Commonwealth Court has revoked a state-issued permit for Tri-County Industries to reopen and operate a 99-acre landfill in Liberty and Pine Townships near Grove City in Mercer County.

The court issued its decision Aug. 7 after an appeal was filed in May by Liberty Township and the Citizens’ Environmental Association of the Slippery Rock Area.

The decision reverses the permit issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and upheld by the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board. The permit would have restored Tri-County Industries permission to operate a waste disposal site that had previously operated as a disposal site between 1950 and 1990 and has operated as a waste transfer facility since 1990.

In denying the permit, the court ruled that a 1997 regulation adopted by the Environmental Quality Board prohibiting landfills within 10,000 feet of an airport runway that turbine-powered aircraft can use prohibited Tri-County from reopening the landfill. A portion of the landfill is within 10,000 feet of the Grove City Airport in Springfield Township.

State Rep. Tim Bonner, R-17th, said he supports the court’s decision and the efforts of the association and Liberty Township.

“They should be thanked, along with many other community activists, for their tireless efforts in opposing the reopening of the landfill,” Bonner said, in a statement. “I will also continue my efforts to pass legislation that will prohibit any landfill to operate within three miles of any densely populated community.”

He said Tri-County can appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.

“This battle to deny the reopening of the Tri-County Landfill in Grove City has certainly been a long, expensive, and arduous journey, funded by CEASRA, Liberty Twp., and hundreds of area concerned citizens,” the association said, in a statement. “The result of this landfill denial decision will provide long-term benefits to the entirety of Mercer County and (Western) Pennsylvania for generations to come.”

Tri-County Industries is owned by Vogel Holding Inc., which operates Vogel Disposal Service in Mars and other landfills in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Ed Vogel, vice president of Vogel Disposal Service, could not be reached for comment.