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WILKES-BARRE — When its own order from nearly a year ago failed to spur action from LAG Wrecking Inc., the state Department of Environmental Protection turned to the court Friday to compel the owner of a deteriorating and abandoned Coxton railroad bridge over the Susquehanna River to remove the hazard or face $100 a day fines.
A hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 24 in Luzerne County Court for LAG Wrecking Inc. of Duryea to comply with the DEP’s order.
“We’re hoping this can force LAG’s hand to do something because that bridge needs to come down before some force of nature brings it down and we have real problems, ” Colleen Connolly, DEP spokeswoman said.
Leo A. Glodzik III, doing business as LAG Wrecking, purchased the bridge from the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority in 2007 for $500.
He is serving a prison sentence for a theft charge that cost him his exclusive towing contract with Wilkes-Barre and faces weapons and federal bank fraud charges related to the Wilkes-Barre City Employees Federal Credit Union. He could not be reached for comment.
His sister Pilar Glodzik, president of LAG Wrecking, had not seen the filing and said, “At this time I really don’t have any comment.”
DEP filed a petition to enforce its administrative order from Aug. 13, 2014 directing LAG to correct violations found during an inspection of the bridge between Duryea and Exeter in February of that year.
The inspection found the bridge was “in imminent danger of collapse, which would create an immediate danger of a stream obstruction and hazard to life or property.” The department said LAG failed to obtain a permit for the bridge, maintain it in a safe condition and notify DEP the bridge had sustained structural damage.
The order provided two options to LAG: “(1) remove the bridge and properly restore the site or (2) complete modification to the existing structure that will assure that the structure is structurally sound.”
A series of meetings were held in June 2014 between DEP and LAG to discuss the violations. In July of that year, DEP received a letter from LAG stating it “will not proceed with any of the Department’s corrective action requests due to financial circumstances.”
The order created a timetable, giving LAG 54 days to submit an permit application detailing its plans to comply and another 180 days upon receipt of a permit to carry out its plans. LAG appealed the order to the Environmental Hearing Board in September 2014. The board dismissed LAG’s appeal on May 29 of this year, citing a board rule that a corporation must be represented by legal counsel.
“L.A.G. Wrecking’s failure to obtain counsel, its failure to abide by our rules and orders, and its disinterest in prosecuting its case compel us to dismiss this appeal,” the board’s ruling said.
LAG did not appeal the board’s ruling, setting the stage for DEP to turn to the court to seek compliance of the administrative order.
