Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection fined waste hauling companies and truck drivers more than $2 million during Operation Clean Sweep, a week-long statewide inspection of waste haulers in May.

The amount of fines is the largest penalty ever assessed against waste haulers and drivers in Pennsylvania, according to officials.
During Operation Clean Sweep, inspectors from DEP, State Police and PennDOT fanned out across the state to conduct surprise inspections of trash trucks at every landfill. They inspected more than 40,000 trucks.
DEP inspectors checked trucks for environmental violations, including leaking loads and improper tarps. State Police and PennDOT conducted safety inspections, looking for violations such as bad brakes and bald tires. All agencies checked for overweight trucks. In addition, PennDOT and State Police made sure drivers were licensed and had proper documentation.
DEP fined 26 haulers a total of $1.8 million. District magistrates levied $395,425 in criminal fines against more than 1,200 drivers.
During Operation Clean Sweep, haulers were cited for 11,082 safety and environmental violations. In addition, 12 trucking firms were cited for 2,073 violations, accounting for nearly one-fifth of all violations issued by DEP, Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation during Pennsylvania's largest-ever environmental enforcement effort May 21-29.
Houston-based Waste Management Inc. was charged the largest penalty, $815,000, to settle environmental and safety violations. Kephart Trucking of Bigler, Clearfield County, was levied the second-highest penalty, $182,500; and BFI Inc. of Houston was fined $152,000.