Those responsible for toxic waste disposal are working alongside the other public bodies to clear up the damage from the recent Sandy Superstorm (hurricane) in the eastern states of the US at the end of October 2012.
An urgent issue is the collection and safe disposal of many paint, oil and other miscellaneous drums of material which has been washed out of properties during the storm surge in areas such as Long Beach.
Steve Last also highlights the risk of unexpected landfill gas emerging from previously dormant abandoned landfills which may now have become wetted where they were previously dry and starting to produce methane again even for the first time.
Those that read this blog would not be wrong to suggest that at the same time there may be leachate problems if the waste has been flooded and then produces leachate.
I was blogging recently about sanitary landfill leachate when from a reader's query it became clear that they were not clear about what a sanitary landfill comprises. In this article I set out to put that right.
Migration Hazards at a Sanitary Landfill(Image: Masterplan for the Aftercare of Abandoned Landfills, Van Vossen, Gravesteijn, Kasma and Vos; proceedings Sardinia 95, 5th Sardinia Landfill Symposium Cagliari, Italy)
The standard definition of a Class III or "Sanitary Landfill" originates in North America and the term has spread around the world from that source. It is, as defined in the US, a landfill that accepts household garbage and is normally lined below to reduce the escape of leachate to an environmentally acceptable rate, operated to minimize leachate generation and keep the waste as dry as possible, and capped as each area of the landfill is completed - again to keep leachate to a minimum but also to allow efficient collection of the landfill gas the landfill produces. The best sanitary landfills also have a recycling center at the site or the waste passes through a recycling center before it reaches the sanitary landfill. The recycling center these days often includes processing which separate waste types and process the waste, and comprehensive centers where waste is reduced, recycled and reused are called MRFs, and some are also known as MBT Plants.
The modern sanitary landfill is lined in the US with multiple layers to protect soils and the water bearing aquifers underneath. The in the US liner is composed of multiple natural layers and an impenetrable plastic (HDPE) or similar material. The purpose of the liner is to hold the waste for as long as possible collect all the "garbage polluted rainwater" (known as leachate) so that it can be extracted and treated. In Europe and worldwide the plastic lining is usually a single layer of thicker material than is usual in the US.
The new environmental centers being built for many sanitary landfills offer the opportunity for the community to become a more sustainable community. It will not only enhance the area's management of its waste but will also provide state-of-the-art and innovative recycling and in many cases the production of renewable energy.
Sanitary Landfills in More Detail
In short sanitary landfill is simply a general description of a type of landfill, it is the commonly accepted method of controlled disposal of municipal solid waste (refuse) on land in most countries. The method was first used in England from 1912 (where it has was then called controlled tipping, and is now called controlled landfilling). Waste is deposited in thin layers (up to 1 metre, or 3 feet deep) and within hours compacted by heavy compaction machinery (known as "compactors" these are similar to bulldozers but instead of having tracks have steel cutting wheels to break up the waste). Several layers of waste are placed and compacted on top of each other over a period of a day to several days, to form a refuse cell (up to 3 metres, or 10 feet, thick).
At the end of each day the compacted refuse cell is covered with a layer of soil material (or similar) to prevent odor, keep rats out of the waste, and prevent windblown litter from being blown of the site. All modern landfill site locations are carefully selected and prepared before the waste is placed. They are sealed with impermeable synthetic bottom liners to prevent pollution of groundwater from leachate or other environmental problems.
When the landfill is completed, it is capped with a layer of low permeability material such as a clay, or a synthetic liner, in order to prevent as much water as possible from entering. A final topsoil cover is placed, compacted, and landscaped, with various forms of vegetation being planted to reclaim the surface for the planner after-use.
Traditional landfills, before sanitary landfills were introduced were referred to as “open” or “polluting” dumps, simply containing un-engineered sites with waste under the ground. Such sites potentially allow the waste by-product called leachate to enter and contaminate groundwater and other water sources. They also attract rodents, insects and other disease-carrying vermin. Other negative effects of open dumps include emission of air pollution, odors and the creation of potential fire hazards. In a sanitary landfill these risks are partly eliminated, or at least deferred thanks in part to protective liners and monitoring systems that ensure there is no harm done to the environment, for just as long as the leachate is removed and treated.
A leachate attenuation zone is basically a buffer zone around a land fill that protects against contamination of groundwater by its pollution from harmful or dangerous wastes. Tons of older landfills were established prior to stricter laws were carried out have been described as having "leachate attenuation zones".
In the UK these sorts of landfills which were most typical before about 1990, were blamed for leachate escapes into groundwater made use of for consuming water abstraction, and came to be called not the safe "dilute, [attenuate] and disperse" landfills their designers meant, but just merely "dilute and pollute" landfills! Sadly, there was much truth in such a description, in numerous cases.
Leachate attenuation zones are, in additional words, locations of the ground around and below those land fills which don't have low leaks in the structure linings, in which leachate seeps out and, biological action, in exactly what are called the "unsaturated" or "aerated / aerobic" zone outside the landfill in permeable ground, lowers the polluting capacity of the leachate by actually treating it.
It the right types of geology with the correct amount of leaks in the structure and ground types these attenuation zones could be very effective and supplied free of charge leachate treat. Unfortunately, unless these leachate attenuation zones are effectively designed by engineers, hydrologists, and hydro-geological researchers, they rarely work well when they happen by opportunity. Nonetheless, they can be created into brand-new unlined landfills if the ground around the land fills and water levels in the ground and flux of circulation through the ground is appropriate. The path size within the attenuation medium and rate of circulation is additionally essential.
Landfills are the most substantially utilized technique for the disposal of solid waste around the world. When water from rainstorms or melting snow percolates with the decaying natural and inorganic waste of these landfills, it comes to be polluted. All land fills produce this kind of contamination, additionally leachate is still produced from landfills that have actually been closed and deserted for years.
Normally, one volume of landfill waste produces between 50 and 100 gallons of a very tainted wastewater called leachate.
Land fills are different from additional groundwater contamination sources due to the fact that after wastes are buried, a series of physical, chemical and biological feedbacks happen that intensify the toxic concentration of the waste that runs off as leachate. In unheard of circumstances, entire new mixes are produced.
The usual leachate from a landfill has high concentrations of ammoniacal nitrogen and sensibly high recalcitrant combinations, that could sometimes additionally include halogenated hydrocarbons such as carbon tetrachloride and methylene chloride, and intricate polymers, plus heavy metals that are not degradable.
Of these toxic contaminants, the conversion of the natural nitrogen in living cells, into ammoniacal nitrogen produces what is not just a long-lived hazardous liquid, but also a liquid which is additionally highly damaging to most aquatic species.
To minimize the problem developed by the development of a leachate attenuation zone, or a plume of contamination in the ground, government organizations might purchase residential property nearby to a landfill to establish a leachate attenuation zone. This is a way of ensuring that no wells or boreholes are built within the zone, which if they were present would certainly deliver contaminated and undrinkable water.
