Former Tredyffrin Public Works Director Pleads Guilty To Illegal Dumping

Tredyffrin, PA -- The former director of public works for Tredyffrin Township has pleaded guilty to illegally dumping chemicals in the ground, according to court documents.

Scott Cannon, 57, allegedly dumped 1,000 gallons of magnesium chloride into the ground, according to Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane.

Cannon must now pay $10,000 to Tredyffrin Township and $10,000 to the Pennsylvania Clean Water Fund.

Cannon was seen by three witnesses opening the valve on a large tank that held the magnesium chloride, according to a criminal complaint.

The chemicals were reportedly released on the ground at the township’s public works facility and flowed into an impound, or dry pond. The release of the chemicals also killed grass and shrubbery, investigators said.

Soil samples taken at the public works facility confirmed the high levels of magnesium chloride present in the impound, the Attorney General’s office said. The samples underwent testing at a state Department of Environmental Protection laboratory.

The chemicals were supposed to be disposed of in a government-approved landfill to comply with local laws, the criminal complaint states. The township possessed the magnesium chloride to treat salt that it spread on roads during the wintertime.

Cannon, of 594 Cheyney Road in Glen Mills, is also accused of violating the Clean Streams Law and the Solid Waste Management Act.