As a part of the assessment process, the landfills provide a detailed analysis that describes the potential impact that the proposed facility will have on the environment, public health and public safety, and the known and potential harms of the proposed project.
The analysis comes furnished with a written mitigation plan and must demonstrate that the benefits to the public outweigh the project’s known and potential harms.
The Alliance assessment approval process involved DEP evaluating the social and economic benefits to the municipalities that included: free waste disposal, recycling and environmental education programs, the landfill’s support for watershed and community groups, and the host municipality agreements with Taylor Borough and Ransom Township.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), which evaluated air monitoring data from DEP and Alliance, concluded that the landfill would not be expected to harm the public’s health.
DEP also held a public hearing on the environmental assessment, also known as the harms/benefits analysis, following which the approval was issued.
The environmental assessment approval, which represents the first phase of the department’s review of the proposal, does not authorize changes to the landfill’s permit. That decision will be made based on the company’s ability to comply with the department’s solid waste engineering and technical regulations.