LA lachate processing unit will be set up at a Pune landfill, the Times Of India has reported. The Landfill Leachate treatment plant is to be set up at the, Urali- Phursungi landfill. Please vist the original site for the full article
"Tenders worth around Rs 1 crore have been approved for this plant. The plant will process leachate from both the villages including Urali Phursungi. The plant is expected to start in three months time," said a statement issued by the standing committee.
Leachate is a liquid by-product of the waste. Leachate discharged from the dumping site should be lifted and treated before it is released. Leachate is a combination of liquid residues of heavy and toxic metals. The sodium in the leachate irritates the skin and causes internal injury. Once it enters the body through the skin, it can also cause cancer.
The PMC has started capping project for dealing with the open dumping of garbage and garbage disposal. Capping prevents groundwater contamination by stopping rainwater from percolating through buried garbage.
Scientific capping comprises bio-mining, cutting off drains, provision of geo-membrane, methane gas tapping and reduction and compacting of garbage height. But right now PMC has no special leachate treatment plant. release of untreated leachate is a violation of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
The final resting place of the leachate is on the land near Saswad Road railway station. The residents of these areas have been demanding action against it. There are swarming clouds of flies and mosquitoes at the site because of the leachate. People say that their daily routine has been hampered. People say that they don't feel like eating or drinking anything due the unhygienic conditions caused by large amount of leachate spread across the area.
A recent study report of a non governmental organisation , states that the stench from garbage processing and the landfill site pervades the air at neighbouring villages and leachate from the landfill contaminates ground water.
Leachate management features strongly at a new and very environmentally sensitive landfill site in Australis at Armidale Dumaresq Council’s controversial landfill project. State Government approval has been received and the site plans will now be reviewed by the Federal Government, we are told.
The Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) approved the development of the $14 million project, which will be situated about 12 kilometres east of Armidale, on the condition that Council make further provisions to minimise possible environmental harm from leachate and stormwater run-off.
Ddue to the project’s proximity to “sensitive downstream ecosystems” the PAC required that Council design the landfill to be able to accommodate a one in 100 year rain event for three days.
The PAC Determination Report states: “The Commission notes that the measures for management of stormwater and leachate in this approval are considerably more stringent than those normally required for landfills of this type. This is solely due to the site-specific constraints of this site and its proximity to highly sensitive environments downstream”.
Finding landill site even in such a low popualtion country as Australia is clearly getting had to do. However, it points out that leachate treatment is really important to landfill operators even in dry countries, nowadays:
General manager Shane Burns said Council has been trying to find a new landfill site for approximately 20 years.
“It will enable our community to manage its waste in the future,” he said.
“Waste management in Australia is not at a state where a council does not need a landfill.”
Mr Burns said the current landfill site is close to capacity and described Armidale’s current landfill situation as “critical” without a new site.
Mr Burns and Mr Steller said they were optimistic the DSEWPC would approve it considering the rigour of the State Government’s approval process.
The facility is designed to service Armidale for 50 years and would have capacity for 750,000 tonnes of waste.
However the Department of Planning and Infrastructure determined the landfill “would not add to existing pollution loads within the catchment”.
While it is not known how long it will take for the DSEWPC to deliver a verdict on the landfill site, both Mr Burns and Mr Steller agreed construction would take about 12 months.
We recommend a visit to the original article by clicking the link below. The excerpt we have included here is only part of the full articles which is available by clicking the link below:
To import or not seems to be the question. However, we are not told in any satisfactory way why leachate importation is seen as a negative matter for the local community, as the volume is unlikely to be larger than previously consented. In any event the sewer operator would be responsible for ensuring no flooding, not the planning department. Please consider visting the original website for the full article. The quoted part of the article below is not the full article:
BANBURY MP Sir Tony Baldry has waded into a row over liquid waste at a north Oxfordshire dump.
The move comes after villagers opposed an application by waste firm Viridor that would allow it to import liquid waste leachate to its Ardley site.
Leachate is a substance generated by landfill waste which is treated and pumped into the sewage system.
The firm was given approval to build an incinerator at Ardley, near Bicester. But as a condition, imposed after a public inquiry in 2010, it must stop importing leachate to its treatment works at Ardley once the incinerator is operating. The company wants this condition lifted.
Sir Tony has written to Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, asking him to call in the application.
His letter said: “Local residents are concerned if Viridor is allowed to continue to treat leachate at Ardley, it makes something of a mockery of the public inquiry only two years ago – that it would increase the risk of flooding and will mean even more lorries going to and from the site.”
Nobody wants scarce landfill money to be wasted on lawyers, but we are told that in the case that follows that a fine is being considered by the State Regulator. Leachate has to be carefully managed in all landfills.
If it does not happen, then at some point the landfill operator has to be made to respect the requirements in order to prevent pollution of water resources outside the landfill site. After reading our excerpt from the full article, below, please visit the original full artile using the link provided:
State regulators are proposing a $56,400 environmental fine for Virginia's largest landfill.
The Virginian-Pilot says Department of Environmental Quality inspectors reported leachate seeps in July 2011. According to case records, the landfill used unauthorized ditches and holes to capture the seeping liquid from garbage.
The landfill is owned by Waste Management. Company spokeswoman Lisa Kardell tells the newspaper that it's taking steps to contain future leachate seeps and protect against similar slides. The state agency is taking public comments on the proposed settlement through July 23.
In a case of failing to keep up with the paperwork the Pennsylvania Departmtent of Environmental Protection has fined the Grand Central Sanitary Landfill operator fined for late renewal of its permit to release leachate to the Lower Delaware river. Part of the problem may have been the unusual requirement which the authorities have placed on the application that it be made 1 year in advance.
Is this all an unnecessary bureacrtic nonsense? We tend to think so, but we suggest that you read the full article and come to your own view!
The operators of the Grand Central Sanitary Landfill was fined for failing to reapply on time for a permit allowing the release of treated leachate into a waterway.
Landfill district manager Scott Perin said the late submission was due to "different interpretations" by the landfill and the Delaware River Basin Commission about when the reapplication was required. The basin commission is expected to grant a permit renewal on Wednesday.
On Monday, basin commission spokeswoman Katharine O'Hara said in an emailed response that Grand Central was fined $2,000 for a late processing fee in addition to the $1,000 reapplication fee. Perin said on Monday that he could not remember how much Grand Central was fined.
The river basin commission will hold a public hearing on Wednesday to vote on whether or not the Plainfield Township landfill, which is owned and operated by Waste Management, will be granted a renewal permit to continue releasing 100,000 gallons per day of treated leachate into the Little Bushkill Creek.
Commission staff are recommending approval of the landfill's reapplication. According to the docket, the discharge's drainage area is in a non-tidal portion of the Delaware River known as the Lower Delaware, which is designated by the commission as Special Protection Waters.
On Friday, O'Hara said in an email that the landfill's previous discharge docket had required the applicants to file for a reapplication one year in advance of its April 2009 expiration date. After notification was sent out by the commission in January 2011, the landfill submitted its renewal application in March 2011, which will be considered for approval on Wednesday.
In order to release the treated leachate, the landfill is also required to have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit from the Pennsylvania Departmtent of Environmental Protection, which was reissued in December 2009.
