Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Microbiology of Landfill Sites

Microbiology of Landfill SitesThis book was originally published in 1990 and was the first text to consider the definitive fundamental science of landfill biotechnology.
Since then, major research initiatives, particularly in the U.K. and South Africa, have resulted in considerable advancement in our knowledge of landfill microbiology.
The Second Edition details this progress. Text considers the latest findings in landfill leachate treatment, co-disposal and fundamental microbiology.
It brings together the expertise of the immediate complementary, but often disparate disciplines of soil science, environmental engineering, applied mathematics, and land reclamation and focuses on the common goal of the scientific design and management of landfill sites.
The book also includes effective laboratory models and selected approaches.
Price: $173.95
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Monday, December 06, 2010

Advanced Treatment of Landfill Leachate

Advanced Treatment of Landfill LeachateTreatment of landfill leachate is a challenge specially to the developing countries in the process of protecting their environment due to unaffordability of the available technologies.


This study, Advanced oxidation combined with Membrane Bio- reactor (MBR) is an effort to achieve better treatment technique.


It focuses on reduced need for infrastructure and smaller foot print of treatment facility by using MBR technology to perform activated sludge process.


The subsequent advanced oxidation by ozone facilitates further treatment. Leachate of average age was preteated and fed into a laboratory MBR treatment module. Pretreatment efficiency and the change of MBR efficiency by recirculating the ozonated effluent were studied.


Price: $84.00


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A Scheme for the analysis of pollutants in groundwater and leachates contaminated by hazardous chemicals

Sanitary landfills are the most widely utilized method of solid waste disposal around the world. With increased use and public awareness of this method of disposal, there is much concern with respect to the pollution potential of the landfill leachate. Depending on the composition and extent of decomposition of the refuse and hydrological factors, the leachate may become highly contaminated. As leachate migrates away from a landfill, it may cause serious pollution to the groundwater aquifer as well as adjacent surface waters.


There is growing concern about surface and groundwater pollution from leachate. Better understanding and prediction of leachate generation, containment, and treatment are needed. This book contains a literature review of various methodologies that have been developed for prediction, generation, characterization, containment, control, and treatment of leachate from sanitary landfills. The contents of this book are divided into nine chapters. Each chapter contains theory and definition of the important design parameters, literature review, example calculations, and references. Chapter 1 is devoted to basic facts of solid waste problems current status and future trends towards waste reduction and recycling.


Chapter 2 provides a general overview of municipal solid waste generation, collection, transport, resource recovery and reuse, and disposal options. The current status of sanitary landfill design and operation, problems associated with the landfilling, and future trends are presented in Chapter 3. Methods of enhanced stabilization, recycling landfill space, methane recovery, and above grade landfilling, and closure and post closure care of completed landfills are also discussed in detail.


Chapter 4 provides a general overview of Subtitle D regulations and its impact upon sanitary landfilling practices. Chapter 5 is devoted entirely to moisture routing and leachate generation mechanisms. Examples of calculation procedure for determining the leachate quantity produced at a landfill are presented. Chapter 6 is devoted to chemical characterization of leachate that changes over the life of the fill. Both theoretical and experimental results are provided to estimate the leachate quality. Chapter 7 provides leachate attenuation processes and mechanisms.


Chapter 8 is devoted to leachate collection systems. Natural soil sealants, admixed materials and synthetic membranes, their effectiveness, and methods of installation and economics are fully discussed. Chapter 9 provides a detailed review of leachate treatment methodology. Kinetic coefficients and treatment plant design considerations are summarized for the sole purpose of assisting con- sultants to design leachate treatment facilities. Leachate treatment case histories and numerous process trains are presented for treating leachate from young landfill. The book also describes how the process train can be changed effectively as leachate quality changes with time.


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Sunday, December 05, 2010

A Survey of the Current and Potential Analytical Techniques for the Speciation of Radionuclides in Nuclear Waste Repository Groundwaters and Simulation Leachates

Sanitary landfills are the most widely utilized method of solid waste disposal around the world. With increased use and public awareness of this method of disposal, there is much concern with respect to the pollution potential of the landfill leachate. Depending on the composition and extent of decomposition of the refuse and hydrological factors, the leachate may become highly contaminated. As leachate migrates away from a landfill, it may cause serious pollution to the groundwater aquifer as well as adjacent surface waters. T


here is growing concern about surface and groundwater pollution from leachate. Better understanding and prediction of leachate generation, containment, and treatment are needed. This book contains a literature review of various methodologies that have been developed for prediction, generation, characterization, containment, control, and treatment of leachate from sanitary landfills. The contents of this book are divided into nine chapters. Each chapter contains theory and definition of the important design parameters, literature review, example calculations, and references. Chapter 1 is devoted to basic facts of solid waste problems current status and future trends towards waste reduction and recycling. C


hapter 2 provides a general overview of municipal solid waste generation, collection, transport, resource recovery and reuse, and disposal options. The current status of sanitary landfill design and operation, problems associated with the landfilling, and future trends are presented in Chapter 3. Methods of enhanced stabilization, recycling landfill space, methane recovery, and above grade landfilling, and closure and post closure care of completed landfills are also discussed in detail. Chapter 4 provides a general overview of Subtitle D regulations and its impact upon sanitary landfilling practices. Chapter 5 is devoted entirely to moisture routing and leachate generation mechanisms.


Examples of calculation procedure for determining the leachate quantity produced at a landfill are presented. Chapter 6 is devoted to chemical characterization of leachate that changes over the life of the fill. Both theoretical and experimental results are provided to estimate the leachate quality. Chapter 7 provides leachate attenuation processes and mechanisms. Chapter 8 is devoted to leachate collection systems. Natural soil sealants, admixed materials and synthetic membranes, their effectiveness, and methods of installation and economics are fully discussed.


Chapter 9 provides a detailed review of leachate treatment methodology. Kinetic coefficients and treatment plant design considerations are summarized for the sole purpose of assisting con- sultants to design leachate treatment facilities. Leachate treatment case histories and numerous process trains are presented for treating leachate from young landfill. The book also describes how the process train can be changed effectively as leachate quality changes with time.


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Saturday, December 04, 2010

Anaerobic Digestion: Thermophile, Biogas, Biodegradation, Decomposition, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Biofuel, Methane, Leachate, Biosolids

Anaerobic Digestion: Thermophile, Biogas, Biodegradation, Decomposition, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Biofuel, Methane, Leachate, BiosolidsChapters: Thermophile, Biogas, Biodegradation, Decomposition, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Biofuel, Methane, Leachate, Biosolids, Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Bioconversion of Biomass to Mixed Alcohol Fuels, Silage, Methanogenesis, Sewage, Treatment Pond, Energy Crop, Fermentation, Clonostachys Rosea F. Rosea, Organisms Used in Water Purification, Acidogenesis, Tables of European Biogas Utilisation, Total Suspended Solids, Biohydrogen, Sintex Digester, Cow Power, Landfill Gas, Digestate, Sewer Gas Destructor Lamp, Anaerobic Respiration, Facultative Anaerobic Organism, List of Solid Waste Treatment Technologies, Acetogenesis, Mesophile, Methyl-Coenzyme M Reductase, Mixed Acid Fermentation, Biogas Upgrader. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 229. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Anaerobic digestion is a series of processes in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen, used for industrial or domestic purposes to manage waste and/or to release energy. It is widely used as part of the process to treat wastewater. As part of an integrated waste management system, anaerobic digestion reduces the emission of landfill gas into the atmosphere. Anaerobic digestion is widely used as a renewable energy source because the process produces a methane and carbon dioxide rich biogas suitable for energy production, helping to replace fossil fuels. The nutrient-rich digestate which is also produced can be used as fertilizer. The digestion process begins with bacterial hydrolysis of the input materials in order to break down insoluble organic polymers such as carbohydrates and make them available for other bacteria. Acidogenic bacteria then convert the sugars and amino acids into carbon dioxide, hydrogen, ammonia, and organic acids. Acetogenic bacteria then...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=1545608

