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The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on Tuesday upheld a decision by the state's Environmental Hearing Board vacating a permit for a proposed 845-acre landfill in Boggs Township, Clearfield County.
"We are very pleased with the decision," said Clearfield County Commissioner John Sobel, who explained that the proposed facility has met opposition from several boards of commissioners since it was first proposed in 2006.
The initial application was denied in 2015, but in 2017, PA Waste LLC of Feasterville revived the request for a permit, which was approved by the Department of Environmental Protection in 2020 after it was satisfied that the landfill would comply with the state's regulatory requirements.
The commissioners took their case against the permit before the Environmental Hearing Board, which ordered the vacation of the permit for what was called the Camp Hope Run Landfill to be located along Route 153, seven miles from Clearfield Borough.
After determining that it had jurisdiction to hear the case, a panel of three Commonwealth Court judges, Lori A. Dumas, Patricia A. McCullough and Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter, affirmed the EHB's decision and remanded it for further investigation by the DEP.
The appeals court found that the permit application failed to include a narrative that explained "the origin, composition and weight or volume of solid waste that is proposed to be disposed of at the facility."
The company's application answered that question "in rather oblique terms," according to the Commonwealth Court opinion written by Dumas.
PA Waste outlined that it did not know the precise origin of waste.
It stated only it would originate from "surrounding jurisdictions" and "sources outside of Pennsylvania."
The actual landfill, according to the application, would encompass more than 200 of the 845-acre site.
It expects to landfill 5,000 tons per day in a double lined facility.
Its expected life would be 21 years.
DEP argued the applications "in general terms" identified that origin of the waste as required by the Pennsylvania Quality Board.
As PA Waste pointed out, the term "origin" in the regulations is not defined.
The company agreed with DEP's interpretation that despite the general nature of where the waste is to originate, its answer was enough to comply with Clearfield County's existing waste management plan.
The court, however, found "Pa Waste's Origin Application narrative is both insufficient and contradictory."
"If DEP is unaware of the origin of the waste to be transported to and disposed of at the landfill, then it is not clear how DEP can protect the public from the dangers associated with the transportation and disposal of municipal waste," stated the court decision.
The court addressed several other issues involving the landfill application.
For instance, it determined that there was no requirement that a "need" for a new landfill be discussed in the application and it rejected a decision by DEP that PA Waste had to include a list of its contracts for the disposal of waste.
The court stated, "Instantly we agree with (PA Waste and DEP) that no regulation requires the submission of waste contracts as part of Pa Waste's permit application."
However, the bottom line of the Commonwealth Court decision was that it be returned to DEP to obtain "additional detail about the origin of waste to be transported to and disposed at the landfill."
No official of PA Waste could be reached Wednesday, but its website indicated that the proposed facility would benefit the area economically, providing jobs and income for the county, the Philipsburg-Osceola School District and Boggs Township.
Sobel, however, said that the commissioners, before objecting to the landfill, compared the possible harms versus the benefits of the project.
The possible harms outweigh the benefits, he explained.
He mentioned there would be a huge increase in traffic in a rural area of the county, possible spills and the proposed site for the landfill is on top of an aquifer, which could jeopardize the quality of water used by several communities.
"Clearfield has fallen on hard times economically. It is trying to revive itself. It is not a positive sign when somebody puts a garbage dump in your community," he stated.
The people don't want it, he said.
The commissioner agreed that Tuesday's decision does not end the landfill issue.
PA Waste can request a hearing before the Supreme Court, or it can work with DEP to revise its application.