Junkyard Owner Ordered to Remove Vehicles

Aly Delp

Aly Delp

Published October 3, 2019 3:11 pm
Junkyard Owner Ordered to Remove Vehicles

VENANGO CO., Pa. (EYT) — The owner of three junkyards located in Cranberry Township has been ordered by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to remove a number of recreational vehicles, cars, and trucks stored near the intersection of Route 322 and Deep Hollow Road.

The DEP served the order on Randy J. Spencer of 166 Garden Lane, Franklin, on Monday.

Spencer, who owns junkyards on Deep Hollow Road, Garden Drive, and on Victory Heights Hill, was at the center of a DEP investigation after flooding on July 19-20 washed multiple vehicles from his property into Lower Two Mile Run by Deep Hollow Road. The vehicles caused obstruction of a nearby culvert, which in turn caused serious flooding on the roadway. Debris from his property also spilled down into the Allegheny River.

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<p>According to the DEP order, following an inspection on August 14, the DEP found that 27 campers, nine vehicles, one box trailer, and one cylindrical tank were located in the floodway of Lower Two Mile Run, creating a danger of pollution of the waters, and changing the current, course, or cross section of the floodway.</p>
<p>The order also notes that the debris, silt, and sediment discharged from the site into Lower Two Mile Run and the Allegheny River are considered pollution and should be declared a nuisance and a violation of the Clean Streams Law.</p>
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<p>According to the order, the placement and maintenance of the items within the floodway without a permit violated Section 6(a) of the Dam Safety Act, which subjects Spencer to civil penalty liability.</p>
<p>The DEP previously issued a Notice of Violation to Spencer on August 29, informing him of the violations and requesting removal of the items. However, the order noted the items remain in the floodway.</p>
<p>The order goes on to give Spencer the following directives:</p>
<p>– “cease all placement of and/or allowing the placement of campers and vehicles in the floodway.”</p>
<p>– “not place any material, substance, or object in the floodway that will diminish the course, cross-section, or current of the floodway without first obtaining the written approval of the Department.”</p>
<p>– “remove from the floodway all of the Items, campers, and vehicles located at the Site” within 30 days of the order.</p>
<p>– notify the DEP in writing within five days of removal of the items.</p>
<p>– “comply with applicable state and federal law and regulations while performing the obligations…including, but not limited to, The Clean Streams Law, the Dam Safety Act, and the Regulations.”</p>
<p>Any appeal of the order is required to be filed within 30 days, unless an appropriate statute provides a different time frame.</p>
<p>The order does not contain any information regarding the possibility of Spencer being subject to further penalties or fines of any kind.</p>
<p>Spencer’s most recent run-in with the DEP isn’t his only brush with officials over his junkyards. According to Jill Harry, District Press Officer for PennDOT Engineering District 1, a hearing was held in August pertaining to Spencer’s permits and licenses through PennDOT for his junkyards.</p>
<p>“There was a hearing in which his attorney and our attorney sat down and started to sketch out an agreement about the licenses he was required to get and some of the details involved in those licenses,” Harry said.</p>
<p>“It’s ongoing. There hasn’t been a final agreement filed yet.”</p>
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