Price: $31.26


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Comparison of four leachate-generation procedures for solid waste characterization in environmental assessment programs (Interagency energy/environment R&D program report)

FROM THE PREFACESanitary landfills are the most widely utilized method of solid waste disposal around the world. With increased use and public awareness of this method of disposal, there is much concern with respect to the pollution potential of the landfill leachate. Depending on the composition and extent of decomposition of the refuse and hydrological factors, the leachate may become highly contaminated. As leachate migrates away from a landfill, it may cause serious pollution to the groundwater aquifer as well as adjacent surface waters. There is growing concern about surface and groundwater pollution from leachate. Better understanding and prediction of leachate generation, containment, and treatment are needed.




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This book contains a literature review of various methodologies that have been developed for prediction, generation, characterization, containment, control, and treatment of leachate from sanitary landfills. The contents of this book are divided into nine chapters. Each chapter contains theory and definition of the important design parameters, literature review, example calculations, and references. Chapter 1 is devoted to basic facts of solid waste problems current status and future trends towards waste reduction and recycling. Chapter 2 provides a general overview of municipal solid waste generation, collection, transport, resource recovery and reuse, and disposal options.


The current status of sanitary landfill design and operation, problems associated with the landfilling, and future trends are presented in Chapter 3. Methods of enhanced stabilization, recycling landfill space, methane recovery, and above grade landfilling, and closure and post closure care of completed landfills are also discussed in detail. Chapter 4 provides a general overview of Subtitle D regulations and its impact upon sanitary landfilling practices. Chapter 5 is devoted entirely to moisture routing and leachate generation mechanisms.


Examples of calculation procedure for determining the leachate quantity produced at a landfill are presented. Chapter 6 is devoted to chemical characterization of leachate that changes over the life of the fill. Both theoretical and experimental results are provided to estimate the leachate quality. Chapter 7 provides leachate attenuation processes and mechanisms.


Chapter 8 is devoted to leachate collection systems. Natural soil sealants, admixed materials and synthetic membranes, their effectiveness, and methods of installation and economics are fully discussed. Chapter 9 provides a detailed review of leachate treatment methodology. Kinetic coefficients and treatment plant design considerations are summarized for the sole purpose of assisting con- sultants to design leachate treatment facilities. Leachate treatment case histories and numerous process trains are presented for treating leachate from young landfill. The book also describes how the process train can be changed effectively as leachate quality changes with time.


Price:


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Friday, December 03, 2010

Composition of leachates from actual hazardous waste sites (SuDoc EP 1.89/2:600/S 2-87/043)

Treatment of landfill leachate is a challenge specially to the developing countries in the process of protecting their environment due to unaffordability of the available technologies. This study, Advanced oxidation combined with Membrane Bio- reactor (MBR) is an effort to achieve better treatment technique. It focuses on reduced need for infrastructure and smaller foot print of treatment facility by using MBR technology to perform activated sludge process. The subsequent advanced oxidation by ozone facilitates further treatment. Leachate of average age was preteated and fed into a laboratory MBR treatment module. Pretreatment efficiency and the change of MBR efficiency by recirculating the ozonated effluent were studied.

Price:


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Brookhaven Town to Send 9 Million Gallons of Leachate Per Year to Resource ... - Patch

Steve Bossotti, Covanta’s Vice President, Supervisor Mark Lesko and Rick Sandner, Covanta’s Vice President Regional Business Manager. Town of Brookhaven

Earlier in the month, the City of Brookhaven voted collectively on a resolution moved to modify a community solid waste and ash disposal agreement with Covanta Hempstead Company.

The plan allows them them to accept and transport roughly 9,000,000 gallons of leachate each year from the Brookhaven City Rubbish heap . Covanta incinerates borough solid waste to generate salable electricity and will use the leachate as "slaking water" to extinguish ash residue so it's no longer capable of combustion or ignition, according to the City . The move will save Brookhaven virtually $500,000 over the next 4 years, Supervisor Mark Lesko said. "I advocate our waste product management team for doing such an excellent job in building more strategies for the city to save cash during these tricky business times," he added.

Leachate is liquid that moves thru or drains from a landfill.

The most typical source is rainwater filtering down thru the landfill. This liquid is treated in the same way to sewage, and then safely released into the environment. According to the city officers, the Brookhaven Dump produces between 18,000,000 tons and twenty-seven million tons of leachate a year on account of the standard operation of the rubbish heap and Covanta Hempstead has found it's of acceptable quality to "slake" ash during its resource recovery process. "The Brookhaven Dump serves as an example across the industry of how a waste product management facility can be run more effectively and with the smallest amount of result on the environment ".

 Councilman Tim Mazzei said. "We have the largest municipal landfill site on Long Island and it's important that we continue to lead the way."

The program also helps Convanta.

"The leachate will be utilized at our Hempstead energy-from-waste facility and consequently cut our annual usage of ground water by an equivalent amount," said Rick Sandner, Vice President Regional Business Manager of Covanta. "Good for the Town, good for us and good for the environment."

The Town of Brookhaven accepts post combustion ash, and other non-hazardous materials into its landfill from various companies and this year will receive over 217,000 tons of post combustion ash residue from Covanta Hempstead.

The revenue that the Town of Brookhaven will derive from the company for accepting ash in 2010 is expected to exceed $11.5 million, Town officials said.

View the original article here

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Landfill deal possible - Pekin Daily Times

The Tazewell County Health Services Committee approved spending $16,700 Thursday for what may be the final needed testing on the Pekin Landfill while the committee members are scrambling to secure a deal with the state that could lead to having the site finally sealed safely in 2012.

Ray Corey, the Health Department’s director of solid waste, said he has been meeting with people from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources about obtaining $500,000 to dredge silt from the Illinois River to dry and put over the landfill. However, thanks to what Corey described as Pekin Landfill Committee member Dean Grimm’s “twisting their arm,” he said the DNR is now considering giving the county $1.5 million to dredge silt for topsoil and, more importantly, packaging the funds with a court order giving the county access while relieving the county of all legal liability at the site.

The question of the county being able to get access to the privately owned landfill while avoiding legal liability has been one of the biggest obstacles to progress on capping the improperly sealed, long-abandoned waste site.

However, according to Grimm, the issue is very time-sensitive, as the DNR would like to get the plan in motion before the election to tout as a political victory for the governor’s office. With the election less than three weeks away, though, the county will have to move quickly.

“This is the governor’s fund and they’ve got $8 million in it,” Grimm said. “They want a photo op and a few other things prior to this election and we’ll get this money. So there’s a lot of urgency here.”

