An Update on Modern Landfill and Board Actions
From
Lower Windsor Township
Sent
Tue, Nov 10 @ 8:11am
Description
It has been a little while since the Board of Supervisors shared an update regarding
Modern Landfill. With recent news about a proposed vertical expansion at the site, we
want to fill you in on what is happening and share the steps we have been taking on
behalf of our community over the last few years.
First and foremost, we hear you. We know many of you are deeply concerned about
whether landfill operations are affecting our local groundwater here in Lower Windsor
Township. Please know that we take our responsibility to protect your health, safety,
and well-being with the absolute utmost seriousness. We also may understand and
share the worries about how the growing size of the landfill might impact local property
values.
While the township doesn't have direct legal authority over the landfill's operations—that
oversight belongs entirely to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP)—we refuse to sit on the sidelines. We have been aggressively advocating for our community with these regulators and taking proactive steps to protect our neighborhood.
What We’ve Been Doing For You:
• Pushing for Stronger Permits: During the recent environmental permitting process, we submitted formal, technical objections. We fought for more frequent water testing and pushed back against bringing in liquid waste (leachate) from outside landfills. While the state ultimately issued the permit without the changes we wanted, we made sure Lower Windsor’s voice was firmly on the record.
• Taking Our Demands Straight to Leadership: In March 2025, we met face-to-face with the General Manager of Republic Services. We asked them to step up
for our community by:
o Funding the expansion of public water lines to more homes so residents have safe options.
o Setting up a joint, face-to-face public meeting between the community, the EPA, and PADEP so you can get answers directly from regulators.
o Creating a detailed plan to test deeper wells for PFAS chemical monitoring.
o Sharing all their own well test results directly with the township.
o Providing funding to test a much larger radius of private backyard wells.
Status: To date, Modern Landfill management has not given us a formal
response to these requests, but we are not letting it drop.
• Partnering for Local Water Testing: We have partnered with the Susquehanna
Riverkeeper, the Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania, and RCAP
Solutions to expand local well-testing. This program is active and ongoing.
• Responding to Elevated PFAS Findings:
We recently learned that residential well testing conducted by Modern Landfill near the site showed elevated levels of PFAS. We immediately contacted the EPA to express our serious concerns and demanded that they expand the testing radius to include more homes.
• Taking It to Our Lawmakers: Because we share your frustration with the lack of clear answers from the EPA and PADEP, we are taking things to the next level. We are actively working with our federal and state legislators to demand transparency and get the legislative help we need to keep our community safe.
The Proposed Vertical Expansion
Finally, we want to let you know that Modern Landfill recently shared the plans to expand upward. This vertical expansion would keep the site operational for several more years.
Our Township Zoning Officer, along with Township Staff and professionals, are working to evaluate the proposal.
Your Board of Supervisors remains 100% committed to watching out for our township.
We will continue to keep you updated with transparent, timely details as soon as we have them.
George Yakubowski, Chairman
Phil Rohrbaugh, Vice-Chair
Barry Strayer
Lower Windsor Township
Board of Supervisors
This notification was posted by Lower Windsor Township. Lower Windsor Township is solely responsible for this notification and unless specifically indicated, no other community or individual utilizing Savvy Citizen is sponsoring, responsible for, or endorsing this notification.
