Local News
Trinity Industries wants to inspect site for hazardous waste
GREENVILLE — Trinity Industries Inc. wants to inspect its former railcar plant site in Greenville for hazardous materials, but the current property owner has refused to give its permission.
Trinity filed a motion Dec. 26 in U.S. District Court, Pittsburgh, for a judge to order no later than Feb. 1 that an environmental consultant be granted access to the property on their behalf.
Commerce Park of Greenville Inc., which owns the land and has been sued by Trinity, filed a response Wednesday asking the court to deny Trinity’s request.
In early 2006, Trinity was charged by the state Attorney General’s office for illegally dumping hazardous waste on the property at 60 Union St.
A plea agreement was reached in December 2006 and Trinity was ordered to clean up the site and pay $254,502 in fines and court costs and make a $50,000 contribution to nonprofit organizations in Mercer County, all of which have been paid.
In 2004, Commerce Park bought Trinity’s north plant and has since been demolishing buildings and structures on the property for future development.
In June, Trinity sued the park and William E. Marsteller, the park’s officer and director, claiming they are also responsible for helping with the cleanup because they released hazardous materials including asbestos during demolition.
The lawsuit also claims the park purchased the property from Trinity as is with all faults. The park’s response to the lawsuit said the park and Marsteller aren’t liable for hazardous materials found at the site and not responsible for helping Trinity with the cleanup.
The response also said the park agreed to be responsible for any problems on the surface of the property, not anything underground, such as contaminants.
During a Nov. 26 court proceeding, Commerce Park denied Trinity access to the property and U.S. District Court Judge Donald E. Ziegler directed Trinity to file a motion to enter and inspect the land.
That motion said Trinity wants an environmental consultant to be allowed on the property to inspect, measure, survey, photograph, test or sample for hazardous substances that are at the center of the lawsuit.
Commerce Park can have its own consultant present for inspection and testing at the same time Trinity is present and Trinity will cover the costs of its own tests, the motion said.
Commerce Park’s response to Trinity’s request said an inspection won’t resolve the lawsuit and Trinity’s motion was overly broad and didn’t show a specific need for the company to enter the property.
Like the lawsuit, Trinity’s inspection will interfere with the park’s plans to revitalize and market the property and Trinity officials should already know what is on the land and shouldn’t be entitled to further harm the park’s economic interests, the response said.
If Trinity wants access, the company should ask the state Department of Environmental Protection for permission as part of the plea agreement, Commerce Park’s response said.
DEP spokeswoman Freda Tarbell said Friday that under the plea agreement, Trinity has an obligation to investigate the property to determine how best to clean it up, but needs permission from Commerce Park or through a court order.
DEP has approved Trinity’s remedial investigation work plan and the next step is a cleanup plan, but Trinity will have trouble creating that plan if they’re not allowed on the property to find out exactly what needs to be cleaned up, she said.
“It benefits everyone to know,” Ms. Tarbell said.
The cleanup could have been delayed further because DEP officials in December were concerned that the agency’s funding to monitor statewide cleanups was going to run out, also leading to 130 layoffs of DEP employees.
The state Senate had opposed a House bill that provides funding for DEP to oversee hazardous-waste cleanups. On Dec. 19, Gov. Ed Rendell signed the bill, which will transfer $17 million from legislative accounts to the state’s Hazardous Site Cleanup Fund for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.
The bill also allocates $40 million each year through 2010.
- Local News
-
-
Court nixes ruling man is sexually violent predator
State Superior Court has denied a local judge’s request to issue a precedential opinion in a rape case.
Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge John C. Reed had ruled that Chad S. Thompson, 24, formerly of Stoneboro, is a sexually violent predator, but Superior Court said in a 2-1 decision July 8 that an expert’s testimony was insufficient to back that declaration.
-
Stacey wants to continue fight over razed home
Raymond Stacey has requests pending in three courts as he presses his long-running attempt to prosecute the city of Hermitage and those he believes are responsible for illegally demolishing his parents’ house.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia, on April 29 quashed an appeal because Stacey did not file his argument brief and appendix of supporting documents.
-
Burglars strike while residents sleep
Several Shenango Valley residents’ homes were broken into overnight Tuesday and Wednesday while they slept.
Two burglaries in Sharon involved people entering open windows.
-
Commissioners formally move to raise sewer fees
Hermitage commissioners introduced an ordinance Wednesday to increase sanitary user fees.
Residents tapped into the Hermitage Municipal Authority lines now pay $95 a quarter. That rate will bump up to $105 a quarter on Jan. 1, under the proposed rate hike.
Two more hikes on Jan. 1, 2012, and Jan. 1, 2013, will result in the rates increasing 50 percent from the current fee. -
Water is on at Forrest Brooke
Water service has been restored at Forrest Brooke Manufactured Home Community after well problems left the 165-unit complex dry Tuesday.
A boil and conserve water advisory has been issued by the DEP and will remain in place until tests confirm the water is safe to drink, Forrest Brooke’s manager Pete Havens said.
-
Storm damages trees, wires
Thunderstorms ripped through parts of Mercer and neighboring counties Wednesday night, downing trees and wires and keeping rescue workers on their toes.
A Mercer County 911 dispatcher shortly after 8 p.m. said they were busy with calls across the northern part of the county. He said there had been a few reports of trees falling on homes.
-
City leaders open to talks
Sharon officials aren’t opposed to sitting down with their counterparts in Farrell to revisit the idea of combining the two struggling cities.
“It never costs a penny to talk and there’s no (idea) that’s not worth looking at,” Sharon councilman Ed Palanski said. “I think it would be foolish to oppose looking at the idea.”
-
Murphy’s Law doesn’t faze regional planners
A complicated, two-day public meeting blitz in 32 counties ran headlong into Murphy’s Law in Mercer County on Tuesday.
The group Power of 32 are looking to re-write the regional map and create a grand, 15-year strategic economic plan for the 32 counties in four states that make up the Ohio River basin and greater Pittsburgh area.
-
Forrest Brooke copes with water outage
Residents of Forrest Brooke Mobile Home Community in Jefferson and Lackawannock Townships woke up Tuesday morning to find they didn’t have any water.
Managers of the park could not be reached for comment, but residents said they were told they won’t get water service back for at least another month.
-
City facing bleak financial reality
LaVon Saternow has been Farrell’s city manager since 1992. Shortly after she took the job, Sharon Steel, the city’s economic engine, officially closed down.
Since, the city has struggled to remain solvent and Mrs. Saternow said it is facing its worst financial crisis in her tenure.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Court nixes ruling man is sexually violent predator