In order to move forward, the county will have to enter into an inter-governmental agreement with the state, which would have to be approved by the whole county board which meets Oct. 27. Health Services Committee Chair Michael Harris said he hopes to have the agreement drawn up by Oct. 21 so it can be reviewed before the full board meeting.

The $16,700 approved Thursday will go to pay Patrick Engineering to test the wells at the landfill using a more accurate method, purging the wells to get a more representative sample of the water under the ground there. Corey said the last tests likely took samples containing solid lead particles in the wells, while the new method should allow Patrick Engineering to clear those pieces and test the lead levels within the actual water itself to determine if too much lead is leaching into the underground water supply.

If the tests show the leachate problem is not as bad as initially believed, the county could use a much cheaper method than purchasing the polyethylene liner and using a net drainage system. Instead, the county could follow the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency guidelines and simply seal off the top of the landfill with two feet of clay and two more feet of topsoil, and using a wetlands filtering system for the leachate that is apparently only coming out one side of the landfill. Corey said this option would cost anywhere from a quarter to half as much as the other method.

The testing should start Monday and could provide the information the county needs to make a final decision on how to solve the problem of the unsafe landfill, according to Harris, who said the IEPA has confirmed this to him.

“The IEPA is in with us,” Harris said. “They agreed this is the test we’re going to need to make a decision.”

The test results will be vital, because the state needs to have a plan laid out by the county before it will give the county the money for the “Mud to Parks” program.

If all goes well for the county, then the tests will reveal the leachate problem is mild enough to allow for the cheaper seal, the state will give the county a court order to fix the property while protecting it from liability, and the state will give the county $1.5 million to dredge silt to use as topsoil.

However, according to Corey, the money will pay for about 71,500 wet tons of silt, but the county is going to need about 158,000 wet tons to over the landfill, an amount that would probably cost more than $3 million to obtain. Plus the county will need to find a cheap source of clay.

Health Department Director Amy Tippey also pointed out that the silt would have to dry out before it could be taken to the landfill site, which means the earliest it could be applied would be the spring of 2011. And with the total amount of work needing to be completed, the finishing date would likely be the spring of 2012, according to Corey.


View the original article here

Petition Pushes EPA to Move on Cement Kiln Dust Management - EP Magazine

Riverkeeper has filed a legal petition forcing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take action on a rule that sets the standards for how toxic cement kiln dust (CKD) is managed by cement producers around the country.




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This byproduct of cement manufacturing is often dumped into unlined landfills and old quarries, causing toxic leachate to foul groundwater and surface water. The proposed rule was published in 1999, but due to unyielding pressure from the cement industry, has languished for nearly 11 years, according to Riverkeeper. As a result, no federal standards for CKD disposal exist today.


“In New York and around the country, these unlined landfills ooze toxic leachate and devastate the environment,” said Josh Verleun, Riverkeeper chief investigator and staff attorney. “Through our action, we are seeking to force the creation of federal standards for the disposal of CKD, a substance that when mixed with groundwater, can result in a heavy-metal laden runoff with pH levels comparable to household bleach.”


Riverkeeper is an environmental watchdog organization whose mission is to protect the ecological integrity of the Hudson River and its tributaries, and to safeguard the drinking water supply of New York City and the lower Hudson Valley.


Over the past few years, Riverkeeper has been involved in investigations of several cement plants that have been either been caught (or are suspected of) polluting the Hudson River and its tributaries with contaminated leachate from onsite landfills containing CKD. In 2007, Riverkeeper filed a Notice of Intent to Sue Lehigh Northeast Cement Company for illicit leachate discharges from its unlined CKD landfill. This action led to fines and an Order on Consent mandating cleanup from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.


The Lehigh landfill was constructed without a liner or leachate collection system and serves as an example of problem sites around the country that would be addressed through EPA action on Riverkeeper’s petition.


View the original article here

Monday, October 25, 2010

Phase II of landfill closure to begin - Crossville Chronicle

CROSSVILLE — Commissioners on the Environmental Committee authorized its engineer to proceed with the construction documents for the partial closure on the second half of the county's class one landfill.


Ronnie Reese, environmental engineer for Cumberland County's landfill, told commissioners serving on the Environmental Committee that phase 2 of the landfill closure for class one municipal waste and household garbage was almost full and it was time to proceed with closure preparations.




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"You need to decide what you want to do with this, but I would recommend filling until the end of the month and compacting that down as much as possible and placing a temporary cap of one foot top cover to prevent so much water getting in creating as much leachate," Reese said.


Leachate is the byproduct or waste water that is drained from the bottom of the landfill. The liquid has to be taken to a treatment facility.


Once the landfill is closed, the county is scheduled to begin using a transfer station method through Cumberland Waste Disposal, a Waste Management company.


"Is the county ready to go to the transfer stations? I mean, when's the D-Day on that?" Jeff Brown, 8th District commissioner asked.


"I'm not sure," Reese said.


"The contracts and everything is in place on that. Basically, it's when we call them and we're ready and they'll start," Cumberland County Mayor Kenneth Carey said.


"You don't want to start a complete closure at this time in the year. It's up to you and you have to make the decision. But I'd recommend doing the temporary cover now and going ahead with the complete closure in spring," Reese said.


"If we do a temporary cover and wait till spring, will that affect the bidding?" 9th District Comissioner Carmin Lynch asked.


"Yes, it will. You're better off to wait on the bidding because of the plastic liner, it is based on oil prices and it can go up and down like a yo-yo. There's already a portion of it there ... You'd be better off to contract for a partial closure now with a temporary cap and then a permanent cap in the spring for the complete closure. I can have the paperwork and specifics ready to get to Nathan (Brock) and it should be ready to go out to bid in a few weeks," Reese said.


"Will we still have to deal with all the leachate?" 7th District Commissioner Mike Harvel asked.


"Yes, but it won't be anything like the amount we have had with the landfill open and running. I don't know a real figure for sure, though," Reese said.


Commissioner Lynch, who is not a member of the committee, but attended the meeting, reminded commissioners that phase one of the landfill closure was built into the budget, but phase two was not and the debt would have to be issued to have the figure and leachate would be a big factor.


Robert Safdie, 2nd District commissioner motioned to authorize Reese proceed with the documents to start with the partial closure on phase two with a temporary cap.


Terry Carter, 6th District commissioner, supported the motion and it was unanimously passed.


Reese updated commissioners on the status of the remainder of the class three-four landfill and said it could run until the summer of 2011. Reese said the area on top of that landfill was flat and could possibly be extended to go higher up with construction and demolition waste, but it would require a modification to the permit that would have to be submitted to the state.


"This would be considered a major modification if we wanted to extend it like that. You'd have to go through public meetings and a hearing process," Reese said.


He estimated it could extend the life of the class three-four landfill another four years.


"If you don't want to extend it, then we're looking at next summer for closure on that," Reese said.


Darrell Franklin of Faye Portables attended the meeting and addressed the committee stating they would be willing to transport up to 100 tons per day of ceramic tile to the class three-four landfill for a reduced rate.


The current rate is $30 per ton, but Faye requested a rate of $15 per ton since they would be bringing in such a large quantity on a daily basis.


"We'd be looking at around 100 tons per day. It could be more or less, but it's available now and it would be good for both of us. It could give you added revenue for your landfill costs," Darrell Franklin said.


