The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Attorney General, Tom Corbett, has filed charges against a man for illegally dumping and burying used vehicle parts, tires, household waste and demolition debris in Northumberland County, PA.
Martin Winnick, the accused, operated Winnick's Auto Sales and Parts, an auto parts and salvage business in Northumberland County, until the property was sold last October.
According to the criminal charges, Winnick either dumped or directed employees to dump waste items in pits located on the property. Waste was also allegedly dumped on an adjacent property owned by the Susquehanna Coal Company. The waste included used tires, gas tanks, car seats, bumpers, transmissions, household waste and construction or demolition debris.
Corbett said that since 1993, Winnick had been periodically cited by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for waste disposal violations, culminating in an August 2003 Consent Order which outlined specific steps to remove all waste from the property.
Corbett said that in October 2005 the Winnick property was sold to Timber Shamokin Properties L.P., who hired a contractor to clean up the property and prepare it for new construction. During that process, three pits of buried waste were discovered.
Corbett said that in January and June 2006, agents from the Attorney General's Environmental Crimes Section examined waste, which had been excavated from the former Winnick property. During this examination, agents identified items bearing dates ranging from April 1995 to December 2004, including auto parts, tires, municipal waste and construction debris.
According to the criminal complaint, an estimated 2,300 tons of waste was removed from the Winnick property during the initial clean up, between December 2005 and January 2006.
Corbett said that a review of official DEP records determined that no permits were ever issued to Martin Winnick, Winnick Auto Sales and Parts, or any other member of the Winnick family, for the disposal of waste in Coal Township, Northumberland County.
"Our environmental laws were created to protect and preserve Pennsylvania's tremendous natural resources for all to enjoy," Corbett said. "As Attorney General, I am committed to investigating and prosecuting environmental crimes throughout the state."
Winnick is charged with one count each of illegally dumping solid waste, illegally storing or disposing of solid waste and illegally transporting solid waste. Each count is a third degree misdemeanor and carries a penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine of $1,000 to $25,000.