MAX Environmental is a hazardous waste landfill in the small town of Yukon, Pennsylvania. The facility accepts materials from energy, construction, manufacturing, and contaminated waste sites. MAX has caused trouble for Yukon for decades, and we want the pollution to stop.
MAX Environmental is literally in Yukon’s backyards.
People living near the site have reported:
- Headaches & nosebleeds
- Breathing problems
- Rare cancers
- Visible dust on property
- Poor air quality
- Sick animals and livestock
The community has been fighting this major polluter since the 1970s. When MAX ran out of space at Landfill #6, it proposed a new landfill in the town.
Through good community organizing, MWA helped the people of Yukon shut the project down. MAX withdrew the Landfill #7 application.
We continue to monitor the waste outfall on Sewickley Creek and support the community.
Violation History:
Between 2002 and 2012, the PA DEP documented over 105 violations at MAX, including improper hazardous waste handling, illegal dumping, and leaking containment systems. From January 2007 to March 2024, MAX exceeded effluent limits for various hazardous substances for a total of 2,018 days.
After a 2023 investigation, the EPA issued two consent orders in April and September 2024, citing inadequate monitoring, insufficient staff training, and non-compliance with waste treatment standards.
Supporting Yukon
In March 2024, MWA collaborated with Sewickley township to install signs warning recreationists about hazardous pollution entering the creek.
The landfill's outfall pipe discharges directly into Sewickley Creek, a popular fishing and swimming spot located upstream of the Great Allegheny Passage Rail Trail and the Youghiogheny River, both renowned for recreation and tourism.
This was the first public notice on the facility's discharges, detailing chemicals like arsenic, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium.
MWA hosts monthly meetings in Yukon, samples water running into Sewickley Creek, and helps the residents communicate with regulators.
News & Updates
On Monday, January 29, a Fairness Hearing was held in the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas. The Hearing, which was before Judge Harry Smail Jr., was a procedural step…
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…
MAX Environmental, the hazardous waste landfill overlooking Yukon PA, wants to get bigger. Residents of the town want the opposite. When the company applied for expansion permits along Sewickley Creek,…