The dumpsite adjacent to Kato-Orviston Road was located in a newly acquired section of Sproul State Forest, a few miles west of the small town of Orviston. The area, which had once been a strip mine, contained two large sites piled deep with trash dumped there over the years.

The trash from one site cascaded down a steep slope into stagnant water below. The contractor, Gary Fronk Excavating from Thompsontown, used heavy equipment to reach the trash and pull it up to level ground.

The second site, which was more of a challenge, was extremely steep and part of an unstable high wall from the former strip mine. Heavy equipment was used to pull the trash within reach up the slope, but much of the trash had to be lifted out with a crane.

Sproul State Forest Cleanup Team Centre County Solid Waste Authority Gary Fronk Excavating PA CleanWays of Clinton County Sproul State Forest Employees

Trash, recyclable metal, and tires were separated after the items were lifted up the slope. The contractor began November 2, 2003 and worked for 5 days to remove 243 tons of trash, 7 tons of scrap metal, and 830 tires.

All disposal was through Centre County Solid Waste Authority of Bellefonte, PA.

DCNR encourages Centre County residents with disposal and recycling questions to contact the Centre County Recycling Coordinator at (814) 238-6649.

Sproul State Forest is located in western Clinton and northern Centre counties, containing 293,000 acres of forestland. The forest is named in honor of William C. Sproul, governor of Pennsylvania from 1919 to 1923.

Learn about other illegal dump sites in state forests and parks.

This page last updated December 22, 2003.

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