(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Rochester, PA) The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office recently announced charges against two businesses accused of unlawfully storing and disposing of hazardous waste from a facility in Beaver County. One Brewery Place, Inc. and M. Ultra Investment Group received a felony charge regarding the management of hazardous waste along with several related misdemeanor charges. Investigators allege that the companies failed to fulfill their legal obligations to properly manage and dispose of the chemicals and did not obtain required permits to store or dispose of the materials. The office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday claims that “for many years,” chemicals for projects were stored at the Pool Doctor Facility in Rochester. A preliminary hearing is currently scheduled for the end of April. Those chemicals are said to have eventually become hazardous waste and pose a safety risk for those living in Rochester and a contamination risk for the Ohio River. The investigation began in 2019, when the DEP was tipped off to a “strong chemical odor” coming from the building. Investigators later found that a partially collapsed roof allowed rainwater to mix with the chemicals, and since the building was on the Ohio River, there was concern for run-off contamination.