Penalty issued in Mt. Pleasant’s dump fire of August 2012
A civil penalty for the dump fire in August 2012 in Mt. Pleasant Township agreed upon, according to notice issued by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The blaze, which occurred at the dump at 105 Hillmore Lane owned by Dan Kemp of McDonald, contained old tires, roofing and demolition materials. Mt. Pleasant Township Volunteer Fire Company was called to the area five times for the large pit, described to be about six feet deep and the length of half a football field.
The DEP, along with the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board that heard Kemp’s appeal, agreed to a settlement that would require Kemp to pay a civil penalty of $19,250.
“It was not our intention to issue out more than a civil penalty other than the one to cover our expenses,” said John Poister, a DEP spokesman. “The site was used as a dump for a number of years. We didn’t know what was entirely in the dump site.”
The costs assessed to Kemp will go to Weavertown Environmental Group, an environmental cleanup company that put out the fire after multiple failed attempts by Kemp because of the lack of resources.
A public comment period, a standard procedure for these types of settlements, is open until Aug. 8 for individuals that have any complaints.
The status of the dump site was unknown to Poister.
“We did not remove any of the material there so it still remains as a dump site,” he said. “I don’t know if the owner has made any moves toward changing that. Our action was to merely put out the fire.”