EPA: MAX Environmental Yukon Consent Order Comes Up Short After Decades of Impact
MAX Environmental has operated as a hazardous waste treatment and disposal facility in Yukon since 1963. The site is built atop abandoned coal mines, contiguous to a flood plain of Sewickley Creek, a tributary of the Youghiogheny River, and in the backyards of Yukon and Bells Mills dwellings. A legacy of pollution, compliance issues, and poor relations with the surrounding community have been a constant since nearly the beginning.
When the EPA toured the facility last year (March 2023) it found a glut of negligent practices. For many in the community, the agency’s findings confirmed long-held beliefs about how Max’s unsafe operations meant a constant threat to their lives and livelihoods.
In March of 2024, EPA issued a Consent Order on MAX essentially creating a pathway forward to allow the facility to continue to operate under close watch from the regulators. This opportunity to continue operating and managing the treatment and disposal of hazardous waste, even at a limited capacity, misses a critical opportunity to hold a serious polluter accountable.
We urge residents living near the facility, those downstream of Sewickley Creek, and anyone who values the Youghiogheny River watershed and its communities to sign on and press the EPA to conduct more sampling to determine the extent of hazardous waste in the air, water, and soil. Additionally, we urge the EPA to take more stringent action on the extensive compliance issues at the facility, as well as develop a closure plan for the facility.
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