Saint Clair officials voted Tuesday night to enter legal battles related to BRADS Landfill.
The decisions come on the heels of recent activity with the Blythe Township dump on Burma Rd., which has been the source with adverse health effects complaints for years from borough residents.
In recent weeks, it was learned that Reading Anthracite is attempting to sell about 177 acres of land it partially owns along Burma Rd. to BRADS Landfill. The state’s Dept. of Environmental Protection just last week OK’d a 10-year permit extension for the construction debris dump, allowing it to operate into January 2035.
On Tuesday, Saint Clair council members voted unanimously to enter into two current legal battles and one more potentially in the future.
First, council members OK’d Solicitor Ed Brennan to petition to intervene in the action of quiet title lawsuit filed by Reading Anthracite over the land sale to BRADS Landfill, which is owned by Texas firm Waste Connections. Brennan told council members that they could potentially argue the Borough has standing in the lawsuit due to the health effects Saint Clair residents say are the direct result of the landfill.
The underlying lawsuit was initiated by Reading Anthracite to resolve a tangled ownership issue over a large tract of land, where they own 75% and numerous individuals, often referred to as the Seitzinger heirs, hold the remaining 25%. Reading Anthracite is trying to sell the property to BRADS, which holds an option to buy the land under an old lease agreement. Significantly, Reading Anthracite has petitioned the court to allow the sale to proceed immediately, before the quiet title lawsuit, which officially clears the ownership of the remaining 25%, is finished.
Council members also voted unanimously to allow Brennan to file an appeal to the state’s Environmental Hearing Board objecting to DEP’s decision to renew BRADS Landfill’s operating permit for another 10 years. The dump initially applied for a 10-year renewal back in 2024, for it to start in 2025. Since then, DEP balked at renewing the permit but did grant several extensions of the original until it reached a final decision.
Saint Clair and the public at large have 30 days from DEP’s renewal decision – handed down on April 30 – to appeal to the Environmental Hearing Board.
In a potential third legal battle, council members indicated they’re ready to fight a proposed daily tonnage intake modification requested by BRADS in 2022. Then, BRADS asked DEP to allow it to double its daily allowance of construction and demolition waste from 1,500 to 3,000 tons. Since then, DEP has not OK’d that request and has actually issued two Technical Deficiency Letters to the landfill in response.
Prior to the votes on Tuesday, council members heard from several of the 25 or so people in attendance at the meeting that Saint Clair should enter the legal battles and also of the dangers of chemicals being dumped at the site.
“Without the appeal, it’s almost like we gave up,” resident McCoach told council members. Lauren Klinger, who says she may live in Saint Clair one day, told council members about the dangers of PFAS, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
Following Tuesday’s meeting, The Canary asked council members if there’s a limit on just how much the Borough is willing to pay to keep its fight going in any of these legal battles. Council President Thomas Dempsey did not provide a dollar figure.
Council members also OK’d the formation of an Environmental Advisory Committee, which would be used, in part, to gather information to be ready as possible for the legal battles likely ahead of the Borough.
BRADS LANDFILL: Coal Region Canary provides more coverage than all other news outlets combined as concerned Saint Clair residents continue to voice their opposition to the Burma Rd. landfill. Read our full coverage by following this link: BRADS Landfill
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