CARROLL TOWNSHIP - The state Department of Environmental Protection is investigating a fire over the Fourth of July weekend at an illegal dump site in Carroll Township.
The fire along Marion Avenue Extension burned much of July 2 and 3, DEP spokeswoman Betsy Mallison said.
The fire contained construction debris, materials from the demolition of Turner Hall in Monongahela, which is being torn down to make room for a new Sheetz store, Mallison said. She said the DEP is unsure whether those materials included asbestos.
DEP officials met with fire company leaders to discuss the fire, Mallison said.
Mallison said the DEP is investigating the situation and expects to take enforcement action.
Ron Amati sold the property to Sheetz, which is in the process of building a new convenience store on the lot adjacent to its current site.
Amati said he hired C.J. King to demolish the building on the site, a prerequisite to Sheetz taking over the site.
Amati said only dirt and rock was dumped on the site in question, with lumber and related materials taken to Westmoreland Wastes Sanitary Landfill.
Amati said the site in question has been used as a dump for years. He said trees and telephone poles dumped previously by someone else caused the fire.
Bill Voelke, who owns the property in question. Voelker said he has had problems with people dumping items there without his permission.
He said, though, that only dirt and rock was dumped from the Turner building.
