regarding the issuance of the Title V Permit. Submit your comment now!

Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill (2).jpg

How to submit a comment

If you'd like to submit a more formal, written comment to DEP, here's how to do so:

  • Mail comments to Noor Nahar at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, 400 Waterfront Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

  • Any comment must include your name, address, and phone number, as well as identification that the comment is about Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill (TVOP-65-00767)

Read Protect PT's Comment

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Sample: Resident Comment to Department of Environmental Protection

If you're unsure what to include in your comment or how to format. it, click on the PDF or Word document to see our example. 

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Why WSL's Title V Permit should NOT be renewed:

  • It would allow increased pollution in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas while attempting to avoid local responsibility

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  • Because WSL continues to create a nuisance by permitting uncontrolled fires and dispersing noxious odors, dust, mud, and dirt outside the boundaries of the landfill

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  • Because there is no present, viable plan for dealing with the radioactive leachate present and accumulating at the landfill

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  • WSL is presently in violation of a November 2023 Consent Order issued by the DEP, indicating a propensity to violate DEP regulations and permit fugitive air emissions from open-air contaminated liquids

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  • Because the permit application does not aggregate and consider changes in emissions from the Monessen Coke Works in compliance with federal regulations

July 8,2020 open landfill AFTER EIGHT-THIRTY PM 046.JPG

Improperly covered waste at Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill July 2020. Picture taken by resident.

Resident Impacts from Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill

My only enjoyment was sitting outside on the porch. I can’t even do that because of the smell. My quality of life is terrible. I have no quality of life here. I’m an asthmatic. So are half my neighbors. We can’t open our windows to get fresh air. We’re prisoners in our own house. ~ Carol

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I have garbage that flies into my yard and trees because of the landfill. The smell keeps my family and I inside most of the time because we can't enjoy the outside of our house I worked so hard to get because of the trash and horrific smell! The "air neutralizer" has not helped at all we feel. Thank you for listening. ~ Charlie

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