As required by new federal air pollution laws, Harrisburg's incinerator shut down at midnight Monday and now a battle is brewing over when it will be allowed to reopen at a smaller capacity.

While Harrisburg officials said they felt an agreement would be reached by Friday to allow them to open by the end of next week, the regional head of the federal Environmental Protection Agency said he did not see the plant opening before February to allow for a public comment period.

However, a state Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman says the plant could be allowed to restart as soon as a plan to lower capacity was approved and modifications made.

And the city rattled its legal saber, saying February would be unacceptable and charged that the EPA had changed its position. Mayor Stephen R. Reed indicated the case may be headed to federal court.

Reed said yesterday was the first day anyone with EPA had talked about a 60-day comment period or lengthy delays and said it showed "extraordinary bad faith."

"The first of January, if we don't see the light of day then we have to take action for sure," Reed said.

Dan Lispi, the mayor's special projects coordinator who has been taking part in the negotiations with EPA, added that going to court is a last resort.

"The key was being able to reopen [the plant] as a small waste incinerator without an undo delay and I would characterize February as an undue delay," Lispi said.

"For EPA to say that their understanding now is February [for the plant to open] is something that was not even discussed."

The federal EPA last month ordered the incinerator shut down by Dec. 19, when the new emission standards take effect. But city officials have said the law also allows the plant to remain open through 2005 if the amount of garbage it accepts drops from more than 700 tons to 500 tons per day.

City officials have been meeting with EPA and state Department of Environmental Protection officials for the past couple weeks to reach an agreement on what changes the city needs to make on the incinerator to reduce capacity.

The city had initially proposed installing new computer equipment, but after the EPA said it was not a sufficient modification Harrisburg officials proposed also installing two fans that would further control the burn rate.

Installation of the software began yesterday and city officials said they expect the fans to arrive today and take about five days to install. Workers at the plant are attending to other maintenance duties that would normally be done during a shutdown.

While the plant is closed, the city's trash is being diverted to three area landfills where the city has secured reasonable rates, officials said.

Should the plant be forced to close permanently, the mayor has said the cost of covering the incinerator's existing $55 million debt and sending trash to landfills would trigger a 20 percent property tax increase and an additional $100 a year per household increase in trash bills.

Bradley Campbell, the EPA's regional administrator in Philadelphia, said he was "less optimistic" about reaching an agreement with the city and that his agency would insist on a public comment and review period before the plant can reopen.

"Given there has to be an adequate opportunity for public participation, it's hard to imagine how one could meet that requirement and have any startup before February," Campbell said.

Chris Novak, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, which is in charge of actually giving permits to incinerators, said her agency did not feel that public participation was needed for the facility to open at a lower capacity.

An agreement is also in the process of being negotiated calling for the long-term solution of overhauling the plant so it meets environmental guidelines, she said.

Reed has said he wants to begin that next year and Novak said those plans would be subject to a public hearing and comment period.

Novak added, however, that even if DEP approved Harrisburg reopening at a reduced capacity, the EPA could block it.

Jack Sherzer may be reached at 717-255-8263 or jsherzer@patriot-news.com.