On November 1, the Department of Environmental Protection announced it has reached a Consent Order and Agreement with Walter Stocki, Jr., regarding an appeal filed with the Environmental Hearing Board related to a civil penalty for violations on his property in Lackawanna County.
The COA requires Stocki to address the violations at his scrapyard in Old Forge, pay a $75,000 civil penalty, and withdraw the appeal.
Stocki, the owner of Scrap Enterprises, Inc. and SIE Inc., is required to clean up spills on his property, including leaking petroleum filled containers and contaminated soils, along with any solid waste, such as tires and construction/demolition debris.
The owner must also properly dispose of all of the material at an approved facility and provide receipts to DEP. Moving forward, Stocki must properly store and manage any remaining solid waste on the property.
As part of this agreement, Stocki will withdraw the appeal filed with the EHB in October 2018 regarding a previous civil penalty issued by DEP for violations on his property.
“This Consent Order and Agreement achieves what the department has been working toward for several years: proper clean up and removal of contaminated material at the site and an appropriate civil penalty,” said Mike Bedrin, director of DEP’s Northeast Regional Office. “Property owners have a responsibility to properly manage waste and protect the environment.”
Beginning in 2013, DEP conducted several inspections at Stocki’s Lackawanna County property, which resulted in the discovery of uncontrolled leaks, spills, and improper container management of barrels of petroleum products.
Those inspections also led to the discovery of contaminated soil and unlawfully dumped construction/demolition waste.
The findings resulted in the issuance of a Compliance Order, dated April 12, 2017, directed to Stocki and his companies, Scrap Enterprises, Inc. and SEI, Inc.
The basis for the 2018 Civil Penalty Assessment was the unlawful management of solid waste at the site and for the failure to comply with DEP’s Compliance Order.
The civil penalty will be paid to the state’s Solid Waste Abatement Fund, which establishes programs for the proper abatement or elimination of present or potential hazards to human health or to the environment from the improper treatment, transportation, storage, processing, or disposal of solid waste material.
Questions should be directed to Colleen Connolly, DEP Northeast Regional Office, by calling 570-826-2035 or send email to: coconnolly@pa.gov.
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[Posted: November 1, 2019] www.PaEnvironmentDigest.com
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