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Elk County adopts updated solid-waste plan and advances ordinance to enforce it
Summary
The Elk County Board of Commissioners approved a revised 2024 Solid Waste Management Plan to carry the county’s solid-waste policy through 2034 and introduced an accompanying ordinance to consolidate and modernize enforcement provisions; the resolution and ordinance were approved by voice vote.
Elk County commissioners on Feb. 12 adopted a revised 2024 Solid Waste Management Plan and moved to enact an updated ordinance to give the plan enforcement authority.
County planning staff told commissioners the update was required under state law (Act 101) and reflects work begun under a 2022 planning grant; delays from state review and staffing pushed final revisions into 2025. The county’s adopted plan provides a 10-year capacity and management horizon intended to carry county waste planning through 2034, staff said.
Commissioners discussed how enforcement will be handled under the consolidated ordinance. County staff identified the enforcement officer who currently oversees demo permits and illegal-dumping follow-up and said enforcement activity has declined since the authority maintained an enforcement presence. The plan also includes sections on recycling programs and possible future program expansion in municipalities that wish to grow services.
The board noted the prior ordinance framework dated to 2000 with scattered addenda and approved a proposal to consolidate those provisions into a single, streamlined ordinance that will provide the legal authority to enforce the county plan. A motion to approve the resolution adopting the 2024 plan and to introduce the ordinance passed by voice vote.
What’s next: commissioners approved the resolution and authorized staff to send the finalized plan to the state Department of Environmental Protection for filing. The ordinance will return for formal second reading and adoption to give the plan its enforcement mechanism.
