2 businesses facing charges for illegally storing hazardous waste in Beaver County

ROCHESTER, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office has announced charges against two businesses accused of unlawfully storing and disposing of hazardous waste from a facility in Beaver County.

The AG’s office charged One Brewery Place, Inc. and M. Ultra Investment Group with a felony regarding the management of hazardous waste, and several related misdemeanors. Investigators allege 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 claims that “for many years,” chemicals for projects were stored at the Pool Doctor Facility in Rochester, Beaver County. 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.

Removing and safely disposing of the chemicals cost more than $2.4 million dollars, the AG’s office said. Two chemical fires occurred during the clean-up, prompting shelter-in-place orders when chlorine gas was released into the air.

“For years, these businesses willfully ignored potential dangers associated with the storage of these chemicals, putting a community at risk, and ultimately burdening taxpayers with a mammoth bill related to cleanup efforts,” Attorney General Dave Sunday said. “Every Pennsylvanian has a right to clean water and air, and the conduct involved here threatened those rights.”

A preliminary hearing is currently scheduled for the end of April.

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