Plans to Expand Huge Pennsylvania Landfill Headed to Court

Date: May 30, 2016

Source: The Scranton Times-Tribune

The large Keystone 6,500 ton-per-day Keystone Sanitary Landfill in Pennsylvania, which is only about an hour from New York City, is facing renewed opposition to its expansion plans. A local resident-led group called "Friends of Lackawanna" are appealing a lower court ruling which denied that a local 50-foot height restriction applies to the landfill and that some of the residents lack legal standing to even contest the proposal. Keystone is seeking to expand from 335 to 435 acres. Its original proposal also called for increasing the height of the landfill by 165 feet, topping out at 475 feet, which would have added 48 years to its life. Keystone has since revised its proposed height which would instead give the landfill a 44.6-year lifespan. Attorneys for the landfill have said that the case brought by residents is weak, in part because they don't have any expert witnesses. Owners of the landfill argue that the expansion would add $865 million to the local economy. The landfill has filed a motion to dismiss the Friends of Lackawanna's appeal.

Sign up to receive our free Weekly News Bulletin