LIBERTY TWP., Mercer Co., Pa. -  Tri-County Landfill Inc. has filed a motion for reconsideration in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania seeking to reverse a recent ruling that overturned a permit for its landfill in Mercer County.

The filing, dated Aug. 21, comes after a memorandum opinion issued on Aug. 7 found the landfill was not exempt from a state regulation prohibiting facilities within 10,000 feet of an airport runway.

The court's decision, authored by Judge Patricia A. McCullough, centered on a decades-old dispute between the landfill operator and petitioners Liberty Township and Citizens’ Environmental Association of the Slippery Rock Area (CEASRA).

The case, which has a history spanning more than 35 years, according to court documents, hinged on a grandfathering exemption from a 1997 state environmental regulation. The legal battle has been a long journey, funded by CEASRA, Liberty Township, and hundreds of concerned area citizens, according to a statement from CEASRA.

The key issue was whether the landfill permit, originally issued in 1985, was continuously valid up to the January 25, 1997, effective date of the new setback requirement. The court determined that the landfill's 1985 permit had expired by operation of law on April 9, 1993, well before the 1997 regulation took effect.

The opinion states, "We think it plain that the Setback Requirement’s exemption language was intended to 'grandfather' landfill areas that were permitted prior to January 25, 1997, and continued to be permitted as of that date." The court ruled that the landfill's status as a continuously permitted facility had lapsed, making it ineligible for the exemption.

Attorneys for Tri-County Landfill Inc. applied for reconsideration and entry of appearance on Aug. 21, just two weeks after the court's decision. The filing officially starts the process of asking the court to reexamine its legal conclusions.

The initial permit allowed the landfill to operate on 49.2 acres. When the new 1997 regulations were introduced, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) denied a repermitting application, citing the landfill's proximity to Grove City Airport.

A 2000 settlement agreement between the landfill and the DEP stipulated a new 99-acre permit area was covered by the exemption, a point the court's recent ruling now disputes. The court found that interpreting the exemption to apply to any area permitted at any time, even if the permit had expired, would lead to an "absurd and irrational result."

The permit would have allowed the landfill to accept up to 4,000 tons of new waste per day, 24 hours a day, six days a week, according to court records. This is less than the 40,000 tons of waste previously reported by CEASRA. The court's ruling was based solely on the setback issue and did not address CEASRA's other arguments, including concerns over the landfill's compliance history, its application of a "harms/benefit" test, and whether the DEP violated the state's Environmental Rights Amendment.

The Commonwealth Court's decision to reverse the issuance of the permit marks a victory for Liberty Township and CEASRA. The outcome of the motion for reconsideration will determine whether the legal saga continues or reaches a conclusion.