Fayette, Washington DAs secure injunction aimed at preventing Mon River pollution
The district attorneys for Fayette and Washington counties have obtained a temporary injunction they hope will prevent wastewater leachate from reaching the Monongahela River.
Washington County District Attorney Eugene Vittone announced that he and Fayette County District Attorney Rich Bower jointly filed a civil action seeking an injunction to immediately stop leachate from being discharged into the Monongahela River.
The temporary injunction was granted by Fayette County Judge Steven Leskinen and is a response to the Belle Vernon Municipal Authority terminating its contract Wednesday with Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill in Rostraver Township, which also goes by the name Tervita Rostraver Township Sanitary Landfill.
“The people of Washington, Allegheny, Westmoreland and Fayette Counties have a right to clean drinking and recreational water from the Monongahela River,” Vittone said. “District Attorney Bower and I are seeking this temporary injunction to immediately stop leachate from being discharged by anyone into the Monongahela River. It is deeply disturbing to know that contaminants could be polluting such important waters, but there are legal remedies to stop it and determine if there are parties who should be held accountable.”
According to an analysis conducted last month by Environmental Service Laboratories, Inc., samples of the landfill leachate revealed the authority has been receiving leachate that includes high levels of ammonia and volatile organic compounds such as magnesium, barium and phenols — chemicals that are commonly found in shale gas drilling and fracking waste.
The board gave the landfill owners a 14-day notice to turn off the flow of liquid runoff to the sewage plant or the municipal authority would take steps to turn off the flow itself.
Landfill spokesperson Ro Rozier has said the company monitors all aspects of its performance as to environmental and regulatory standards and noted that there have been no citations or violation related to leachates filed by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Rozier said Friday that the landfill has yet to receive a copy of the injunction request, but added, “In good faith, WSL has decided to shut off the pipe even though we are not in violation of any water quality standards.
“We do have approved alternatives for disposal of the waste water which will begin immediately. We will continue making large investments in onsite technology to improve leachate quality that will exceed government standards,” she said.
DEP spokesperson Lauren Fraley said last week that the DEP would prefer that the Belle Vernon sewage treatment plant continue to accept leachate produced by Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill as long as the waste is adequately treated to achieve to the prescribed effluent limitations prior to discharge as opposed to the landfill attempting to truck it to another facility.
Belle Vernon Mayor Gerald Jackson and sewage plan Superintendent Guy Kruppa have expressed frustration with DEP, with Jackson lamenting that DEP hadn’t offered a workable solution.
Leachate is water that has passed through a landfill and leached out some of its contents.
Vittone and Bower have contacted the state Attorney General’s office to assist with the case.
A full hearing on the injunction request is scheduled to be held Friday at 1:30 p.m. at the Fayette County Courthouse in Uniontown.