Judge's order continues restrictions on Rostraver landfill

A consent order signed by a Fayette County judge Wednesday prohibits the discharge of harmful effluent into the Monongahela River by a landfill and a treatment facility.

The action by Common Pleas Judge Steve Leskinen continues a 90-day order he issued in May at the request of Fayette County District Attorney Richard Bower and Washington County District Attorney Eugene Vittone.

The district attorneys sought the order over concerns that leachate from Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill in Rostraver was reaching the river without being treated properly by the Belle Vernon Municipal Authority’s treatment plant.

The order, which is effective through Aug. 21, 2020, prohibits the landfill from discharging effluent into the Mon except indirectly through publicly-owned treatment works other than the Belle Vernon Municipal Authority.

The order also prohibits the landfill from sending any other “water, wastewater, discharge, contaminants, effluent, pollutants, leachate, sludge, biological processes or any other substances” to the municipal authority without its prior written consent.

The municipal authority had accepted leachate — liquid that comes in contact with waste — from the landfill via pipeline but became concerned it could no longer treat the leachate and stay in compliance with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES, permit.

In May, the municipal authority board voted to terminate its contract with the landfill, effective June 1, and no longer accept the leachate after testing revealed it contained potential carcinogens.

The sources of the contaminants were drill cuttings and mud from unconventional drilling operations in southwestern Pennsylvania, according to the original complaint.

“These cuttings are buried within the landfill. When rain occurs, water will leach through the cuttings and become contaminated with the chemicals from the cuttings,” the complaint said.

Wednesday’s order also prohibits the municipal authority from accepting, or discharging into the Mon any effluent that is in violation of its NPDES permit.

The landfill has shut off the pipeline and has been trucking the leachate to treatment facilities in Ohio since May 20.

Landfill spokeswoman Ro Rozier said the landfill plans to spend the coming year working with the state Department of Environmental Protection and “investing capital in equipment and technology to build an on-site leachate pre-treatment facility. Components including advanced filtration and an evaporator will be part of that investment.”

Rozier said the landfill “supports higher (Environmental Protection Agency) standards for water quality and is committed to being part of the solution.”

Bower and Vittone have referred the matter to the Environmental Crimes Section of the state Attorney General’s Office.

The consent order was signed by Bower, municipal authority attorney John M. Smith, landfill attorney Kit Pettit and Chief Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Franz of the Environmental Crimes Section.