He added it would be approximately 80 percent tile and 20 percent demolition combined.


"It would greatly accelerate the rate of our landfill closure, but it won't take up the volume as regular C&D waste," Mayor Carey said.


"Well, it would fill quicker and you've got to consider if we give these guys a reduction then our own people who elected us into these positions, our local contractors are going to want a discounted rate for bringing their stuff," said 7th District Commissioner Roy Turner.


"It wouldn't make any sense to do the discounted rate just to break even and fill the landfill up faster. It's something we've got to study," Brown said. "We'd need some kind of a contract to do this, too."


Commissioners said they would have to look at the proposal to consider and get some estimates from Reese on much it take in ceramic tile to fill the landfill and how much the extension would cost if they were to consider having it constructed.


"It's not something we can answer tonight. It's something we're going to have to look at and get back after we get some estimates," Brown said.


View the original article here

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Purple waters flow at dairy - Freeport Journal-Standard

State and federal environmental agents responded last week to the proposed Traditions Dairy property where an unidentified purple liquid was discharging into a tributary of the Apple River.




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Water samples are currently being tested after they were collected at the property on Friday and Monday, reported Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) spokesperson Maggie Carson.


Carson said there was no reason for residents living near the property, or homeowners in nearby Nora, to be concerned about their water quality.


“We’re urging people to take the normal precautions and to report evidence of contamination to the IEPA,” Carson said.


A neighbor to the property, Steve Holesinger, said he noticed a purple haze in the water Friday morning when he decided to go fishing. Holesinger said he moved his cows to another pasture to prevent them from drinking from the tributary.


Initial reports of the discharge prompted representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the IEPA, the Jo Daviess County Sheriff’s Department and the Jo Daviess County Hazmat Team to respond to the property.


Workers at Traditions Dairy and a local excavating company constructed two dikes and two detention ponds to divert the tributary and collect the purple water. Liquid from both ponds was then pumped into large tanker trucks and moved to nearby fields where it was knifed into the soil. One detention pond was constructed just west of Mamosser Road, about one-half mile south of East Canyon Road. A second pond was built near the head waters of the tributary, just east of the silage pad at the Traditions Dairy property.


Don Manning, attorney for the property owner, A.J. Bos, said he learned of the discharge on Friday afternoon.


“It should be noted that the response to this situation was immediate,” Manning said. “A.J. and those working at the property did everything that was asked of them by the environmental agencies, and more, to address this as soon as they learned about it.”


Manning argued the discharge may have been prevented if construction of Traditions Dairy had been completed two years ago. The project was stopped after a local group, Helping Others Maintain Environmental Standards (HOMES), obtained a temporary injunction from the 15th Judicial Circuit Court on Oct. 20, 2008.


“You have to remember this is a construction site, not a fully functioning dairy farm. If construction had been allowed to proceed, then the design of the property may have prevented this from happening,” Manning said.


Possible Source


Speculation by those familiar with the situation point to the corn silage being stored at the 1,400-acre property as a possible source for the discharge. A press release issued Saturday by HOMES said the discharge was “believed to be due to an overflowing silage leachate pond.”
Manning said the leachate pond at the property did not overflow.


“If this is traced to, or connected with, the silage and the handling of liquids coming from the silage, then the matter could have been avoided altogether had HOMES not interfered with the construction of the dairy,” Manning said.


Matthew Alschuler, a spokesman for HOMES, reported that the pumping operation at the containment ponds continued on Saturday past midnight and into early Sunday morning.


“Although they are using several vehicles to transport this oddly-colored liquid onto fields, over 36 hours has passed since they started work,” Alschuler said in an e-mail Sunday afternoon.


Dike Removed


Monday morning, the dike constructed south of the dairy property was removed once the water feeding that area returned to clear and colorless.


“Everyone keeps asking why the water (was) the color of Barney,” Alschuler said, “but none of the local farmers or engineers we’ve consulted with can explain. They don’t know of any naturally occurring compounds that would turn leachate the color of Kool-Aid.”


Carson said she anticipates the IEPA will complete its testing of the water by the end of this week.
“It usually takes several days for these tests to be completed,” Carson said.


Construction on Hold


Manning said construction at the Traditions Dairy property is less than one-half completed, and building will not resume until after an appeal filed by HOMES has been settled. On Dec. 23, 2009, Judge Kevin Ward of the 15th Judicial Circuit Court, removed the injunction and ruled against the objections presented by HOMES. That decision resulted in an appeal by the environmental group to the 2nd Appellate Court in Elgin, which has yet to render a decision on the matter.


Manning said he was angered by the reaction of HOMES representatives after news of the discharge became public on Friday.


“We are also distressed, at best, by the apparent pleasure HOMES and its representatives have taken, with their references to ‘Barney’ and their myriad of press releases and fly-overs. It appears to me personally that HOMES is hoping for some sort of release — and I find that repugnant.” Manning said.


View the original article here

Sunday, October 03, 2010

Landfill leachate clogging of geotextile (and soil) filters project summary (SuDoc EP 1.89/2:600/S 2-91/025)

Disposing of solids waste to landfill is regarded as one of the most economical means of handling waste though landfills pose pollution threat to both ground and surface water resources. However, landfill liners and good landfill management practices may reduce the impact of water contamination by landfills. Chemical analysis of groundwater beneath and near two landfills from New Zealand and Lesotho (in Southern Africa) showed that there are higher concentrations of chemicals such as Chlorides, TDS and COD than average. The water was also found to contain higher amounts of heavy metals. High concentrations of chemical constituents, such as those found in leachate contaminated water may cause various health complications in humans if consumed. To minimize possible hazards due to landfill leachate, future landfills must be lined at the base and sides by a combination of clay, geosynthetic clay and high-density polyethylene liners.

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Saturday, October 02, 2010

Evaluating the applicability of regulatory leaching tests for assessing the hazards of Pb-contaminated soils [An article from: Journal of Hazardous Materials]

Evaluating the applicability of regulatory leaching tests for assessing the hazards of Pb-contaminated soils [An article from: Journal of Hazardous Materials]This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Hazardous Materials, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Soil contamination is a major environmental problem due to the ecological threat it poses. In this work, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and leaching studies were employed to explain the different leaching behaviors of non-stabilized and stabilized soils. The applicability of the leaching fluids used in the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) and Australian Standards, AS 4439.1-1997 for assessing the hazards of contaminated soils was investigated as was the leaching of lead from soil stabilized by cement and buffered phosphate techniques. The results showed Pb speciation in the soil highly influenced metal leaching. The synthetic leaching fluids were unable to provide a reliable estimation of Pb concentration in the municipal landfill leachate (ML) due to the absence of organic ligands capable of forming stable complexes with the lead. Water provided the closest representation of lead leaching from the non-stabilized and phosphate stabilized soils while sodium tetraborate buffer was found to be suitable for cement-stabilized soil in a non-putrescible landfill leachate system. A comparison of stabilization methods revealed that the buffered phosphate technique was more suitable for stabilizing the lead in the soil relative to cement stabilization.

