This Earth Day, join community members from the Yukon, PA area, along with Mountain Watershed Association, at the Yukon Fire Hall located at 124 Hwy St, Yukon, PA 15698 at 6:00 pm. (Join online here!) The topic of the meeting is MAX Environmental, a hazardous waste facility in Southwest PA. Learn about the facility and how to fight against this frequent polluter of Sewickley Creek. A free dinner will be provided.
The Youghiogheny River watershed is typically thought of as a hotspot of outdoor recreation, with opportunities for hiking, cycling, boating, fishing, and more. But the story is different for Yukon, a small, rural community along Sewickley Creek between West Newton and New Stanton.
MAX Environmental looms over Yukon, visible from backyards and front porches. The facility, more than just an eyesore, has a 50-page rap sheet from the Environmental Protection Agency. An investigation in 2023 by the EPA noted many violations and areas of non-compliance.
“We identified significant noncompliance at MAX,” said Jeanna Henry, Chief of the Air, RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act), and Toxics Branch in the Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division of the EPA’s Mid-Atlantic region, in a recent interview with Inside Climate News.
Here are just a few violations that the EPA found:
- Improperly treated waste in Landfill 6
- Exceedances to their discharge permit into Sewickley Creek
- Facility disrepair
- Undertrained employees
- Failure to properly store hazardous waste
“Sewickley Creek is commonly used for fishing, boating, and recreation. Those who use this waterway need to be informed about the contaminants that are being discharged and how the toxins can impact their lives ,” says Eric Harder, the Youghiogheny Riverkeeper with Mountain Watershed Association.
Be sure to enjoy some of Earth Day to remember how wonderful our natural world is, but join us in the evening to help hold this polluter accountable.
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Mountain Watershed Association is a non-profit organization with the mission to protect, preserve and restore the Youghiogheny River watershed and its broader communities through conservation, recreation, education, and advocacy. For more information, please visit www.mtwatershed.com.