Discussions about a rail siding at the landfill in Sergeant Township have been ongoing for years.
And now it’s closer to reality, explained Jeff Weld, spokesman for Casella, owners of McKean Landfill.
“Casella’s McKean Landfill Rail Transfer Station remains under development, with construction extending into 2024,” he said. “While we are currently still in the development stages, it is our intent to utilize it in the manner described by Mr. (John) Casella previously, providing our customers an alternative transportation option.”
Weld is referring to comments made in 2020 by the company, which said, “The McKean Landfill is being developed to eventually accept municipal solid waste (MSW) and construction and demolition debris (C&D) from what is primarily our service area in New England, upstate New York and Pennsylvania.”
A Casella spokesman previously said the McKean Landfill is growing, with the potential to be more than 25 times larger than it is currently.
The benefit of moving waste by rail, Weld explained, is efficiency.
“In general, one benefit of rail transport of waste is that it is more fuel efficient and has a lower greenhouse gas footprint than the equivalent truck infrastructure,” he said. “We expect to create 10 to 15 new jobs over time.”
Earlier in the week, the Shapiro administration announced funding for rail projects across the state, including $7.6 million benefiting Berks and McKean counties. The project was for 25 Caster Way Owner LLC to construct the Berks Waste and Rail Transfer Station, which includes rail infrastructure and loading equipment.
While The Era has not been able to obtain information specifically about that project, it would appear that waste would be brought by rail to McKean County from the Philadelphia region.
Weld said that Casella wasn’t directly linked to the project, but added, “It is likely that McKean Landfill would be a qualified outlet for that project.”
Last November, a trade publication quoted John Casella saying that while Northeast disposal capacity was tightening, “We’re probably adding more capacity than anyone else to the market currently.” It went on to say that Casella would invest an estimated $20 million to “scale up operations at McKean by 2024.”
Casella bought the landfill in 2011 from Rustick LLC, which was in bankruptcy. The price was $500,000, along with the assumption of contractual obligations.
According to a release from Casella in 2011, the roughly 230-acre landfill is permitted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to accept 1,000 tons per day of MSW by truck and 5,000 tons per day by rail.
