WILKES-BARRE The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has issued a permit to Blythe Township, Schuylkill County, to construct and operate a new municipal waste facility on 252 acres of land along Burma Road. The Blythe Recycling and Demolition Site (BRADS) will accept only construction and demolition waste and will have a 1,500-ton daily volume limit.

"The agency's review shows that Blythe Township has met the regulatory application requirements for the permit to be issued," said William Tomayko, Waste Management program manager in DEP's Northeast Regional Office.Blythe Township has also met financial assurance obligations required under DEP's municipal waste regulations to operate the 109-acre lined disposal area, which will include leachate collection and treatment and gas management systems.In February 2004, the township submitted an application to DEP to construct the waste facility. A public hearing was held in 2006.As required under DEP regulations, the application Blythe Township originally submitted in 2004 has gone through a series of reviews, including an environmental assessment, also called a "harms-benefits analysis," and technical review. When the agency previously denied the application, Blythe Township modified it and addressed issues related to the harms-benefits analysis and technical review, which made it possible for the permit to be issued.For more information, visit

www.dep.state.pa.us or call (570) 826-2511.