Hi ! Readers. Here is a video I have made in order to explain the benefits of biogas.
Did you find it interesting, entertaining for the right or the wrong reasons?
Your comments would be greatly appreciated to let me understand whether a video like this is a worthwhile use of my time or not!
Thank you - in advance!
Here is some of the text from the video:
"Biogas is also called biomethane, swamp gas, landfill gas, or digester gas, is the gaseous product of anaerobic digestion ( decomposition without oxygen ) of organic matter. In addition to providing electricity and heat, biogas is helpful as a automobile fuel. When processed to pureness standards, biogas is named "replaceable natural gas" and can be used as a substitute for natural gas as a new fuel for natural gas automobiles."
Bay Horbor has been beset by legal wrangling over the problematic discharges of leachate to the bay. At the legal level the lawyers between state and community have needed to get responsibilities resolved so that technical solutions can be completed. In the following excerpt for the leachate blog readers we are pleased to be able o report that at last the government lawyers are getting the tangle of responsiibilities sorted out. Please visit the original article and source of this quotation. You can do that by following the link below the article.
A newly reached agreement gives Michigan state officials long-term oversight responsibilities for ongoing efforts to control caustic seepage along parts of the Bay Harbor resort’s shoreline.
“We’re now kind of turning the page,” said Bob Wagner, a remediation division supervisor with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
(Previous videos)
The state is assuming the primary oversight role for environmental remedies which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has filled on an interim basis at Bay Harbor.
The new agreement, executed Thursday, involves the DEQ, Michigan Department of the Attorney General, CMS Land and the related CMS Capital. The agreement, which took about a year to develop, requires the continued operation and maintenance of collection systems that have been put in place along the Lake Michigan shore to capture leachate. Wagner said the EPA reviewed the document prior to its execution.
CMS Land, a former Bay Harbor development partner, has taken responsibility for implementing the environmental remedies, which respond to the seepage of cement kiln dust leachate.
“After seven years of site study and remediation, we’re pleased that we’ve been able to reach an agreement that will protect Little Traverse Bay now and into the future,” said CMS Land area manager Tim Petrosky.
Portions of Bay Harbor and neighboring East Park were developed over deposits of cement kiln dust, a waste product from the years when a cement plant operated along the corridor. Leachate is formed when water comes in contact with the dust.
Seepage of leachate was identified as an issue along several stretches of Bay Harbor shoreline around 2004-05. But measures have since been put in place to control the seepage, and environmental regulators recently have noted that they’re performing effectively.
“All of the standards are being met,” Wagner said. “In fact, it looks beautiful out there. Things have never looked better.”
Because of its caustic nature, health officials have said untreated leachate potentially can damage human skin or tissue coming in contact with it, and that it contains toxic substances such as mercury in concentrations too high for surface water release.
Collection lines designed to capture leachate before it enters surface water are among the features which CMS has put in place in affected areas to control the seepage.
CMS noted that the new agreement calls for the company to install features such as additional collection lines, force mains and provisions for stormwater runoff management.
Petrosky said these measures are meant to increase collection system reliability and redundancy and reduce potential for leachate to migrate beneath collection lines and into surface water.
“While the agreement signifies that much of our remediation work is complete we will remain diligent in our operation of the water collection and treatment systems to ensure all environmental and public safety standards continue to be met,” CMS Land president David Mengebier said.
When asked whether EPA sees much of a role for itself at the Bay Harbor site in the future, agency spokesman Joshua Singer said he’d need to consult with on-site staff before commenting in detail.
“We always work with our state partners,” he noted.
Leachate disposal
— In the past few years, CMS has had collected leachate trucked away from Bay Harbor for disposal, recently relying on a commercial injection well near Johannesburg.
— Since 2011, the company has been transitioning to on-site treatment processes that allow for the liquid to be released into Little Traverse Bay once it’s processed.
— A plant used to treat seepage collected in the East Park area went online last year. A separate plant to handle seepage from the Bay Harbor shoreline went into operation in recent months.
This plan to build a dedicated specialized leachate treatment plant instead of extending a standard sewage treatment plant built for the quite different characteristics of landfill leachate, which is far stronger and contains far more ammonia than sewage is just common sense. What is surprising is that it has taken 2 years to establish this. I have carried out similar studies with water companies for leachate treatment projects and in only one case did it make economic sense to do this and that was because the municipality was being given an EU grant per head of population so the requested head of population equivalent was raised according to the strength of the leachate, and the EU paid whatever it cost.
Of course, for the specialist leachate treatment plant to achieve and reliable economic performance it will need to be well designed, and well implemented with quality construction. Your webmaster would be pleased to asist with that, if given the opportunity!
Please visit the original web site for the full article. The following is an extract only:
The Conestoga Landfill in New Morgan has announced that, after nearly two years of technological and financial analysis, it won't foot the bill to expand the Caernarvon Township sewage treatment plant to treat its leachate.
"Corporate decided it was too cost prohibitive and not doable," division manager Lee Zimmerman said Thursday, referring to the facility's owner, Republic Services Inc. of Phoenix.
Constructing a leachate treatment plant on the 652-acre site would cost about $10 million, while modernizing the township plant likely could double that figure, he told the Conestoga Citizens Advisory Committee at its quarterly session in the landfill offices.
Gene Bonner, the landfill's environmental manager, has said the landfill's current plant for treating eachate - a smelly black liquid that drains through and from landfills - is increasingly inadequate.
In each of the past three months, the facility has generated about 1.6 million gallons of the liquid with up to a half needing to be hauled to other treatment facilities, Zimmerman said. The state Department of Environmental Protection is not happy with that because it puts hundreds of trucks on the roads each month, he said.
Conestoga recently applied to the DEP for a building permit, which could take up to a year to clear, plus another two years for construction, he added.
"We wanted badly to partner with somebody local to make this joint treatment project work," Zimmerman said.
Committee member Thomas M. Legel, president of the Twin Valley School Board, said the added sewage capacity in Caernarvon Township could have been useful to help attract new commercial, industrial and residential development.
We understand that the landfill is the largest of four in Berks County and takes about 2,000 tons of trash a day, mainly from Philadelphia and New Jersey, and Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties, so this is a landfill of significant regional size.
The Hindu has recently reported that important water bodies in Mavallipura, Shivakote, Kudlu have been contaminated with leachate. This is very serious, and that such things are happening suggests a community which has lost its way. Unfortunately, once normal aquatic life has been damaged and a lake becomes de-oxgenated it takes a long while to recover, even if the source of the pollution ceases completely.
