A Rostraver business must cease operations at a Pricedale property that once housed a bus garage, according to a ruling announced Tuesday by the township's zoning hearing board.
Ron Amati, owner of ITAMA Development Associates of Donora, appealed a cease-and-desist order issued in July by township zoning officer Bob Lohr. The zoning hearing board denied the appeal.
ITAMA has 30 days to appeal the decision in Westmoreland County Court, according to board solicitor Mark Shire.
Lohr initially cited ITAMA and Amati for nonconforming uses of the property. From July 15 through Sept. 5, Lohr cited ITAMA's tenant – Minuteman Environmental Services – for eight eight alleged violations.
Based in Milton, Pa., Minuteman bills itself as an “oil and gas field services” company. Its services include hauling natural gas industry waste.
The violations ranged from operating during late night and early morning hours to storing “rolloff” boxes containing residual waste from drill cuttings from the gas well industry.
Lohr acted after nearby residents complained about noise and suspicious activity at the site.
Lohr said leachate from the metal boxes, which resemble Dumpsters, leaked onto the ground at the property. Leachate is water that carries salts or other materials dissolved out of materials through which it has percolated, especially polluted water from refuse sites.
Lohr subsequently issued a cease-and-desist letter to ITAMA. On Aug. 7, ITAMA filed a notice of appeal with the zoning hearing board, claiming Lohr “misinterpreted and misapplied” the zoning ordinance.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued three notices of violation against ITAMA after an inspector allegedly found residual waste material in six of 25 containers at the site during his first visit.
The inspector, Kenneth Lee, allegedly continued to find residual waste during subsequent visits. Storage of residual waste is illegal in Pennsylvania without a permit.
DEP spokesman John Poister said the company has since come into compliance with state regulations.
Amati purchased the 2.9 acre property on Main Street from the Belle Vernon Area School District in January for $161,000. The property, zoned for business use, was previously used by the school district for fueling, maintenance and parking of buses.
A hearing took place before the zoning hearing board in October with Amati and Minuteman owner Brian Bolus speaking in opposition to Lohr's order.
They and attorney Brad Mellor argued that activities at the site did not deviate from previous use by the school district.
Amati was not available for comment Tuesday.
Shire said the outcome was justified.
“Basically, the board found that if you want to call these rolloff boxes a vehicle, you're parking them on the property, and that's a use that stopped in 2009 by the school district, so that conditional use was abandoned,” Shire said.
“The residual waste was what really set everyone off because the landfill had been accepting that in the past. The people saw it and in turn notified the township.”
The Tervita landfill is located near the ITAMA site.
Rostraver Township Commissioner Pat Egros credited vigilant residents and township solicitor Al Gaudio for pursuing the matter.
“The original usage of the property was supposed to be for truck repair, and it never mentioned storage,” Egros said.
Egros said the company, “went off the beaten path.”
Egros compared the situation to seeing how far a rubber band could stretch until it breaks.
“You had leachate seeping out of container trucks onto the ground. … The use of that property simply did not permit that type of activity,” Egros said.
“We had to act on the township's behalf and to protect the residents. I see this as a win for us all.”
Rick Bruni Jr. is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at rbruni@tribweb.com or 724-684-2635.
