Pennsylvania’s Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has granted an extension to BRADS Landfill which will allow the dump on Burma Rd. in Blythe Township to continue operating for another six months.
This is the second extension DEP has granted BRADS Landfill, which had an operating permit that was set to expire in January. BRADS Landfill applied for a 10-year permit renewal in January 2024.
In January, DEP granted a six-month extension to allow BRADS to continue operating. That expired on Wednesday.
In a letter to David Pannucci, regional engineer at BRADS Landfill, DEP program manager Roger Bellas says the facility is being given a second six-month extension, which will expire on Jan. 30, 2026.
Bellas writes, “As you aware, the Department has raised a number of questions with regard to the permit renewal, which although BRADS has responded, have not yet been resolved or determined. The extension will provide an opportunity for the Department and BRADS to further review and/or discuss these deficiencies with the permit renewal application and provide the Department time to reach a decision on the application.
“If the terms of this extension are not complied with, it is not guaranteed that this permit term will be extended again. Therefore, if the conditions of this extension are not complied with to the satisfaction of the Department, BRADS may have to prepare to cease all operations at the site and commence closure activities,” Bellas adds.
BRADS Landfill has also applied for a permit that would allow the facility to increase its daily tonnage intake. No decision has been made on that application either.
Since BRADS Landfill applied for a permit renewal in January 2024, neighbors to the facility have been joined by municipal and county officials who have urged DEP to deny the request.
DEP has hosted two public hearings to collect concerns of Saint Clair residents who have continually voiced their displeasure with conditions – like putrid odors and health issues – they say are the results of a bad actor in BRADS Landfill.
The Canary contacted two of the more outspoken opponents of BRADS Landfill to notify them of DEP’s decision this week.
Taryn Fatula, who owns a neighboring property to BRADS Landfill on Burma Rd., tells The Canary, “I am saddened and disappointed, but yet not at all surprised to learn that DEP has approved yet another permit extension at the BRADS dump. Between the ongoing putrid odor issues, gas and leachate issues, and ridiculous number of daily unsafe truck violations, it makes one wonder what it would actually take to get a permit denied by DEP.”
Since DEP has opted to delay its decision on BRADS Landfill’s permit renewal, Fatula reminds concerned residents to keep up the effort sustained over the last 18 months or longer.
“I urge individuals as well as all of the local boroughs and townships nearby to please continue to call DEP (at 1-800-541-2050) if you ever smell the landfill, witness their trucks driving through residential areas, or have been negatively affected in any way,” she says. “This is our only recourse at this point and by complaining and not opposing it, you are silently endorsing it. We all need to continue to be vigilant and protect our right to clean air and water.”
Erin Portland, who recently brought her concerns to Saint Clair borough officials and previously warned Schuylkill County Commissioners of a growing “health crisis” caused by BRADS Landfill, tells The Canary, “While I had hoped the Pennsylvania DEP would deny the BRADS Landfill operating permit, I’m not surprised to learn they’ve granted yet another extension. Although this latest extension is not the outcome anyone in the community was hoping for, it’s important to recognize that DEP had the option to approve the permit outright with a single, swift decision. Instead, by granting another extension, DEP has at least acknowledged that the landfill remains out of compliance and under scrutiny. That means there is still an opportunity—and a responsibility—to fully consider the violations of environmental laws and public health protections that continue to affect us all. Let me be absolutely clear: silence is acceptance. If we don’t keep calling and reporting, DEP will think this ongoing harm to our families and our community is okay—and I refuse to accept that. I urge everyone – every time you smell it, see trash along Burma Road, or encounter unsafe trucks—call the PA DEP at 1-800-541-2050. Keep calling.”
Portland says the delay in addressing the environmental and quality-of-life concerns expressed by residents and community officials is unacceptable, especially for the company that owns BRADS Landfill, considering its size.
She specifically speaks about the supposed leachate pipeline, which was supposed to be completed years ago, to stop trucking leachate from the landfill. In September of 2024, Blythe Township supervisors granted easements to allow the pipeline to be constructed under the notion that construction on the project was to begin promptly.
Portland says, “BRADS is owned by Waste Connections, a multi-billion dollar company. The landfill hasn’t been owned by Blythe Township in several years. A multi-billion‑dollar company like Waste Connections should have resolved these issues by now – especially the hazardous gas emissions and lack of leachate treatment. The ‘rotten egg’ smell people report is hydrogen sulfide gas—a dangerous pollutant produced by the landfill. It’s important to remember that DEP originally denied this permit, and every time residents of Saint Clair smell that gas, our constitutional right to clean air and a healthy environment is being violated. This is an Environmental Justice area. We are already at risk. The Burma Road’s unstable geology, underground mines, and the narrow, winding geography will never support tractor trailers, heavy daily hauling, or the network of underground gas pipes that now run beneath it. The very idea of placing a landfill there is ludicrous.”
When notified by The Canary Thursday morning about DEP’s decision, State Rep. Tim Twardzik, who represents Saint Clair and Blythe Township in Harrisburg, said, “That’s disappointing to hear because the community was very active in putting up their concerns because they were not good operators. I’ll have to double-check with our DEP contacts what the six months means and look toward trying to help that community because if you’re not a good neighbor, we don’t need you.”
Schuylkill County Commissioners have expressed their opposition to a renewal of BRADS Landfill’s permit in the past.
Chairman Larry Padora says, “Hopefully, they can address the smell issue. They should get the leachate pipeline completed to alleviate some of the truck traffic in Saint Clair. The county commissioners still do not support the expansion of the brads landfill until these issues are addressed. Hopefully, the state comes to a decision shortly on this.
Gary Hess tells The Canary that he believes it’s good that DEP is only granting a temporary extension for now rather than approving the renewal.
“It’s good that DEP Is making sure they’re conforming to what they’re supposed to be conforming. The smell has been the biggest issue and if they’re not fixing that, they shouldn’t get (the renewal),” Hess says.
Hess adds that the Commissioners, all along, have been opposed to BRADS Landfill.
Boots Hetherington says that if BRADS is going to continue to exist, it must act as a good neighbor. He says that BRADS should do more to control the dangerous truck traffic that’s bringing materials to the dump.
“They have the ultimate power of the purse,” he tells The Canary.
In reports over the last year or more, The Canary has highlighted several instances of trucking companies receiving multi-thousand-dollar fines in District Court over unsafe trucks hauling materials to BRADS Landfill, including vehicles with deficient braking systems, cracked frames, and flat tires. Drivers have also been cited for being unlicensed and uninsured.
Concerned residents believe it’s only a matter of time before one of these vehicles crashes and causes serious injuries or worse as it travels in Schuylkill County.
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