13 villages around the landfill, have been badly hit. There appears to be little or no hope of that according to this excerp from an original artcle ith the Hindu. If enough money was spent a leachate treatment plant could be built which would prevent this pollution occuring, and the leacate could be collected if the landfill was lined. Of course, that is how it is done in other countries, but unfortunately this seems to be an example of a location where everyone will suffer. This is possibly due to poverty and lack of the political will to look after the environment for the benefit of all. Please visit the original web site by following th link below this excerpt:
The Koramarakunte Lake in Mavallipura was once a water source. Today, the villagers of Mavallipura do not even let their livestock drink from it. The reason is that the lake is completely contaminated by the leachate from the several tonnes of garbage nearby at the dump yard managed by Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd. More than 150 truck-loads of garbage from the city are dumped at the landfill daily. M. Ramesh, gram panchayat member and resident, alleged that the leachate is untreated and allowed to seep into the ground. As many as 13 villages are affected by the groundwater contamination, he claimed. Tired of raising these issues, the residents had prevented the trucks from dumping waste in the landfill in the past six days. It was only on Sunday that the trucks were let inside the landfill. On Sunday, several trucks laden with garbage were seen lined outside the gates. Mr. Ramesh said that due to prolonged exposure to garbage and toxins, the villagers have begun contracting skin and other diseases. Not just villagers, but even livestock reared by the villagers are developing diseases. Agriculture and agri-based activities, which is the mainstay in 13 villages around the landfill, have been badly hit. Dalit Sangharsh Samiti member B. Srinivas has for long been fighting against the unscientific handling of solid waste here. With more villagers falling ill, he has submitted more than 100 memoranda to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to take action against Ramky. Representations have been sent to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission but to no avail. He said that the company has not followed the specifications for landfill sites as prescribed under Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000. “The rules stipulate that the landfill should be away from habitation clusters, forest areas, water bodies, monuments, national parks, wetlands and places of important cultural, historical or religious interest. This landfill has blatantly violated this requirement. Also, the leachate is contaminating the drinking water source,” he claimed. The leachate has contaminated the water bodies in Mavallipura, Shivakote, Aiwarakandapura and Kudlu. Water from these bodies flows into the Arkavathy basin and later Tippagondanahalli reservoir. Water from Tippagondanahalli is supplied to many parts of Bangalore. “Ideally, leachate has to be stored in concrete-based ponds, lined with tarpaulin. This is to mainly prevent it from seeping into the ground. This is not being followed. Only when the BBMP officials come, the Ramky personnel cover some garbage mounds with tarpaulin to show that they are following the rules. All this is just eyewash,” he said. Senior BBMP officials conceded that Ramky had failed to adhere to the agreement norms. They said that the BBMP had levied a fine of Rs. 5 lakh on Ramky. “The company claims that it has not been able to adhere to the agreement due to lack of sufficient land. As per the agreement, 100 acres were to have been handed over to the company. However, only 38 acres was handed over. Land is a major impediment. The Government took away 20 acres for the construction of homes under Ashraya scheme. Another 20 acres is under litigation,” they said. The company has also claimed that there was delay in procuring machinery to set up a waste-to-power plant at the site. “The KSPCB clearance is in the final stages. The permission will not be given if Ramky does not meet the prescribed standards,” they officials said. The officials added that the link between water contamination due to garbage and increase in health disorders among the villagers has not been established. This, even though tests on water samples showed that it was not fit for consumption. “The KSPCB is monitoring leachate seepage, while a team from the Indian Institute of Science is looking into the reasons behind the increase in diseases among villagers. Meanwhile, the BBMP has decided to give Ramky time to set up the power plant. If they fail to do so, the BBMP will cancel the contract,” the officials said.
A leachate processing unit of unstated design will be implmented for the garbage dumping sites in Urali- Phursungi. This must be good news for the locals. You can visit the original "Times of India" web site by following the link provided below the article. excerpt below:
PUNE: The solution to long pending problem of leachate processing at the garbage dumping sites in Urali-Phursungi is in sight.
The Pune Municipal Corporation standing committee gave a green signal to set up the processing unit at the site on Tuesday.
Tenders worth around Rs 1 crore have been approved for this plant. The plant will process leachate from both the villages including Urali Phursungi. The plant is expected to start in three months time," said a statement issued by the standing committee. Leachate is a liquid by-product of the waste. Leachate discharged from the dumping site should be lifted and treated before it is released. Leachate is a combination of liquid residues of heavy and toxic metals. The sodium in the leachate irritates the skin and causes internal injury. Once it enters the body through the skin, it can also cause cancer.
The PMC has started capping project for dealing with the open dumping of garbage and garbage disposal. Capping prevents groundwater contamination by stopping rainwater from percolating through buried garbage.
Scientific capping comprises bio-mining, cutting off drains, provision of geo-membrane, methane gas tapping and reduction and compacting of garbage height. But right now PMC has no special leachate treatment plant. release of untreated leachate is a violation of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
The final resting place of the leachate is on the land near Saswad Road railway station. The residents of these areas have been demanding action against it. There are swarming clouds of flies and mosquitoes at the site because of the leachate. People say that their daily routine has been hampered. People say that they don't feel like eating or drinking anything due the unhygienic conditions caused by large amount of leachate spread across the area.
A recent study report of a non governmental organisation , states that the stench from garbage processing and the landfill site pervades the air at neighbouring villages and leachate from the landfill contaminates ground water.
In this case the US experts have re-discovered something known to the rest of the world for years! Columns packed with high surface area media of all sorts have been found to be effective for ammonia reduction from leachate, but building plants to do that at full-scale doesn't work. Recently, for example about 10 such plants were built for Powys Council in the UK, the designs were all based upon this principle and combined with reed beds, and they are failing their discharge consent requirements, which means by definition that they are causing pollution.
None of the South Wales leachate plants built in this way has proved satisfactory and all need to be re-built based upon more reliable treatment methods. I expect that many of our readers know why this type of plant does not work reliably for sustained periods of years through all seasons and weather conditions. If you do, please give us your thoughts in the comments box below. Otherwise, your blogger feels he may be blogging to no purpose. Show me you are alive! By commenting - even if only to say; "Hi! - Why has this method of leachate treatment been found unworkable?"
Leachate, the wastewater from the Oswego County Landfill, contains too much ammonia to be sent directly to the county's wastewater treatment plant so the landfill operators were looking at a $500,000 solution.
"We were looking at all various systems from mechanical, electrical, removal of ammonia, all which are very expensive. And we were ready to proceed with a constructive wetland which would probably be in a half million dollar range," said Frank Visser, Oswego County Director of Solid Waste.
The constructed wetland would use bacteria to reduce the ammonia level, but instead of a wetland they are trying something different.
"The challenge is to reduce the concentration of ammonia in the leachate. We built a column, like a home for the bacteria, high surface area with a reservoir at the bottom. We use this to culture the bacteria from the natural wetland and circulate the water through it," said Dr. David Johnson, of SUNY-ESF. "What happens in this case, is the ammonia is in its reduced form, just the way carbon is in its reduced form in methane. When it gets oxidized you get energy from it, and this is what the actual bacteria is living off of. The energy comes from that oxidation."
The ammonia gets oxidized to nitrates, so the concentration of ammonia decreases and the effluent is now ready for the wastewater treatment plant. According to Dr. Johnson, people from New York and from other states are very interested because the results have been very good.
"If this system works, we hope to build a reactor to take care of the ammonia, probably in the range of $150,000 to $200,000, which would be a lot less that what a constructed wetland would cost," said Visser.
