MAX’s Yukon plant is the only facility in Pennsylvania that offers RCRA Subtitle C permitted waste treatment and on-site commercial disposal of residual waste. The facility’s residual waste landfill is permitted to accept a wide range of materials from energy, construction, and manufacturing industries, as well as from metal contaminated waste site cleanups.
A Legacy of Violations
The Department of Environmental Protection noted 105+ violations between 2002 - 2012. These include:
- Improper handling of hazardous waste
- Dumping solid waste unlawfully
- Leaking containment boxes causing
- Hazardous waste to spread onto the ground
- Facility not maintained /operated to minimize risk of fire
Violation History:
- Illegal burning in 2021
- From January 2007 to August 2019, MAX’s was out of compliance with their water discharge permit for 1,846 days. Those exceedances included: fecal coliform, ammonia, chlorine, and more.
- In one year, from August 2018 to August 2019, Max exceeded their limits for contaminants like: hexavalent chromium, zinc, oil & grease, and pH, for 124 days.
- Max continues to struggle with compliance and the DEP issued violations in February and June of 2020 and July of 2021.
- In April 2024, EPA issued a RCRA Administrative Order on Consent (AOC)
- In September 2024, EPA issued a NPDES Administrative Order on Consent (AOC)
Water samples collected from MAX Environmental
EPA Listening Session (Oct 2024):
In October 2024, EPA hosted a community listening session for the people affected by MAX Environmental's Yukon facility. Resource documents from the session are linked below.
How to File a Complaint
Filing complaints with the appropriate agency is important for two main reasons. First, it helps lead to the issue being resolved quickly. If the enforcing agency notifies Max of a violation, there can be a quicker fix – this potentially means less harm done to the environment and/or community. Secondly, complaints help to build a better record. A more robust record is a tool agencies can use to see a clearer picture about operations. For example, compliance histories can reveal patterns of violations that point to bigger issues like failing equipment or structural flaws in operations, which can ultimately be remedied through permit modifications or updates.
Tips
- Gather as much documentation as you safely can.
- Be sure you have legal access to all areas you access and avoid any situations that may result in injury.
- Take photos or short videos when possible. Digital photos are ideal because they can be time and date stamped. Photos taken on your smartphone can also be location-stamped, which helps the enforcing agency verify a violation. Check your settings to enable geo-tagging on your phone.
- If your photos or videos cannot be location-stamped try to include relevant landmarks like roads or signs, that will help the enforcing agency to verify the complaint.
- If you are not able to take photographs, simply jot down handwritten notes as soon as you’re able. Be sure to include the time of day and location and as much detail as you can about your experience.
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News & Updates
This month, the Mountain Watershed Association (MWA) discovered that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been investigating MAX Environmental. MAX is a hazardous waste landfill and treatment center in…
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MAX Environmental, the hazardous waste landfill overlooking Yukon PA, wants to get bigger. To extend profits, it needs to expand as its existing landfills reach capacity. So the company has…
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