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Sanitary Landfill Leachate: Generation, Control and Treatment

Sanitary Landfill Leachate: Generation, Control and TreatmentFROM THE PREFACESanitary landfills are the most widely utilized method of solid waste disposal around the world. With increased use and public awareness of this method of disposal, there is much concern with respect to the pollution potential of the landfill leachate. Depending on the composition and extent of decomposition of the refuse and hydrological factors, the leachate may become highly contaminated. As leachate migrates away from a landfill, it may cause serious pollution to the groundwater aquifer as well as adjacent surface waters. There is growing concern about surface and groundwater pollution from leachate. Better understanding and prediction of leachate generation, containment, and treatment are needed. This book contains a literature review of various methodologies that have been developed for prediction, generation, characterization, containment, control, and treatment of leachate from sanitary landfills. The contents of this book are divided into nine chapters. Each chapter contains theory and definition of the important design parameters, literature review, example calculations, and references. Chapter 1 is devoted to basic facts of solid waste problems current status and future trends towards waste reduction and recycling. Chapter 2 provides a general overview of municipal solid waste generation, collection, transport, resource recovery and reuse, and disposal options. The current status of sanitary landfill design and operation, problems associated with the landfilling, and future trends are presented in Chapter 3. Methods of enhanced stabilization, recycling landfill space, methane recovery, and above grade landfilling, and closure and post closure care of completed landfills are also discussed in detail. Chapter 4 provides a general overview of Subtitle D regulations and its impact upon sanitary landfilling practices. Chapter 5 is devoted entirely to moisture routing and leachate generation mechanisms. Examples of calculation procedure for determining the leachate quantity produced at a landfill are presented. Chapter 6 is devoted to chemical characterization of leachate that changes over the life of the fill. Both theoretical and experimental results are provided to estimate the leachate quality. Chapter 7 provides leachate attenuation processes and mechanisms. Chapter 8 is devoted to leachate collection systems. Natural soil sealants, admixed materials and synthetic membranes, their effectiveness, and methods of installation and economics are fully discussed. Chapter 9 provides a detailed review of leachate treatment methodology. Kinetic coefficients and treatment plant design considerations are summarized for the sole purpose of assisting con- sultants to design leachate treatment facilities. Leachate treatment case histories and numerous process trains are presented for treating leachate from young landfill. The book also describes how the process train can be changed effectively as leachate quality changes with time.

Price: $139.95


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Friday, October 01, 2010

Potential for using constructed wetlands to treat landfill leachate: Literature review and pilot study design (Special report series)

This digital document is a journal article from Ecological Engineering, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Four surface-flow mesocosm wetlands were operated at different hydraulic retention times during two periods to treat diluted woodwaste leachate that was acidic, of very high oxygen demand, and toxic. Temperature, dissolved oxygen, and redox potential decreased with increasing water depth. However, there was no significant vertical variation in microbial biomass. No significant development in biomass of planktonic microorganisms was found over 6 weeks of initial operation. It took <1-6 weeks for maturation of the biofilm on submerged plant surfaces and the sedimentary microbial community. Mass reduction efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand, and tannin and lignin increased significantly with hydraulic retention time when 10% leachate was fed with tap water. When a more recalcitrant influent was fed, there was a slight increase of reduction efficiency with increasing hydraulic retention time. Reduction rates increased linearly with mass loading rates up to 0.4kgm^-^3d^-^1 chemical oxygen demand and 0.13kgm^-^3d^-^1 tannin and lignin. Precipitation and evapotranspiration had profound impacts on the overall performance and its variability. Mass balance-based operating data of wetlands with a mature microbial community are required for proper performance assessment. formance assessment.

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The Characteristics and impacts of landfill leachate

The Characteristics and impacts of landfill leachateDisposing of solids waste to landfill is regarded as one of the most economical means of handling waste though landfills pose pollution threat to both ground and surface water resources. However, landfill liners and good landfill management practices may reduce the impact of water contamination by landfills. Chemical analysis of groundwater beneath and near two landfills from New Zealand and Lesotho (in Southern Africa) showed that there are higher concentrations of chemicals such as Chlorides, TDS and COD than average. The water was also found to contain higher amounts of heavy metals. High concentrations of chemical constituents, such as those found in leachate contaminated water may cause various health complications in humans if consumed. To minimize possible hazards due to landfill leachate, future landfills must be lined at the base and sides by a combination of clay, geosynthetic clay and high-density polyethylene liners.

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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Constructed Wetlands for the Treatment of Landfill Leachates

Constructed Wetlands for the Treatment of Landfill LeachatesConstructed wetlands are proving to be the best natural treatment system for landfill leachates.Most of the contaminants in landfill leachates are degraded in treatment wetlands. Potential for long-term sustainability and significant cost savings are attractive features of this eco-technology.Documentation of the experience in this use of constructed wetlands has been limited. Constructed Wetlands for the Treatment of Landfill Leachates is the first compilation of the results of research from North America and Europe. Originally presented at an international symposium, this collection of papers offers the most recent research findings from the leading researchers in this new and innovative natural treatment system.Specific issues addressed in the text include:oleachate characteristics, and the potential for treatability by constructed wetlandsowetland treatment, processes and transformationouse of constructed wetlands in cold climatic conditionsoassessment of the tolerance of wetland plants to the toxicity of leachatesorole of plants in the treatments of leachatesointegrated wetland systemsoperformance of different wetland treatment systemsocost comparisons of wetland technology vs. traditional treatment technologiesThe potential for environmental contamination due to leachates from landfills is increasing, and there is an urgent need to find ways and means to treat leachates in a sustainable way Constructed Wetlands for the Treatment of Landfill Leachates will provide an invaluable source of information on the subject for scientists, engineers, practitioners, policy makers, and regulatory officials.

Price: $129.95


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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Avoiding Failure of Leachate Collection and Cap Drainage Systems (Pollution Technology Review No. 138)

Avoiding Failure of Leachate Collection and Cap Drainage Systems (Pollution Technology Review No. 138)A guide to the control of leachate, including failure mechanisms, design, construction, inspection, maintenance and repair.

Price: $139.95


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Performance evaluation and effects of hydraulic retention time and mass loading rate on treatment of woodwaste leachate in surface-flow constructed wetlands [An article from: Ecological Engineering]

Performance evaluation and effects of hydraulic retention time and mass loading rate on treatment of woodwaste leachate in surface-flow constructed wetlands [An article from: Ecological Engineering]This digital document is a journal article from Ecological Engineering, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Four surface-flow mesocosm wetlands were operated at different hydraulic retention times during two periods to treat diluted woodwaste leachate that was acidic, of very high oxygen demand, and toxic. Temperature, dissolved oxygen, and redox potential decreased with increasing water depth. However, there was no significant vertical variation in microbial biomass. No significant development in biomass of planktonic microorganisms was found over 6 weeks of initial operation. It took <1-6 weeks for maturation of the biofilm on submerged plant surfaces and the sedimentary microbial community. Mass reduction efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand, and tannin and lignin increased significantly with hydraulic retention time when 10% leachate was fed with tap water. When a more recalcitrant influent was fed, there was a slight increase of reduction efficiency with increasing hydraulic retention time. Reduction rates increased linearly with mass loading rates up to 0.4kgm^-^3d^-^1 chemical oxygen demand and 0.13kgm^-^3d^-^1 tannin and lignin. Precipitation and evapotranspiration had profound impacts on the overall performance and its variability. Mass balance-based operating data of wetlands with a mature microbial community are required for proper performance assessment. formance assessment.

