Pennsylvania suspends Keystone Sanitary Landfill’s settlement accommodation plan

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has suspended Keystone Sanitary Landfill’s plan to add waste to previously capped areas of the landfill due to numerous odor complaints received and the routine confirmation of landfill gas odors offsite by DEP staff.

Since Oct. 1, the DEP says it has received more than 200 odor complaints from the public, and during its response to those complaints, DEP staff have regularly observed landfill-related odors off the landfill’s property.

“Over the last several weeks, DEP has frequently confirmed offsite odors related to Keystone Sanitary Landfill operations, and the impact the odors can have on residents is very concerning to the department,” DEP Interim Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley says. “When a permit is issued, DEP expects compliance with the conditions to minimize impacts on residents. Every Pennsylvanian deserves access to clean air and clean water, and that’s why DEP is issuing this suspension and holding the company accountable for their actions.”

In a Nov. 8 letter to the DEP responding to odor concerns, Dan ‘O Brien, business manager for the landfill, which is among the largest in the nation, says the odors are associated with final closure activities at the landfill, which is located in Dunmore and Throop boroughs in Lackawanna County.

“Final closure activities that contributed to the areas of concern are anchor trenches that need to be excavated, methane gas well supply vacuum laterals and associated piping that needs to be disconnected and adjusted,” O’Brien writes.

The suspension is in regard to the 714-acre landfill’s settlement accommodation plan (SAP) that DEP approved in February 2021 through a modification to the landfill’s existing operating permit. The existing cover was removed from the top of already settled waste, and additional waste was added to those areas. The landfill implemented the SAP to reclaim lost air space due to natural settlement. DEP has determined that the landfill has been unable to maintain compliance with that plan, specifically for controlling landfill gas odors, during the course of that work. 

DEP has based its suspension decision on the significant volume of odor complaints, the regular observation of landfill gas odors offsite and the results of DEP’s Nov. 16 inspection. During that inspection, DEP staff conducted surface methane emission scans of several areas of the landfill and determined that the SAP area had moderate to strong landfill gas odors compared to other areas of the landfill that had been scanned. The landfill gas in this area had a much more pungent odor, similar to that of leachate, the DEP says.

DEP is requesting the landfill submit a plan to mitigate the landfill gas odors in the areas noted in the inspection report by Dec. 1. More information on the suspension can be found on DEP’s website.

The DEP says the Keystone Sanitary Landfill is in the process of re-capping the open areas referenced in the DEP’s suspension letter while it develops a mitigation plan to address the odor and landfill gas issues.