IF Dr. Johnson would like to come to Wales and meet me, I will show him why this leachate treatment process design doesn't work.
Waste Management in Central Newfoundland Moves to Lined Landfills: The Newfoundland and Labrador municipal Authorities are moving forward with fewer landfills which are lined and include leachate treatment to produce a high quality effluent suitable for discharge to streams and rivers. This with increased diversion of waste away from landfill, by recycling seems to be putting the area "on the map" as far as its waste management practices are concrened. See the full article below our excerpt:
A new waste management facility in Norris Arm has opened, and is the first municipal landfill in the province to contain a liner to prevent landfill pollutants from leaking into the soil and water.
The new landfill is part of a provincial solid waste management strategy that has so far seen the closure of 42 landfills across central Newfoundland.
Municipal Affairs Minister - Kevin O’Brien said the plan continues to progress.
“As a result of investments to date, approximately two-thirds of the province’s population is disposing of waste in one of two lined landfills with leachate collection. Throughout our province we have reduced the number of disposal sites by over 50 per cent and almost 50 per cent of our province’s population already has access to recycling facilities,” he said in a government news release.
The main part of the project was the construction of a new landfill. These pollutants, in the form of landfill leachate, are collected and treated on site to meet strict environmental standards before the water is eventually released back into the environment.
The project also included the construction of an administration building, a maintenance garage, public drop off area, construction and demolition disposal area, weigh scales, and roads at the regional site in Norris Arm. Seven local waste management facilities, consisting of a transfer station building, public drop off and weigh scales, were built throughout the central region.
The solid waste strategy is budgeted at $64.6 million. The government is using $21.3 million of its federal Gas Tax Fund allocation toward eligible costs. The remaining $43.3 million was funded by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Municipal Capital Works Program.
“The goals of the Provincial Solid Waste Management Strategy are to reduce the amount of materials in provincial landfill sites by 50 per cent, reduce the total number of waste disposal sites by 80 per cent, eliminate open burning of waste at disposal sites and phase-out incinerators, phase out unlined landfills, and encourage residents of Newfoundland and Labrador to participate in waste diversion programs such as recycling and composting. Full implementation of the strategy is scheduled for 2020,” states the news release.
This is news which we thought we would pass on to any readers follwoing this case. Discharge of leachate into wells is not normally acceptable, however, it is hoped that the decision was made on the basis of good science and not "knee jerk" environmental sentiment from the "Green " lobby. After reading the excerpt from the orginal article below, please visit the original site. You can use the link provided after the article.
MAYFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Officials say plans to allow landfill leachate in a Grand Traverse County injection well are being dropped.
The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports Friday (http://bit.ly/Jyd2Kk ) that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials recently informed Mayfield Township leaders that a company involved withdrew its application. The owners of the Weber Well had sought in recent years to reclassify the well. Plans for the change at the well had been opposed by some residents and local governments.
The leachate would have come from Glen's Landfill in Leelanau County. The well is located about six miles west of Kingsley. Information from: Traverse City Record-Eagle,
The Manawatu Standard, New Zealand has reported problems with leachate which are being remedied by the authorities concerned. There is no discussion of how the problem arose. Lined landfills will always tend to leak and leachate will very often be formed when desk-based calculation might show otherwise.
That's why regular leachate level monitoring is usually a requirement for all closed landfills, even when leachate is being removed as it apparently was in this case.
The purpose of monitoring is to check that leachate is not building up in some parts of the landfill. Clearly, when leachate levels rise there is much more risk of a leak out of the landfill liner containment system, occurring.
We have included much of the original article below, but we would appreciate it if you would also please visit the original site for the full story:
Steps have been taken to stem the flow of toxic leachate from the Awapuni landfill in Palmerston North.
In May it was revealed that leachate from the landfill had been seeping into the Mangaone Stream and on into the Manawatu River.
Leachate from the lined landfill is collected and taken to the city's wastewater treatment plant.
An independent groundwater scientist and a landfill specialist were contracted to compile a report containing information about what was in the landfill, when material was dumped there, the landfill design and the leachate collection, treatment and discharge system. The original unlined landfill started operating in 1951 and was operational until 1995 when it was replaced by a lined extension, which was used until 2007.
Science and water quality manager Jon Royguard said that more surface water sampling had been completed at 15 sites in the vicinity of the landfill during two low-flow periods.
A further set of samples of the leachate and some other key locations has also been completed in late May. The results of this additional work will be written up in a separate follow-up document that is likely to be available in July.
Testing is continuing around the Higgins site and Mangaone Stream.
Dr Royguard said Palmerston North City Council put in place work to remedy the leaking.
"We have advised them of some remedial action and they have got to it very quickly."
The final report will be made public in August.
A few years ago it would have been rare to hear of Waste Diversion from Landfill as a driver for the implementation of waste treatment fa...
Read about this new project start for a US MSW Anaerobic Digestion Plant. No! I did say that this is all about a project in the US! This sounds more like the type of AD Plant favoured in Europe and previously would nto have been seen in the US.
Anaerobic Digestion News: Planned UK Conference to Address H&S Issues Posed ...: Is the advent of more biogas plants , with the inevitable exposure of the workforce to biogas explosion risks, on the brink of causing accidents at Anaerobic Digestion Plants... Follow the link above to find out more about the risks and a forthcoming UK conference on the subject.
A large UK WASTE company has been accused of polluting water supplies in a North East town (and that this was, it is alleged, somehow by allowing leachate to enter the groundwater), is set to face trial. Residents were disappointed about the slow progress of the action, with the lawyers and Biffa going away to prepare their cases.
Unfortunately, if leachate has entered the groundwater, it will be there of a very long time. We have taken an excerpt form the orginal article and included it as a quotation below. For the full article please make a point of visiting the original web site via he linik at the bottom of the article:
Biffa Waste Services Ltd, which runs a waste management site at Houghton-le-Spring, is being prosecuted by the Environment Agency for six alleged water contamination offences which are said to have occurred between 2010 and 2011.
Charges facing the company include allowing leachate – a foul-smelling liquid which runs from rubbish – into the water supply, knowingly breaking the conditions of their Environmental Permit and failing to inform the Environment Agency of the breaches.
The water supply serves thousands of homes in Sunderland and County Durham.
Protestors involved in the Residents Against Toxic Site (RATS) group, who have campaigned against the landfill site for 15 years, were at Sunderland Magistrates’ Court yesterday for the latest brief hearing in the case.
Colin Wakefield, an independent councillor for the Copt Hill ward and chairman of RATS, said the campaigners support the prosecution.
The group were hoping to see immediate progress but instead the case was adjourned until September, when the matter has been listed for trial.
However no pleas have yet been entered by Biffa Waste Services, and it is understood the case could still be resolved outside of court.
Biffa Waste Services is one of the biggest waste management companies in the UK and runs the Houghton-le-Spring landfill from a former quarry.
It deals with 500,000 tonnes of waste a year and the organisation is currently in the process of asking for planning permission to continue operating for another 17 years.
