Study Shows Damage to Landfill Cap
Friday June 11, 2004
By Megan Dardanell
Some environmental concerns surround an old landfill and ATV riders are to blame. It's been considered safe for years but now there's new danger at the closed landfill. Newswatch 16 first broke the story in April. The government was concerned about potential damage to an old toxic waste site in Lackawanna County. A new environmental report is now out. It says the landfill cap, which contains the hazardous materials is in need of repair. The Environmental Protection Agency blames the damage on tresspassers.
Tracks made by ATVs and dirt bikes can be seen on the landfill. The government says it is a serious situation. The Lackawanna Refuse Site has been a source of controversy in Lackawanna County for years. Newswatch 16 cameras caught illegal dumping when the landfill operated back in 1978. The area was named a Superfund site with the toxic waste contained under a protective cap. But an ATV accident at the site back in April launched a Newswatch 16 investigation. We found the EPA concerned all-terrain vehicles may have created a hazard. A five year review of the site released this week points to the tracks and broken gas vents.
The EPA recommends preventing unauthorized access to the landfill, restoring the protective vegetative cover as well as repairing pipes designed to vent gas. "We're going to be doing more work up there within the next month or two," said Mark Carmon of D.E.P. The agency is responsible for the site. Carmon says some*repairs have been made, but calls the ATV trespassers a serious problem. (
"What people see is a nice 20-some acre piece of grass land field, looks beautiful. Perfect to ride an ATV. Wrong!" said Carmon. "What people are doing by trespassing and riding their ATVs on that is potentially putting people at risk."
The EPA says no hazardous materials have been exposed, yet. But that is a possibility if the trespassing continues. The EPA and D.E.P. are working with law enforcement to crack down on the tresspassers and keep them off the Superfund site.
Friday June 11, 2004
By Megan Dardanell
Some environmental concerns surround an old landfill and ATV riders are to blame. It's been considered safe for years but now there's new danger at the closed landfill. Newswatch 16 first broke the story in April. The government was concerned about potential damage to an old toxic waste site in Lackawanna County. A new environmental report is now out. It says the landfill cap, which contains the hazardous materials is in need of repair. The Environmental Protection Agency blames the damage on tresspassers.
Tracks made by ATVs and dirt bikes can be seen on the landfill. The government says it is a serious situation. The Lackawanna Refuse Site has been a source of controversy in Lackawanna County for years. Newswatch 16 cameras caught illegal dumping when the landfill operated back in 1978. The area was named a Superfund site with the toxic waste contained under a protective cap. But an ATV accident at the site back in April launched a Newswatch 16 investigation. We found the EPA concerned all-terrain vehicles may have created a hazard. A five year review of the site released this week points to the tracks and broken gas vents.
The EPA recommends preventing unauthorized access to the landfill, restoring the protective vegetative cover as well as repairing pipes designed to vent gas. "We're going to be doing more work up there within the next month or two," said Mark Carmon of D.E.P. The agency is responsible for the site. Carmon says some*repairs have been made, but calls the ATV trespassers a serious problem. (
"What people see is a nice 20-some acre piece of grass land field, looks beautiful. Perfect to ride an ATV. Wrong!" said Carmon. "What people are doing by trespassing and riding their ATVs on that is potentially putting people at risk."
The EPA says no hazardous materials have been exposed, yet. But that is a possibility if the trespassing continues. The EPA and D.E.P. are working with law enforcement to crack down on the tresspassers and keep them off the Superfund site.
