Landfill Says It Was Mistaken About Leachate Discharge

The Times Tribune

A Keystone Sanitary Landfill consultant erred when he said the operation was discharging treated leachate through an alternate sewer line the night a stench permeated parts of Dunmore and Scranton, the landfill told state regulators.

The state Department of Environmental Protection ultimately could not determine the source of the foul-smelling fluid that resulted in evacuations of St. Joseph’s Center and Sleep Inn & Suites hotel in Dunmore on Sept. 25, the agency announced late last week.

In the aftermath of the incident, Keystone consultant Al Magnotta said crews were repairing a pump, and the landfill discharged treated leachate — water that was exposed to waste — through the bypass line that runs under Dunmore Cemetery and Scranton’s Green Ridge section the day of the odor.

However, Keystone officials now say that was a mistake — the result of a miscommunication — and DEP said its staff confirmed the landfill was not discharging leachate on the night of the incident.

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