It lies less than a mile from Stonegate pumping station in Houghton-le-Spring which supplies water to people living in South Sunderland, Houghton-le-Spring and South Durham.
Niall Carlin, prosecuting on behalf of the Environment Agency, said at an earlier hearing: “The case has a great deal of public importance as it relates to allegations of contamination of water supplying the citizens of Sunderland.”
Biffa Waste Services are charged with breaching their Environmental Permit; failure to inform the Environment Agency of the breach; allowing pollution of ground water to occur; not taking measures to prevent leachate emissions causing pollution; exceeding acceptable levels of leachate; and exceeding danger levels for ground water.
Good news about the leachate management at the Cherokee Nation landfill. In a recent article it was announced that Tribe’s landfill may still have some issues, as far as the residents are concerned, but it is being operated better. In particular, a leachate pond used to catch water that leached from waste dumped at the Cherokee Nation landfill near Cherokee Tree, Okla., is no longer used and should be phased out soon. Read the full except below. Then take a look at the orignal article using the link provided below the article:
Three years ago, the Cherokee Nation’s landfill in Adair County was in the process of re-opening after facing regulatory issues two years before. The landfill closed in 2008, and its operator, Indian Country Investments, was fined more than $1 million by the CN Environmental Protection Commission for environmental violations, including leakage from an unlined storage pond, excessive methane gas levels and failing to adequately cover refuse with soil.
In July 2009, the landfill re-opened under Cherokee Nation Waste Management and has been under CNWM’s care since.CN Environmental Programs Administrator Tom Elkins said CNWM monitors the landfill to ensure its compliance with CN environmental regulations. He said the landfill still deals with issues, but is operating much better.
Elkins said one issue is an unused leachate pond. Leachate is water that has run over or through trash. He said tanks capture the leachate but the pond now collects rainwater, sometimes to its capacity.He said CNWM wants to close out the pond, but to do so would require removing “millions” of gallons of leachate from the pond and shipping it to nearby Stilwell to be processed, which isn’t cost feasible. Elkins said the tribe’s EPC has informed CNWM that it needs to address the pond’s needs and pump out the leachate water. He said the EPC has instructed him to have a violation notice ready for the commission’s June meeting in case CNWM has not addressed the pond’s problem. “It that doesn’t encourage them to do it, it will go into the next step of regulatory issues,” he said.The landfill, on average, takes in 100 tons of trash a day, Elkins said. “That’s really not much for a landfill. At one time, they took might have taken 1,800 tons (a day), which was probably more than they should have taken,” he said.The trash comes from throughout northeastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas. Another issue for the landfill has been trash, mainly plastic bags, blowing out of trash trucks. CNWM has installed “trash-catch fences” to keep bags from leaving the landfill property and blowing into neighboring properties.“It’s more of a housekeeping issue than it is a regulatory issue,”
Elkins said.He added that landfill workers also are assigned to pick up trash not caught by the fences. “It’s being taken care of a lot better than it was,” he said. A regulatory issue that has been addressed since CNWM began operating the landfill is uncovered trash. Trash dumped into the landfill must be covered daily by dirt.“It’s an issue we have to stay on top of. If you have uncovered trash, you start getting rats, birds…that spread disease. We can’t have that, so we’re on that tight about getting that covered up,” Elkins said. Despite its issues, the landfill is needed to prevent a potentially worse situation caused by illegal dumping on rural roads, Elkins said. Locals use illegal dumping sites or wildcat dumps when they no longer have a place to dump trash.Elkins said the last time the landfill stopped taking trash county commissioners in northeast Oklahoma informed tribal leaders that communities did not have a place to take their trash.
The tipping fees for industrial, commercial and institutional uses at the Merrick Landfill site are going up again. In terms of the prices charged in other nations, these charges are still very low, however, in this US town, it is an issue. In fact the city is proposing to lift the tipping fee to $78 per metric tonne, from the current fee of $75, with effect from June 1, 2012.
A staff report presented to council Monday says fees for waste management purposes cannot exceed the cost of providing the service. The report, however, does say rates can be set based on costs for the entire waste management program.
Tipping fees were originally established in 1990 and have gradually increased over time. Last year, the rate went from $71 to $75 per metric tonne.
A cost comparison included in the report shows North Bay’s proposed fee will be higher than those in Timmins, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, where the price ranges from $63 to $70 per metric tonne, and lower than those in Peterborough, Orillia and Barrie, where the price ranges from $90 to $125 per metric tonne.
The report says the increase is justified when long-term operating, maintenance and capital costs are considered. Last year, the city completed a cell expansion project at the landfill and is expected to finish installing infrastructure at the site this spring to capture and convert methane gas into electricity. In addition, the city is now designing a leachate treatment system for the landfill.
The report says the city will see $30,000 in increased annual revenue for every dollar tipping fees are hiked.
Residents are concerned about a landfill bund settlement crack which according to a local press news release threatens tp allow a leachate escape at the South Hadley, Industrial Drive Landfill, Alabama. Although the article raises concerns though, the questions which remains unanswered and which surely is an obvious one is; "How much leachate is sitting in the landfill which could leak out in the event of a rupture of the lining membrane". Until that is known, the reporter really doesn't have a news story. Settlement will take place in all landfilled waste. In fact, of the order of 30% settlement over the first few years is not uncommon, so cracks can occur. Even if the crack casued a rupture, as long as the landfill operator has drained all leachate out of the landfill - which is good practice anyway - there will be NO RISK. Thta is surely clear form a thousand miles away. Read the original article, by following the link below. We have included an excarpt below for your convenience:
The 20-foot crack in a 2-year-old retaining wall at the town landfill presents a threat to public health, safety and the environment, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.
The fissure could allow waste to leak into groundwater and damage the dump's power infrastructure. It could also damage properties abutting the Industrial Drive landfill, a site operator Interstate Waste Services of Ramsey, N.J., is eyeing for a 13-acre expansion.
"At this point our greatest concern is solid waste already put into the facility migrating off the site," said Catherine Skiba, spokeswoman for the DEP's Springfield office.
The crack was discovered in late December during a routine evaluation of the dump's mechanically stabilized earth berm, a triangle-shaped mound made up of earth and a reinforcement substance, typically the same material used to line landfills. The mechanically stabilized earth berm - the first and only one to be used in a Massachusetts landfill - has allowed for the vertical addition of waste to the site.
The DEP has a list of potentially dangerous scenarios the crack could unleash. Foremost among them is a garbage infused, liquid leachate, making its way into surface water or groundwater. South Hadley Department of Public Works Superintendent James Reidy said there are no significant sources of drinking water in the area of the landfill.
"There's certainly streams that pass through the area, Buttery Brook being the closest," he said, "but nothing as far as drinking water supplies."
The crack could also: damage the landfill gas control system, damage the force main that carries leachate to the sewer, interrupt power to pump and flare stations or result in waste showing up on abutting properties, according to the unilateral administrative order the DEP sent to South Hadley in early April.
In the order, the DEP calls for an in-depth study of the rupture by an unbiased engineer. That investigation is already under way. A report by Specialty Civil Designs in Fairhope, Ala., is due by May 19 and should reveal how deep the crack is, which potential hazards it poses, what the fallout may be and possible remediation.