Price: $8.95


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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Cranston tells Resource Recovery to pay its bills - Providence Journal

CRANSTON — The Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation has until Sept. 27 to settle a $2-million debt in back charges or the city will initiate legal action, members of the City Council’s public works committee said Thursday.

Council members say the owner and operator of the state Central Landfill in Johnston snubbed settlement attempts for months.

“They can’t continue to put their heads in the sand and act like we don’t exist,” Council President John E. Lanni Jr. said.

Friday, Michael J. OConnell, the corporation’s executive director, said Resource Recovery was actually waiting for city officials to contact them.

“Our predicament is that we have requested information from them, and we haven’t got anything back from them, which is why we can’t respond,” OConnell said.

On July 20, the city billed Resource Recovery for $2,096,598.31 in back charges, saying the corporation failed to treat its leachate or pay its share of expensive upgrades. The invoice includes $437,254.52 in operating and maintenance costs associated with the excess loading dating to 2005, and $1,659,343.78 for the corporation’s pro-rated share of the city’s costs of upgrading the plant based on a permit change that year. It does not include possible administrative costs.

City officials also say Resource Recovery allowed three businesses in its Johnston industrial park to illegally tie into Cranston’s sewer service. That violation carries penalties of $25,000 per day per business, city officials say.

City Solicitor Evan Kirshenbaum and Councilman Mario Aceto, the committee’s chairman, have said the city tried to negotiate a resolution for the past year, but agency officials stalled in scheduling another meeting. City officials later learned from a newspaper article that Resource Recovery was planning to build a sewer line to connect into a Narragansett Bay Commission sewage intake.

The Providence Journal filed an open records request on July 30 asking for copies of public documents, including the corporation’s annual budget, along with any supporting documentation and description of the corporation’s leachate pretreatment system or payment-in-lieu of pretreatment and any sewer agreement with the city to extend service to the corporation’s industrial park.

The deadline to respond was Sept. 14.

Friday, OConnell said the corporation’s lawyer was reviewing the documents to see which, if any, would be released “because this is a likely lawsuit in the near term.”

Also Thursday night, the council finance committee voted to unseal the minutes of several closed-door discussions on how much Johnson & Wales University is to pay the city in taxes for 12 lots, roughly 20 acres of waterfront land, on its Harborside Campus.

In 2005, the city rezoned the land and amended its Comprehensive Plan to allow the university to build 12 dormitories and a community building and management facility.

The campus, which includes 84 buildings on the Providence side, was built by a nonprofit agency, which leases the buildings to the university. That raised the question of whether the project was tax-exempt.

Rather than seek clarification, the university and the city reached a 20-year agreement that city officials say was never signed, under which the city was to get $95,000 annually for the first 10 years and $104,500 for the next 10 years.

The “memorandum of understanding” called for the city to collect most of that money from the state in the form of a payment in lieu of taxes and Johnson & Wales to cover any difference between the state compensation and the agreed-upon figure. If the property was later deemed to be taxable, the university agreed to pay the appropriate tax.

This year, Finance Director Robert F. Strom said, Cranston received $4.2 million in PILOT money from the state, which includes payment for the 12 university parcels and 20 state lots. Strom estimated the state’s payment for Johnson & Wales was $150,000 to $160,000.

The university land, Strom said, is currently assessed at $4.8 million, and the buildings at $21 million.

marmenta@projo.com


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Monday, September 27, 2010

Trash Talk - News Record and Sentinel

published September 22, 2010 12:56 pm

Hot Springs is embroiled in a controversy over the collection of trash, and it?s starting to stink.

Heath White and Jen Ditzler, owners of Huck Finn Rafting Adventures in downtown Hot Springs, say the town is violating environmental laws by leaving a garbage truck full of trash for days at a time, allowing residents to dump whatever they have in its hopper with no supervision. As the trash is compacted, it exudes a messy and smelly liquid, often on the town streets.

?They?re allowing the people of Hot Springs to drive up and put trash into the truck? 24 hours a day, White said. ?Also, they don?t take it to the landfill,? so the trash rots in the truck, attracting flies and rodents.

He said the fluid runoff ? called leachate ? ?flows down into the catch basin and drips on the ground. It creates an environmental hazard and it is creating a health hazard.

With no control over what ends up in the truck, White and Ditzler say there is no way to prove that illegal dumping isn?t occurring, including possibly medical waste, road kill or worse.

Ditzler, an environmental engineer, said ?these activities are illegal according to county, state and federal laws,? and she said the town seems to have been ignoring her warnings about it.

?We were told that the garbage truck had to be left at the unsecured location ? because the town alderman that lives down the street is not able to get his garbage out to the curb on time, so he wants the convenience of having the garbage truck close to his house so he can drive the garbage over in his golf cart,? she wrote in an email to the News-Record & Sentinel.

That seemed to be confirmed at Friday?s alderman meeting, when Alderman Harold Ammons asked Ditzler, ?What do you want me to do with my trash??

The meeting got testy as Ditzler repeated her claim that the town was not only breaking the law but also using the spillage of leachate as a weapon against anyone who complained about it.

White and Ditzler say residents and business owners who complain about the trash issue end up having gallons and gallons of smell garbage fluids dumped in front of their homes or businesses when the operator of the garbage truck compacts the load, which forces the fluid from the truck bin onto the road. On Friday she asked the board if they themselves had been victims of the retribution. ?Have they compacted trash in front of your house??

Ammons responded angrily, asking Ditzler: ?Who the hell are you to tell us what to do??

Ammons also repeatedly asked Ditzler if she lived in the town. ?You don?t live here,? he said. ?We?re not going to let you control this trash situation.?

She replied that she and White, her husband, own their building and expect good service for the taxes they pay.

White said the town collects trash twice a week, and Mayor Sidney Harrison said when asked that he thought the town took the trash to the county waste management facility near Marshall ?once or twice a week.?

But a check of the records at the waste facility off Little Pine Road show that the town of Hot Springs has waited as long as a month in the last year to empty the truck. As of Friday, Sept. 17, the waste facility had recorded only one trip by Hot Springs to empty their truck, on Sept. 7. Before that the truck was emptied on August 27, which means the trash sat in the truck for 10 days in downtown Hot Springs as temperatures reached the low and mid 80s.

Trips to the waste facility occurred only twice a month five different times this year, records show.

The truck is often parked within 200 feet of the Appalachian Trail, which runs through downtown Hot Springs, and White said he has heard rafting clients and others complain about the smell.

White also said he fears retribution for trying to get the town to follow the law. ?If you go into a meeting and speak out, they exact their punishment. The repercussions (from calling the media) are going to be so severe on me,? he predicted. He went so far as to predict that the town would block the back entrance to his rafting business. ?I?ve been warned by one of the town employees that they?re going to block off? access to the back of his building, he said.

On Friday that seemed to come true when someone parked a piece of earth moving equipment at the back door of White?s building. The town owns the land where the vehicle was parked, but White said the town has always allowed him to use the back door to load canoes and kayaks for his white water trips.

White said a wheel had been removed from the loader so it couldn?t be moved. A town employee told WLOS-TV that ?the tire came off the wheel? and that White was not being targeted for retribution.

