Recycling facility owner secures solid waste transfer permit | The Homepage

Dept. of Environmental Protection reissues permit after Pittsburgh passes 500-foot buffer requirement

Schematic of the recycling facility at 50 Vespucius St. The yellow line marks 300 feet from residences. The area outlined in red is where the company could place a waste transfer facility now that it has a permit for this use. Image courtesy of Republic Services

By Ziggy Edwards for Junction Coalition

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on March 12 transferred a waste transfer station permit to Republic Services from the previous owner of the recycling plant at 50 Vespucius St. in Hazelwood. The permit gives Republic Services state approval to add a waste transfer station. A waste transfer station is a place where municipal trash is collected before being hauled to a landfill.

District 5 City Councilor Barb Warwick denounced the move, saying the state environmental agency originally issued the permit without meaningful community input.

“The fact that they chose to double down and reissue the permit to Republic Services after extensive public input is beyond disappointing,” she said on March 16.

On Nov. 18, Ms. Warwick told Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission that the previous owner never informed residents about adding a waste transfer station. Neighbors learned about the permit when Republic Services applied to have it transferred. But Republic Services did not do outreach. Calls from concerned residents prompted Ms. Warwick to look into the issue.

In addition to proposing rezoning legislation before the Planning Commission in November, she proposed increasing the city’s required buffer between homes and garbage handling centers from 300 feet to 500 feet.

At a Feb. 18City Council standing committee meeting, Hazelwood Initiative Inc. Executive Director Sonya Tilghman spoke in support of the bill. She praised it as balancing operational efficiency with the needs of residents.

“We should not allow the private market to determine location solely based on what works for them logistically or for financial reasons. Public infrastructure decisions must be guided by public interest standards; standards including health, environmental equity and long-term neighborhood stability,” she said.

On Feb. 24, all nine members of Pittsburgh City Council voted to adopt the 500-foot requirement. Mayor Corey O’Connor’s office confirmed in a March 10 email that the mayor signed the legislation. The Department of Environmental Protection’s regional communications manager, Laina Aquiline, said in a March 13 email that the city’s new rule did not affect the department’s decision on the permit.

Finding a ‘waste’ forward

Republic Services’ Hazelwood plant is more than 300 but less than 500 feet away from homes. To add a waste transfer station, they would have to request a variance from Pittsburgh’s Zoning Board of Adjustments. According to Ms. Warwick, now that Republic Services has a solid waste transfer permit, they are likely to get the variance.

The plant’s general manager, Lori Kolczynski, has stressed Pittsburgh’s need for a waste transfer station close by.

“We believe the Hazelwood facility would ease stress on vehicle fleets, help reduce illegal dumping and give residents a convenient, cost-effective way to dispose of bulk waste,” she wrote in a March 17 email.

Still, Ms. Kolczynski maintained that Republic Services is committed to being a good neighbor in Hazelwood.

“Our focus continues to be on providing reliable recycling operations. We will consider any future opportunities in coordination with the city and with support from the community,” she said. See Page 3 for more information about Republic Services’ Hazelwood facility.

PA DEP responds to objections

In its March 12 letter to Republic Services, the Department of Environmental Protection included a “comment-response document.” It listed 13 commenters who wrote to them with concerns about allowing a waste transfer station in Hazelwood. Commenters included residents of Hazelwood and nearby neighborhoods, as well as elected representatives like Ms. Warwick and former Pittsburgh mayor Ed Gainey.

In his letter, State Rep. Aerion Abney cited heavy public and private spending to revitalize Hazelwood as prescribed in the Greater Hazelwood Community Plan.

“I’m concerned about putting a [municipal solid waste] transfer facility close to an already existing, predominately low-income residential area, as well as the impact it will have on attracting future developers that will be hesitant to invest in an area near the facility,” he wrote. “[W]hile the application may meet the internal requirements for approval on paper for the DEP, in the broader context of the Hazelwood community, this is not a good fit.”

The environmental protection agency said the facility still has to follow other state and local laws, including zoning restrictions. They argued that since the site is “on the outskirts” of the neighborhood, the downsides of adding a waste transfer station need not hinder plans to improve Hazelwood overall. They also pointed to potential job opportunities where residents could walk to work.

The agency replied to more than one commenter that they will have inspectors at the site on a regular basis “to monitor the operations to curb the nuisances that are of concern to the community.”

Several commenters mentioned a lack of community input in the Department of Environmental Protection’s decision to issue the original permit. In response, the agency said they followed the protocols for public involvement. They listed a timeline for the permitting process starting with the previous owner’s 2019 application. These steps included several meetings that were attended by representatives from the City of Pittsburgh and Hazelwood Initiative Inc. No comments were received by the Allegheny County Health Department or the City of Pittsburgh during their 60-day comment period, and no one filed an appeal after the original permit was issued in April 2024.

Ms. Warwick said her office is looking into the appeal process.

“The State has really let the people of Hazelwood down,” she said. “But we will keep doing everything we can at the municipal level to protect residents from the ongoing harm of this facility.”

Ziggy Edwards is a citizen journalist who lives in Four Mile Run and proofreads every issue of The Homepage.

Junction Coalition is a grassroots organization comprising residents of Four Mile Run and surrounding communities.