Asbestos found at illegal dump site

March 31, 2008, Upper Bucks County, Pennsylvania â€" A man has been accused of operating an illegal garbage dump, after authorities allegedly found several different types of hazardous contaminants, including damaged lead batteries and asbestos, at the site. The accused is Upper Bucks County resident Herman J. Moyer, who faces a court trial after waiving a preliminary hearing. Ellis B. Klein, the man’s attorney, hopes to negotiate a plea bargain in May, so that Moyer, 86, doesn’t have to spend time in jail. Brian Coffey, Deputy Attorney General for the Attorney General’s Environmental Crimes Section, said that Moyer’s waiver shows he’s willing to cooperate, and the state will take that into consideration. Moyer apparently ran the illegal dump for several decades, and may be liable for fines of up to $1,000 per day of operation. Ellis B. Klein hopes to be able to negotiate a reduced fine. The site is located at 394 North Mine Road in the townships of Richland and Springfield. Moyer began operating the dump at a time when the current permit requirements and environmental laws didn’t exist. Moyer burned and buried waste for decades without permits, but Moyer’s attorney says the dump operator wasn’t aware that he was breaking any laws. The site was first inspected on July 13 2005. During this inspection, a representative of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection found waste tires, construction waste, trash buried up to thirty feet deep, and a walk-in burn barrel. A further inspection on September 19 revealed more evidence of burning of solid waste. Among the waste seized was partially-buried asbestos-containing pipe. Herman J. Moyer has owned the 47-acre property for more than 50 years, and turned the site into a dump-yard before the state began regulating these types of waste disposal sites. The first regulations came into effect in 1980, and Moyer began receiving violation noticed shortly after. In 1990 and 1998 Moyer was ordered to stop receiving waste and to clean up the property. In 1991, a massive fire at the site saw an estimated 300 firefighters work around 18 hours to quell the blaze. Moyer continued to operate the site despite the warnings, but it was not until 2005 that the first inspections were initiated. Further inspections in 2007 revealed the presence of even more waste, including lead-acid batteries, old tires, waste buried thirty feet deep, and asbestos-containing waste. A Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson said that Moyer would slow down activity following violation notices, but that the department would begin receiving more reports of activity eventually. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)