Romtec Utilities designed and supplied a leachate lift station for the Keystone Sanitary Landfill in Dunmore, Pennsylvania. This system helps manage leachate, a type of wastewater that forms when rainwater filters through landfill waste. The project was created to meet updated rules from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, with a strict completion deadline of April 2025.

Romtec Utilities’ solution included a double-walled fiberglass wet well, integration-ready control systems, and coordination with contractors and suppliers. The lift station is designed to protect the environment, meet state regulations, and support the landfill’s long-term operations.

Leachate is a liquid that drains from landfills. It can contain harmful substances like chemicals, metals, and bacteria. If not properly collected and treated, leachate can pollute groundwater, rivers, and soil. That’s why landfills need special systems to collect, pump, and treat this liquid safely.

In Pennsylvania, landfills must follow strict rules for leachate management. These include daily tracking of flow rates and quarterly testing for chemical content. The goal is to make sure the leachate treatment system is working well and not harming the environment.

Landfills often face challenges such as community concerns about odors, air quality, and health risks. Keystone Sanitary Landfill installed an odor control system, enclosed its leachate storage tanks to reduce environmental impact, and continues to work to meet and exceed environmental requirements – including this new wastewater lift station.

The Keystone Sanitary Landfill is one of the largest active landfills in Pennsylvania. It covers about 1,000 acres and receives around 7,000 tons of waste per day from several states, including Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The waste includes household trash, industrial waste, sludge, and materials from oil and gas drilling.

Dunmore is a borough in Lackawanna County in northeastern Pennsylvania. It borders the city of Scranton and has a population of about 14,000 people. The town has a rich history tied to coal mining and industry. Today it blends small-town charm with access to major highways and urban centers.

The Keystone landfill is located within Dunmore and nearby Throop, making environmental safety a top concern for local residents. The new leachate lift station helps protect the community by improving how leachate is managed and treated.

The new lift station was installed adjacent to the landfill’s existing treatment facilities. This location made it easier to connect the new pumping system with the landfill’s infrastructure. The design had to fit within limited space and work with equipment that was purchased prior to Romtec Utilities joining the project.

It includes:

• A double-walled fiberglass wet well with a 10-foot diameter.
• A valve vault with custom stainless steel and HDPE components.
• A remote I/O control panel designed for integration with the landfill’s plant PLC.

Romtec Utilities provided all structural, mechanical, and electrical components as a complete packaged pumping system.

This project had several unique challenges:

• Tight deadline: The system had to be operational before April 2025 to meet Pennsylvania DEP mandates.
• Pre-purchased equipment: Pumps and VFD starters were already purchased before Romtec was brought onto the project.
• Third-party coordination: Enertech, the landfill’s preferred integrator, was responsible for tying Romtec’s control panel into the existing system.
• Fast timeline: Design, manufacturing, delivery, and setup had to happen quickly.

Romtec Utilities engineered a high-performance leachate lift station tailored to the site’s needs:

• Wet well:
  • 10-foot diameter, round
  • Active volume: 900 gallons
  • Cycle time: 6 minutes
  • Max pump starts: 10/hour
• Pumps:
  • Two Gorman Rupp U4B65S-F pumps
  • Each rated for 400 GPM at 160.2 TDH
• Control panel:
  • Remote I/O panel with surge protection, phase monitoring, and level sensing
  • Designed for Enertech to integrate with the plant’s SCADA system
• Valve vault:
  • FNW 600B stainless steel ball valves
  • Val-Matic 503 SS check valves
  • Custom HDPE flange adapters
• Instrumentation
  • Ashcroft pressure gauges and diaphragm seals
  • ARI D-025L combination air valve for force main protection
• Electrical
  • Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 753 VFDs
  • 480V/3-phase power supply

Romtec Utilities also provided startup support, training coordination, and ensured all components met NSF/ANSI 61 standards.

The leachate lift station project was a team effort between several organizations. Romtec Utilities led the design and delivery of the complete system. Commonwealth Environmental Systems, a major landfill operator in Pennsylvania, was the project driver that brought the project to Romtec Utilities’ attention. Keystone Sanitary Landfill was the end owner and final operator of the pumping system. Enertech, the landfill’s preferred integrator, handled the connection between Romtec Utilities’ control panel and the site’s existing system, ensuring a smooth integration with the landfill’s monitoring and automation infrastructure.

The Keystone Landfill leachate lift station is a fully integrated high-capacity system designed to meet environmental regulations and operational demands. Romtec Utilities successfully delivered a solution under a tight timeline, coordinating with multiple stakeholders and adapting to pre-existing equipment decisions. The new system ensures compliance and long-term reliability for the landfill’s leachate management.

This project supports cleaner water, safer communities, and better landfill operations in Dunmore, Pennsylvania.