Skiba said DEP and town officials expected some shifting of materials as the berm settled, and the current settlement measure is within the original design estimate.
"The settlement was expected to occur shortly after construction, but it was not certain how the settlement would be expressed on the landfill and berm," she said.
Meanwhile, assessments of the berm's stability have increased from quarterly to weekly and additional points are now being monitored. The crack has been filled with a sand-cement grout mixture to stave off further deterioration. The grout filler may be the fissure's permanent fix, Reidy said.
"We have to wait for the results of the report, but this appears to be the long-term fix," he said.
Since being discovered, no visual changes to the crack have been observed, Skiba said. Also, the crack has not affected the solar array built into the berm, she said.
Old unlined landfills which have been used for waste disposal for many years can give rise to big concerns due to the fact that far less was known of the contaminating effects of these chemicals in the past, and far less care was taken. This seems to be a particularly relevant concern for locals at this New Zealand unlined landfill which has been used as a waste dump since the 1950s.
One contaminant of concern which is described is he presence of acid herbicides. A landfill in which I was involved in remediating near Peterborough had been used for disposal of herbicides from a nearby factory when the production run had failed, or produced substandard product etc. The landfill was not lined, and a plume of contamination was allowing the herbicide and pesticide contaminated groundwater to flow into a major East Anglain river. I was part of a team which constructed an cut-off trench to collect the groundwater and design and supervise construction of a leachate treatment plant which we commissioned and is I belive still operating. This was fully successful in extracting the pollution and the treatment plant has worked successfully for many years, and as far as I am ware is still being operated throughout the year by the landfill owner. This shows that such pollution can be prevented even after the pollution has entered the groundwater. Please read the extract below, and visit the orginal article by clicking on the link at the bottom of the article:
The Awapuni landfill is leaking and the toxic waste oozing from almost 60 years of rubbish buildup is seeping into the Manawatu River. The revelation was confirmed by a top Horizons Regional Council scientist at the strategy and policy committee meeting in Palmerston North yesterday. A report on landfill leachate was expected to be presented to the committee, but a lack of data meant it had to be deferred, and science manager Dr John Roygard instead gave a summary of findings from the months of monitoring.
"The evidence is showing that leachate is making its way to the [groundwater] bores, however the amount of leachate is reducing."
Dr Roygard said he was concerned about the discovery of leachate coming from the lined landfill.
"We must follow up on that."
Dr Roygard told councillors he expected to receive more information from Palmerston North City Council by the end of the week, enabling the report to be completed.
At a meeting late last year, regional councillors asked for a report on leachate issues concerning the unlined Awapuni landfill.
Claims that Agent Orange, reported to be in the landfill, was escaping were rejected by Dr Roygard who said testing had shown no evidence of the toxin. However, issues around coal tar leachate were not so definitive. "We found one chemical related to it, but not any others that we would expect to find if there was a problem," he said.
An independent groundwater scientist and a landfill specialist were contracted to compile a report containing information about what was in the landfill, when material was dumped there, the landfill design and the leachate collection, treatment and discharge system. The original unlined landfill started operating in 1951 and was operational until 1995 when it was replaced by a lined extension, which was used until 2007.
Leachate from the old landfill has been seeping into the Mangaone Stream and on to the Manawatu River, while leachate from the lined landfill is collected and taken to the city's wastewater treatment plant.
Dr Roygard said landfill leachate breakouts breakouts had slowed since the dump was closed, but were still happening.
"We have got to be careful about how that is happening and where it is going, which is what this monitoring programme will tell us."
The monitoring of groundwater bores and surface water for chemicals and dissolved metals has been made easier by the unseasonably warm weather and low river flows.
Acid herbicides have been found in groundwater and elevated ammonia levels in the Mangaone Stream downstream of the landfill.
"It appears the landfill is affecting the Mangaone but once it [groundwater] gets to the Manawatu River it is diluted quite quickly."
There are no requirements in the city council's consent to monitor leachate, but Dr Roygard said the regional council could review the consent next year.
The top of every landfill should be rounded, and certainly never a flat plateau, and if your landfill has a flat plateau you should go right now to the regulators and the planners and ask for more capacity to be allowed to ask for a rounded contour with surface slopes initially at no shallower than 1 in 20, whcih after settlement will end up probably at only 1 in 20 which is only just enough to stop sighnificant ponding. In essence you need the surface water from a landfill cap to flo off it quickly. UK research in the 1990s showed this need for a good shedding slope to the top of a landfill to reduce leachate production, to be a big factor in all cases studied.
Here is an extract from the original article:
TRENT HILLS -- The key to a landfill achieving its full potential is that it be well-rounded. Northumberland County will be making that argument when it applies to the Ministry of the Environment to increase the capacity of the Seymour landfill by 39,000 cubic metres so the mound atop the waste disposal site will be rounded.
The landfill's approved final contours is for a plateau on top which will lead to increased infiltration of precipitation into the landfill and cause "higher than necessary leachate generation rates," manager of planning and technical support Adam McCue said in a report to County council April 18.
If the ministry agrees to the request for additional waste material and cover soil, Seymour Landfill's operating life would be extended by up to two years, he said.
With its capacity currently valued at $95 per tonne, the landfill would produce an additional $1.85 million in revenue during that time, he added.
Mo Pannu, director of transportation and waste management, said the site's capacity is expected to run out by the end of this year or early in 2013.
He said it will take four to five months for the application to be processed.
The application to the ministry will cost $22,700. The County also approved an expenditure of $42,500 to develop detailed design, operations and closure plan in support of the request. Both expenses will be funded from savings in this year's transportation and waste management department budgets.
There have been fewer dramatic US nationally funded clean-up up projects in recent years, since more attention has been given to regulating landfills and the operators have been made to line them and show that proper care is being taken to protect the environment from the damage that leachate escape can cause. The following article shows a case where action is being taken to protect water supplies:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with the General Electric Company and SI Group, Inc. (formerly Schenectady Chemical) to collect and properly dispose of contaminated ground water and liquid leaching from the Dewey Loeffel landfill that is threatening several nearby drinking water wells. The liquid seeping from the landfill, called leachate, and the ground water are contaminated with volatile organic compounds, which can cause cancer in people. The extent and nature of potential health effects depend on many factors, including the level and how long people are exposed to the contaminants.
The EPA is currently collecting the contaminated liquid waste and sending it off-site for disposal. Under the agreement, General Electric and SI will take on the collection and removal of the waste and the construction of a treatment plant adjacent to the landfill, all with EPA oversight. The waste will continue to be sent off-site until the construction of the treatment plant is completed. Treated water from the new system will be discharged to surface water only after the EPA verifies that sampling data shows that the treatment system is working effectively and is capable of meeting stringent state discharge limits. GE and SI Group have agreed to reimburse EPA for certain costs, including an upfront payment of $800,000.
