At that point, the community in Harrisburg hoped it was free from the environmental risks inherent in hosting a large waste incinerator, but the following year the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) granted permits for new municipal waste incinerators to be placed in the same community.
The incinerators were proposed to burn 800 tons of waste a day and emit over 500 tons per year of pollutants, including dangerous small particulate matter, the limits of which were already exceeded in Harrisburg.
