Overlapping Programming | Wastewater Facilities | Drinking Water Supply |
Solid and Hazardous Waste | Electric, Power & Pipelines | Communications | Stormwater Facilities
Solid and Hazardous Waste
The projected growth of Chester County will outpace the capacity of existing solid waste and recycling services and facilities.
Chester County is one of the fastest growing counties in Pennsylvania, continuing to attract new residents, businesses and industries. Growth has been faster than anticipated. With this growth, comes the additional waste that must be disposed of in a safe, long-term manner. Continued development of trash service and recycling service for the County in accordance with municipal ordinances and Act 101, which requires counties to develop formal plans for managing municipal wastes to ensure 10 years of available disposal capacity and establish a post-closure care trust fund for landfills, is important to ensure proper waste management throughout the county as it continues to grow.
The Methane Gas Recovery Facilities at the County’s two landfills create and utilize a renewable energy resource, but at this time its use is limited.
The two landfills that Chester County uses, Lanchester and SECCRA, both use landfill methane gas recovery. Lanchester Landfill, since it began its resource recovery project, has been able to use enough gas to save 122,800 barrels of oil, provide greenhouse gas reduction benefits equal to planting 15,600 acres of forest, or heat 33,900 homes. SECCRA’s facility plans to ultimately generate nearly 1 megawatt of electricity on a continuous basis, roughly the amount of electricity it takes to run 500 homes, and will sell this energy to a provider for consumer use.
Municipalities are not fully participating in the County’s Regional Household Hazardous Waste Collection Programs.
If household hazardous waste enters the solid waste stream improperly, it can pose a public health and safety threat. Additional public education associated with the Regional Southeastern Pennsylvania Household Hazardous Waste Collection, in support of the Chester County Health Department and Solid Waste Authority is needed. More municipal coordination and acceptance is needed to make better insure public health and safety.
Hazardous waste site redevelopment can be technologically complicated and costly.
Hazardous waste sites need to be well mapped and information kept up to date for redevelopment safety. In recent years, the County has found that redevelopment sites are attempting to use alternative technologies, geothermal heat, for example. As a result some redevelopment projects are finding that the cleanup and the cost of implementing the technology are not feasible, and in some cases not safe.
PA Act 2 efforts of the State, as they relate to Brownfield redevelopment and land recycling, require more effective coordination at the County level.
Pennsylvania Act 2 of 1995, the Land Recycling Program, provides for the voluntary cleanup and reuse of contaminated industrial and commercial sites. The Chester County Health Department, Department of Community Development, Planning Commission, and the Chester County Economic Development Council provide support for land recycling efforts throughout the county, through mapping, public education, grant funding, and other guidance. These measures, however, are not always coordinated to ensure that redevelopment sites are being properly utilized to the safest extent possible, while not burdening property owners who are voluntarily participating in Act 2 efforts.
Overlapping Programming | Wastewater Facilities | Drinking Water Supply |
Solid and Hazardous Waste | Electric, Power & Pipelines | Communications | Stormwater Facilities
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