The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has denied a permit to reopen a landfill in western Pennsylvania, saying waste would be piled four times higher than allowed by zoning laws and citing the compliance history of affiliated companies.
Officials with Tri-County Landfill Inc. did not immediately return a call for comment on Thursday's denial. The company is a subsidiary of Vogel Holdings, of Mars, which the DEP says owns other companies with regulatory compliance problems.
The DEP says Tri-County closed a landfill on the same site in Pine and Liberty townships in Mercer County until 1990, though the company still operates a waste transfer station there.
The DEP says Tri-County wanted the landfill to be 160 feet high. A Mercer County judge had previously ruled that a 40-foot zoning limit for structures applies to landfills, too.
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