Mayor Harrison said he has seen no paperwork to order repair parts for the vehicle, and said that while the tractor was moved late Friday or early Saturday, ?there was another sitting in its place Saturday morning. Harrison said it is likely that town workers are targeting White for retribution, and that ?the aldermen are going to address? the issue.

Harrison said he does think the town is violating environmental law, and that he is expecting a report from Andrea Keller of the state Department of Environmental and Natural Resources. ?She was working on it Friday evening,? he said.

Keller told the News-Record & Sentinel that possible violations include violation of rules specifying that ?garbage shall be stored in either durable rust resistant, non-absorbent, water-tight, rodent proof, and easily cleanable containers with a close fitting fly-tight cover? and that trash trucks or receptacles ?shall be cleaned as often as necessary to prevent a nuisance or insect breeding and shall be maintained in good repair.?

It was obvious last week that the garbage truck had not been cleaned, as maggots were plentiful in the hopper.

On Friday, residents could be seen pulling up to the truck and dumping trash into it.

By the end of Friday?s alderman meeting, there seemed to be some agreement that the situation with the trash truck must be resolved. Awaiting the state report, Harrison and others said the town will follow whatever DENR requires. ?We?ll get her report, and then we?ll know where we?re standing. We need to be in compliance, that?s for sure. And we want to keep things calm, if we can.?

AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Jonathan D. Austin

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Fulton continues to work on landfill violations - Fulton Sun

He said the city also has completed supplemental environmental performance projects, which he described as "essentially an additional penalty designed to improve the situation, including a methane capture system. Slivka also addressed a concern from Ready regarding what happens when the landfill closes in May 2011.

"We will have a financial assurance instrument in place," he said.

"Essentially saying 'Here's this money to fix violation issues if it happens."

Fulton Director of Administration Bill Johnson said the city actually has been subject to more inspections since announcing its intention to close the landfill.

"DNR has an interest in ensuring we close it properly," Johnson said.

Regarding odor issues, Slivka said the Department of Natural Resources has been out to test air quality on a number of occasions -- as recently as the week of Sept. 6 -- and never found a problem.

"On odor violations, our litmus test is 7 to 1 dissolution," Slivka said. "We've gone out there a number of times and it's never been higher than 2 to 1."

Johnson addressed the most recent violations for exposed litter.

"This is not an excuse, but we are approaching our closure date, and there was an attempt to spread trash thinner over a wider area to even out the land," Johnson said, noting that process also included having to haul in more dirt. "The idea sounded good to use the trash to fill in, but it just didn't work out the way we thought.

"We did it, it was wrong, and we won't be doing it anymore."

As for methane levels, he said one supplemental environmental performance project currently in the works involves putting in a 10,000 gallon tank to pump water that flows down into the methane collection wells out of the landfill.

"This will allow our methane extraction wells to function better," Johnson said. "Hopefully by drawing the methane down into the wells it will stop it from migrating."

Another just-completed project is a storm water sediment pond "that will give sediment in the storm water time to settle out before water leaves the site."

Although Slivka said he could not give a number regarding how much the city has been fined for these violations, he did say DNR recently sent an agreement in principal regarding settlement.

"We're certainly sympathetic to Mrs. Ready, but we feel like we have been out there and we have been on the city's back," Slivka said.

Johnson acknowledged the city has received that agreement, noting DNR is proposing a fine of $10,000 as well as an additional $5,403 to pay for investigative costs.

Johnson said he is scheduled to meet with Department of Natural Resources officials later this week, and noted the agreement in principle will be presented to the Fulton City Council at its Sept. 28 meeting.


View the original article here

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Dumping water into bay could be Mercury clean-up solution - UpperMichigansSource.com

CMS would filter the water to remove 90 percent of mercury, but some ask if that's enough

PETOSKEY, MI -- CMS Land Company believes they've found a local solution to the Leachate problem at Bay Harbor and East Park, but it's being met with some serious concern.

What to do with the contaminated water from the former Penn-Dixie Cement Plant near Petoskey?

That has been the question, and for four years, the water has been shipped to a deep-well injection site.

But CMS Land Company says something else needs to be done, and they believe they've found the solution.

But this solution could mean small quantities of Mercury being diluted into the Great Lakes.

For five years it has worked like this...collect the run-off water that contains mercury from the contaminated land underneath Bay Harbor and East Park, neutralize it in this building, and then ship the result, an average of 150-thousand gallons per day, to a deep-injection well-site more than 50 miles away to Johannesburg.  C-M-S Land Company has been in charge, and now, they say it's their belief they've found a better *local solution to take care of the local problem.

"We're proposing to build a $4 million state-of-the-art facility to treat the water that we collect here using the best available technology and then release that water back to Lake Michigan," said CMS Land Company Area Manager Tim Petrosky.

The main contaminant of concern is Mercury.  The facility will remove 90 percent or more from the water.  That water would then be mixed with clean water to meet environmental criteria before going back in the lake.

"The requirements are very, very stringent, in fact, the release criteria for mercury to the lake is 1.3 parts per trillion," said Petrosky.

Here's an analogy of the parts per trillion guideline.  It'd be like placing one drop of contaminated liquid in all of the water of 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools combined.

But Doctor Grenetta Thomassey of the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council says this amount *may seem benign...it could be detrimental, which is why the council doesn't support this solution.

“You mix it with water, and let it go into Little Traverse Bay, and then you come back and you mix it with water, and let it go into Little Traverse Bay, and basically what you got is that exact same amount of mercury all ending up in Little Traverse Bay, so we're not in favor of that, no," said Thomassey.

CMS has submitted an application to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. 

“We look really carefully at mercury because it is one of the few contaminants that is known as a bio-cumulative compound, meaning that it builds up in the environment over a period of time, so we look at that very carefully," said Bob Wagner, the Lake Huron Regional Director of the DNRE.

“We think it's the best solution to environmental, safety, and economic perspective," said Petrosky.

“This is a bad deal.  So we are not interested in anything going into Little Traverse Bay if it can be prevented," said Thomassee.

The DNRE will review the application and if the proposed treatment meets the guidelines, they'll issue a draft permit sometime in October or November.  After that, they'll seek public comment.


View the original article here

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Damu inspects waste plant work at Sonsoddo - Times of India

MARGAO: Fatorda MLA Damodar Naik accompanied by the chief officer of the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) inspected the Sonsoddo site on Tuesday morning to take stock of the status of the work of the garbage treatment plant carried out by Fomento-IL&FS.

Chief executive officer of Fomento, Sridhar Kamat, was also present on the occasion.

The BJP legislator voiced his displeasure over the failure of Fomento to put in place any adequate measures to control flow of leachate from the site onto the roads. The explanation offered by Kamat that the heavy rains impeded the leachate control work at the site failed to convince Naik who demanded that the situation be brought under control within two days.

Later speaking to reporters, Naik said that he had received several complaints from the residents of the area about leachate from Sonsoddo flowing onto the streets since the last several days. "It's over seven months that the site was handed over to Fomento by the MMC and it is yet to control leachate flow.

The situation is leading to contamination of wells in the vicinity and will turn out to be a health hazard if the leachate flow is not brought under control immediately," Naik said.

MMC councillors Narayan Fondekar, Raju Shirodkar, Ciriaca Rodrigues, municipal engineer Surendra Naik and sanitary inspector Viraj Arabekar were present for the inspection.


