The Department of Environmental Protection and Danzer Lumber North America, which operates the facility on High Street in Bradford formerly known as Bradford Forest Products, have finalized a consent agreement in regard to water from the log yard that was causing notable changes to Rutherford Run and also the East Branch of Tunungwant Creek.
According to Tom Decker, community relations coordinator for the Meadville office of the Department of Environmental Protection, “DEP noted violations at the site during inspections of the facility conducted in 2018. DEP sent a Notice of Violation to Danzer on (Aug. 21, 2018).”
According to the consent agreement between the DEP and Danzer Lumber, the DEP listed various issues discovered during inspections, including “outfall #005 contained substances that produced an observable change of color, odor, turbidity and deposits of sediments into Rutherford Run” on July 26, 2018.
Another inspection, completed on Aug. 10, 2018, found both outfalls #005 and #006 contained substances producing observable changes in Rutherford Run, while “Outfalls #008 and #009 contained substances that produced an observable change of color, odor, turbidity and deposits of sediments into East Branch Tunungawant Creek.”
The consent agreement also notes a visit on Aug. 16, 2018, when similar findings occurred.
Following those visits, the DEP found that Danzer had corrected the violations through an inspection conducted on Feb. 21, 2019. A settlement offer, including a proposed fine, was created by the DEP and extended to Danzer via a Consent Assessment of Civil Penalty on Aug. 19, 2019.
Danzer also had to agree to certain stipulations, namely using certain sections of the yard for storage, minimizing wet decking, and excavating 18 inches of soil from the south end of the log yard and replacing it with Geotech fabric, covered with #3 stone and a layer of 2A limestone, thereby leveling the yard and eliminating mud and standing water, according to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Compliance Inspection Report issued by the DEP on Feb. 21, 2019.
The company is also required to pay a “civil penalty of $2,800,” per the consent agreement.
