South Huntingdon officials want a judge to again fine the operator of a Yukon industrial waste treatment and storage facility for allegedly allowing noxious smells to waft onto adjacent homes — the fourth time in three years the township has cited the company.
A municipal code enforcement officer accused MAX Environmental Technologies Inc. of failing to prevent noxious odors from affecting homes along Spring Street on 26 days during February, March, April, May and June 2016, according to a private criminal complaint filed Jan. 13 with East Huntingdon District Judge Charles Moore.
The Upper St. Clair-based company, which treats waste from steel mills and gas-drilling operations and stores residual material in a landfill above Spring Street, is accused of violating a South Huntingdon ordinance that carries a $1,000 fine for each day a violation occurs.
The township asked Moore to fine the company $26,000. The judge scheduled a summary hearing for Feb. 21. He ruled against the company in a similar complaint last year.
MAX Environmental is reviewing the complaint, General Manager Carl Spadaro said in a statement.
The citation is the latest in a series of legal battles South Huntingdon has fought with MAX over complaints from neighbors that dust and odors blow off the 159-acre facility.
In September, Norvelt District Judge Roger Eckels fined MAX $67,800 for allowing fumes to blow off its landfill 101 times from July 2015 to February 2016. The company appealed that ruling to Westmoreland County Court. A hearing had been scheduled for Feb. 14.
Moore fined the company $1,800 in January 2016 for violating the township ordinance against noxious odors affecting neighbors for 18 days in June and July 2015. Since then, the township amended its ordinance to increase the fine from $100 to $1,000 per violation.
In 2015, a county judge fined the company $10,000 for odor and dust violations the previous year as a result of a South Huntingdon citation.
In a move that the state believes will reduce noxious odors blowing onto neighboring properties, MAX Environmental in September agreed to a consent decree with the Department of Environmental Protection to process some sludge inside a building at the site. In that consent decree, the company agreed to a $307,000 state fine for dumping more treated waste than allowed under its permit.
South Huntingdon Supervisor Richard Gates said a sulfur-like odor was blowing from the facility into residential areas Tuesday.
“The smell was horrendous,” Gates said. “It was just terrible.”
Joe Napsha is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-5252 or jnapsha@tribweb.com.