“The EPA has determined that treating the contaminated ground water and liquid at the site is an effective way to protect people’s drinking water wells while the EPA investigation of the site continues,” said Judith A. Enck, EPA Regional Administrator. “The treatment system that will be constructed near the landfill will alleviate the impacts of the hundreds of truck trips needed to dispose of the waste off-site.”
The treatment system to be constructed will address potential threats from the contaminated ground water and eachate and community concerns about trucking the contaminated liquid off-site. A comprehensive long-term study is underway, which will identify permanent cleanup options, called remedial actions, for the contaminated ground water, surface water and sediment associated with the site. The permanent cleanup plan may include changes to the leachate collection collection, ground water extraction and treatment systems.
The Dewey Loeffel Landfill site is located in southern Rensselaer County, approximately four miles northeast of the village of Nassau. From 1952 until 1968, the site was used for the disposal of an estimated 46,000 tons of waste materials generated by several Capital District companies. The waste included industrial solvents, waste oils, polychlorinated biphenyls, scrap materials, sludge and solids. Volatile organic compounds and other hazardous substances have seeped out of the landfill and contaminated the ground water. PCBs have also moved downstream, causing contamination of sediment and several species of fish in and near Nassau Lake.
From 1980 until the site was added to the federal Superfund list in May 2011, numerous investigations and cleanup actions were performed at the site under the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Superfund program. In the fall 2011, the EPA took responsibility for operating ground water and leachate collection collection systems that had been installed by the state.
The importance of avoiding landfill leachate escapes to landfill operators is once again made clear in this article which we found recently, where the problem is all about the release of leachate into the nearby creek. It shows, yet again, how important it is to ensure that leachate is managed carefully. Which means that the city’s municipal solid waste landfill may be closed to new waste tipping, but it’s far from being off the local radar screen.
Here is an extract from the article:
The Florence City Council could vote tonight to pay its engineering consultant $21,130 to investigate the source of a leachate escape in February that ultimately led to the state issuing a notice of violation.
The contract with Highland Technical Services would also authorize the company to take steps to recover leachate — water polluted with garbage — from the cell from which it originally escaped. If that option is chosen, the cost will increase to $55,640.
The council voted recently to close the landfill to municipal solid waste, leaving the remaining space for construction and demolition debris. The landfill was running out space, and the council deadlocked for months on whether to open a final cell or close the landfill and hire a contractor to haul trash out of state. The latter option was chosen as a temporary emergency measure in December because the current cell filled in early January.
In March, the council voted to extend its contract with Waste Connections, which is operating a transfer station for the city.
The notice of violation from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management cited the release of leachate into nearby Cypress Creek during a rain event. The violation is considered serious, and the notice stated a monetary fine could be imposed.
The council’s 3-3 deadlock was broken when Councilman Sam Pendleton and Council President James Barnhart voted to extend the contract with Waste Connections. Pendleton said the violation convinced him the landfill has problems. Barnhart, who had been concerned with costs, said Waste Connections’ guarantee of a long-term steady price helped sway his decision.
Here is an open letter from a resident who is appears to be declaring that leachate from a municipal waste landfill which the Waste Water Treatment Plant operator is presumably happy to accept, which must surely mean that there is sufficient treatment capacity at the Waste Water Treatment Plant to treat it, should not be sent there.
(The video below is for your general information and not associated with this article.)
This seems quite remarkable when around the worl the majority of landfill leachate is treated at sewage works, and for example the World Bank often prefers that it be treated finally at a Waste Water Treatment Plant, that this objection should be being made. Of course, the leachate might contain toxic substances, apart from the usual high strength organic contamination which is always present in landfill leachate. It also might well contain dissolved methane which might make it an explosion risk to discharge into the sewer, and need methane stripping before it is discharges, or, it might actually be more cost effectively provided with initial leachate treatment plant at the landfill site, by installation of a nitrification treatment plant, of which i have designed and supervisied construction of many.
However, just to say this is horrible suff this landfill leachate and must not go to the sewer or the Waste Water Treatment Plant by tankers, is likely to place a high and unnecessary burden of cost on the community, for little environmental benefit, if any. You can read the opern letter below. Please also visit the original blog article:
Dear Officials (town and city of Geneva):
The residents of the Town and City of Geneva and the Town of Seneca are bearing most of the burden of the off-site environmental problems coming from the Ontario County landfill. These residents are becoming more cynical about the ability and the willingness of some local officials to stand up and represent their constituents, as opposed to the interests of Casella Waste. Because of that, it seems like a good time to state an important concern about pending sewer negotiations.
Any final agreement must contain safeguards against Casella ever being able to transport leachate from the landfill through any jointly owned/operated sewer line to the Geneva Waste Water Treatment Plant, which discharges into Seneca Lake. Although this battle was fought months ago, that was not a final victory for Seneca Lake and those who drink its water, since leachate is still being trucked to the waste water treatment plant. The appetite of some local officials for leachat dollars apparently is never satisfied. City Council’s courageous decision against a direct pipeline from the dump to the treatment plant must be confirmed for the future in any city-town agreement about sewers.
In keeping with this decision and the concerns of residents, it is essential that any sewer agreements between the Town of Geneva and the Town of Seneca, and between the City of Geneva and the Town of Geneva include specific language preventing Casella or any future operator of the landfill from transporting leachate through city and town sewer lines.
There is no doubt that leachate can be very strog and cause a risk of surface water pollution, fish kils, etc. even where composting is taking place, and controls on where such compost piles are located may be needed. Here is a case where this has been seen as being vitally important.
Please vist the original website by clicking the link at the bottom of the article:
HELEN MURDOCH: A breach in a clay bund wall surrounding an illegal pile of rotting chicken and bark near the Motueka River has raised questions about the waste leaking into groundwater.
The Nelson Mail returned to the site on Thursday and found an overgrown drain from the compost site used by Birdhurst Ltd led directly to a nearby well liner sunk into the ground.
On Tuesday the Tasman District Council's environmental information manager Rob Smith had said that the illegal pile of rotting layer hens and bark would be allowed to remain at the site for the next month until the compost process was complete because moving the heaps before the process was complete would create too much smell.
At the time Mr Smith said the piles were in a compacted clay pit and there was no chance of contamination entering the groundwater – which ran between 2.5 to 3.5 metres below the surface – or reaching the Motueka River, some 200m away.
The situation came to public attention late last month when the Mail was called to the site off the end of Parker St because of concerns over the smell from the estimated 300 cubic metres of rotting chickens and bark.
The company was then fined $750 for breaching an abatement order issued by the council last year requiring Birdhurst to halt the operation.
Mr Smith said on Thursday staff were aware of the slot in the bund. It was to be blocked up on Thursday evening and more bark added to the pile of rotting chickens to reduce the smell.
"We believe that it was part of the previous consent requirement to manage the leachate. The previous consent had leachate management provisions in it. The composting material is isolated from the slot by clean bark and shell material.
"While I do not believe that there is any need to worry about any potential discharge to groundwater we will sample the groundwater next week to put the public's mind at rest."
Mr Smith said staff were following up on the issue of the unconsented compost operation occurring on the site that breaches the volume and odour regulations.