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Landfills pose a health risk - Malaysia Star


MOST people object to having a landfill near their houses. We generate rubbish but once it enters the dustbins or recycling bin, we want nothing more to do with it.

The main reason is fear of possible health problems arising from contact with pollutants escaping from waste management sites, but the problem is set to grow over the next decade due to our throwaway lifestyle.

Each year, we produce more than nine million tons of household waste, but only recycle 3% of it. There is no positive sign that waste generation is decreasing. As a result, a large number of former mines and quarries have been lined with water-proof material and filled with rubbish. As suburbia spreads and brown field sites are developed, more Malaysian families than ever before are living close to landfill sites.

In landfill sites, bacteria break down food and other organic materials, producing potentially pollution liquids and gases such as ammonia, acids and heavy metals, mixed into a nasty cocktail called leachate.

All these contaminants are cause for concern if they end up in natural

water-courser and drinking water supplies. Many such cases have been recorded lately in Malaysia.

Leachate can destroy the well balanced eco-system and is very harmful to human. It is clear that poorly managed landfill will lead to serious environmental problem such as the recent incidence of raw water pollution caused by leachate seepage from a landfill.

Hence, leachate management becomes an important issue in deciding which strategy to apply in any planning process involving the closure of dumps and siting and development of landfills. The main objective of any leachate management will be to ensure that landfill waste does not impose any unacceptable short term or long term risks to the environment or to public health.

ETHAYA RAJAN MOKANATAS,

Kuala Lumpur.


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Friday, September 24, 2010

Measures taken to stem leachate - Malaysia Star


Remedial steps: A small dam was built before the dyke to prevent leachate flow into the treatment plant.

SHAH ALAM: Earthwork on the dyke at the landfill along Sungai Kembong leading to the Sungai Semenyih water treatment plant was conducted after heavy rainfall caused erosion.

Leachate flow into the treatment plant has also been halted, according to Worldwide Holdings Bhd chief executive officer Nor Azlina Zakaria.

She said all necessary remedial measures had been taken.

“The leachate flowed out due to heavy rain and this caused the top portion to erode,” she told The Star.

Nor Azlina said that as a proactive measure, a small dam had been built before the dyke to avert an overflow of rain water into the river.


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Largest Membrane Leachate Plant Handover - Water and Wastewater

Enschede, The Netherlands -- Two years ago, ISTAÇ (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Environmental Protection and Waste Materials Valuation Industry) and Norit X-Flow embarked on one of the most remarkable wastewater treatment projects of its time; the treatment of leachate from the Istanbul landfill in Odayeri and Kömürcüoda. The installation became the largest membrane leachate plant in the world and involves the most advanced water treatment technology available.

The ISTAÇ Leachate Treatment project represents one of the most challenging filtration projects globally, based upon its size, environmental conditions , and continuous growth rates. The solution had to be robust, future proof and deliver consistently the highest effluent quality levels to ensure the environmental integrity of the region. says Jürgen von Hollen, Managing Director of Norit X-Flow.


After approximately two years of operation and treating up to 3500 m3 of landfill water percolate on a daily basis the conclusion is that the plant meets its specifications and contractual requirements for discharge of the treated effluent. ISTAÇ and Norit X-Flow celebrated the official handover and the successful partnership on August 17, 2010.


Water percolating through landfills for solid waste results in leachate, which may contain undesirable or toxic chemicals. The ISTAÇ landfill is constructed to prevent leachate contamination of groundwater or surface waters. The landfill percolate containing high amounts of COD, BOD, TSS and Nitrogen is collected and treated by Norit's membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology which makes it possible to discharge this water directly into the Black Sea, a process that is in line with both current and future drainage standards.


Beside its state of the art MBR technology, the wastewater treatment plants in Istanbul uses a combination of two advanced Norit X-Flow technologies: a biological process applied in conjunction with ultrafiltration followed by nanofiltration.


The collected leachate is first subjected to primary clarification and afterwards transferred to a bioreactor unit for biological treatment. In the bioreactor COD, BOD and Nitrogen compounds are eliminated. Subsequently the Norit X-Flow Crossflow membrane system, placed outside of the bioreactor, separates sludge, solid waste on suspension and some amount of COD. Lastly, the Norit NF installation eliminates the remaining COD, organic micro polluters, heavy metals and other compounds (humic acids, color) to a water quality conform current and future discharge standards.


Mr. Akguel, Managing Director of ISTAÇ adds ?The success of the project beyond the technological solution can be attributed to the project partnership approach adopted by both ISTAÇ and Norit X-Flow both at the operational level, but equally important at the management level to ensure that full commitment and prioritization was given to this project. Our continuous partnership will ensure that this installation is the benchmark for landfill leachate plants for years to come.?


Source: http://www.x-flow.com/


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Thursday, September 23, 2010

Leachate from disused site costs ratepayers New Zealand - Northern Advocate

Give us your thoughts on this story.

A Hakaru resident is angry that leachate from a disused landfill is costing Kaipara ratepayers thousands of dollars a year to have it collected and transported from the site.


Derek Mason said the leachate volumes have doubled since the site ceased operating as a landfill and blames poor construction advice, which included no sidewall liners, as a reason for the ongoing problems.


Mr Mason said the Hakaru landfill site, between Mangawhai and Kaiwaka, has been controversial since it was opened in 1995 and was not wanted by the community who had always preferred a transfer station.


The landfill served the Kaiwaka, Mangawhai and Maungaturoto area east of Doctors Hill Rd. Mr Mason said the Kaipara District Council estimated refuse volumes to the landfill of 20,000cu m yearly made a transfer station an unviable option but these volumes had not eventuated.


The council walked away from a proposed site at Franklin Rd, Paparoa, after it realised it was going to be too costly, he said.


Mr Mason, who is a member of the Hakaru Landfill Committee, claimed it cost ratepayers $127,000 per annum to have the leachate carted off site, which was "wasteful spending".


The total volume of refuse collected over the 10 years the site had operated was only 25,000cu m, he said.


"The whole operation has been flawed from the beginning," Mr Mason said.


He estimated the landfill had cost ratepayers $2 million to subsidise its operation.

The committee's view was that the quarry face, where the landfill is sited, would have to be dug out to reduce leachate.

Mr Mason said this would remove about 25 per cent of the compacted landfill. Rather than a costly onsite treatment system, it would be more cost effective to dig out the entire landfill.


Submissions on the matter were heard during the 2010-11 annual plan process.


Council spokeswoman Claire Lichtwark-McInnes said the council agreed there was a problem with the Hakaru landfill and the ongoing costs to remove leachate. In 2007, the council had opted to close the landfill and operate a transfer station at the site.


Mrs Lichtwark-McInnes said the leachate removal did come at a cost to the whole district and was funded from the general rate. Closed landfills throughout the district all had ongoing costs which were covered district-wide, she said. At edition time, she was unable to confirm the costs.


A report to council on the landfill said "the submitters' concerns were valid and the matter needed to be addressed".


Mrs Lichtwark-McInnes said the council had agreed to allocate $25,000 to look at options for the future management of the Hakaru landfill.


Investigations would be completed this year. Options include the removal of all waste, identifying the waste sources to the landfill, drainage of the base around the walls and the building of an onsite leachate treatment system.


The committee regards the treatment system too expensive and considers the removal of all compacted refuse the best option.


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