Ohio EPA Acts on Discoversy Thet Landfill Leachate Could Pose A Threat to Public Health

The phrasing of this article is quite surprising. Elsewhere it has long been recognised that leachate can, if it gets into water supplies, be a major hazard to human health. In any landfill in other than a desert environment there is always enough leachate to jeopardise aquifers and watercourses if these are present in the local geology, and once in an aquifer the leachate may then migrate to be drawn into public water supply wells.

(Please note that the video below is included to point out the hazardous nature of leachate, and is not connected with the article.)

Throughout the EU this has been recognised for nearly 30 years now, since the Council passed a law (Directive) on all EU nations that as a matter of principle makes it illegal to pollute any uderground water, whether used for public extraction wells or not. The journalist who wrote this article is clearly not aware of these facts, howecer, it is good that the dangers of leachate to public health are being treated seriously in Ohio, and the authorities are acting on behalf of the people to ensure they are kept safe. Please read the original article, not just our excerpt below, but follwing the link at the bottom:

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency proposed rule changes for construction and demolition debris landfills, which could mean more protection for Ohio's groundwater but higher operating costs for some landfills in the Mahoning Valley.

According to officials at the Ohio EPA, acting on a request by Ohio legislators, the agency conducted a leachate study and determined that leachate from Ohio CDD landfills could pose a threat to public health and the environment if it were to be released to groundwater or surface water.

''What we've done is added some provisions for making sure that doesn't happen,'' said Linda Fee Oros, spokeswoman with the Ohio EPA.

If adopted, those new restrictions could apply to two licensed CDD landfills in Trumbull County, Total Waste Logistics LAS LLC in Girard and the Lafarge-owned Lordstown Construction Recovery in Lordstown.

A CDD landfill differs from other types of landfills, including municipal landfills, in that it can only take materials from buildings, said Linda Fee Oros, spokeswoman with the Ohio EPA.

But Tim Page, general manager of Lordstown Construction Recovery, said he does not believe increased regulations on landfill leachate will not hinder operations there.

''Our leachate is not circulated. It's all treated and hooked up to the sewers and sent through the sewers,'' he said.

Page said his company is in discussions with the Ohio EPA regarding the proposed changes, but that they are very early in the process and that nothing has been decided.

Another area being discussed is in the increase in financial assurance required to be paid when licenses are issued each year.

''What they are asking for is more dollars per acre to be spent because the cost of closure has increased over the past few years,'' Page said. ''The materials you bring on site, the fuels and machinery, has gone up. So, there's definitely a need for an increase there of some sort.''

Not unlike other businesses, these types of landfills can be affected by the economy, which could cause them to close. If the business is unable to pay to properly close, the responsibility is then burdened on the state.

''You may have hard financial times and need to close. If the business doesn't generate enough money to pay for those costs, that would be a financial impact,'' Page said.

CDD landfills can only accept debris from construction and demolition activities; packaging resulting from the use of construction materials where the packaging is incidental to the load; tree stumps, trunks and branches exceeding 4 inches in diameter where the branches are clean of leaves and small branches; and asbestos-containing materials as long as a NESHAP air permit has been granted.

A CDD landfill is required to keep records of accepted and rejected waste loads, activities and the working face, preventing fires, proper management of surface water and leachate and prevention of nuisances or health hazards.

They are also required to monitor ground water if the facility is located near wells or an aquifer.

The process to have the proposed changes becoming rules is still in its early stages and the Ohio EPA is working to fine tune their proposals.

''At this point, we are looking at the comments we received and are working to incorporate those into our rules if changes are needed,'' Oros said.

A hearing will be held with Ohio's Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review regarding the possible rule changes. No date has yet been set for the hearing.

View the original article here

Lagoon Treatment of Leachate Added by Bi-County Solid Waste Management

Bi-County Solid Waste Management expects to save up to $20,000 each month with the help of its latest step toward self-sufficiency.

The Montgomery County landfill's executive director, Pete Reed, said the majority of leachate, or contaminated water, on the site will eventually be treated in the lagoon that began holding water after the May 2010 flood that shut down Clarksville's wastewater treatment plant.

"They had to put a permit on us and start charging us $9,000 to 10,000 a month, but if we had a parameter that goes above, then we had ... surcharges that could be an additional $15,000 in that month," said Reed, who added that the landfill went above that parameter 2-3 times a year.

As those costs started to build, along with the high costs of hauling the leachate off the site, Reed said the decision was made to create a $750,000 system featuring the lagoon that holds 1.3 million gallons and will be able to decontaminate the water over a 30-day period.

Three separate pools hold the water that is pumped in from various locations throughout the site. The two pools with a white foam layer on top are anoxic zones, meaning aerators pump in oxygen, while the middle pool is anaerobic, with a pump that puts in a different mixture of chemicals.

Beginning in May of this year, Reed said micro-organisms that are trained to eat ammonia and other chemicals were added to help treat the water by releasing the nitrates and taking out any odor. Although Reed said the pools have reached the optimal amount of the "bugs" that come from Paris, Tenn., it will still be a few months before the system is fully operational.

Reed said the lagoon has already ensured the landfill won't go beyond its monthly parameters at the wastewater treatment plant, and eventually the treated water will overflow into a clarifier that will filter out the sludge and transport the clean water to a 7 million gallon holding pond adjacent to the lagoon. That water will be used for irrigation on the grass at the site, as well as the nearby woods and, if it's clean enough, into local streams.

Depending on the season, Reed said the system could put out about a million gallons each month. Before it can be used for irrigation or anything else, several samples of the water will have to be approved by the state.

Even with the new system, some leachate will still go to the wastewater treatment plant, but the cost of the permit and the manpower required will be reduced significantly. Reed said he doesn't expect the loss of income from the landfill to have much effect on the plant's bottom line, since it's expanding and gets plenty of money from industrial sources.

"We hope that by this time next year, we'll be pretty much self-contained," Reed said. "Nothing will have to go out, other than (recyclables)."

View the original article here

Post-closure landfill costs projected at almost $300,000 - Crossville Chronicle

CROSSVILLE — Commissioners on the budget committee had to readjust sanitation fund budget figures by nearly $300,000 to allow for post-closure landfill costs.

"After we got everything done we realized we hadn't allowed for costs associated with the post-closure landfill costs. The finance office always has been allowed some leeway and authority in adjusting numbers on the budget by the committee. What we did in order to balance those anticipated costs was move 1.5 cents from debt service over to the sanitation fund," said Cumberland County Finance Director Nathan Brock.

Mike Harvel, 7th District commissioner, who also works in the county's solid waste department, said he amended the sanitation fund budget to allow more revenue for the fund by decreasing projected leachate costs from $300,000 to $200,000 and costs for recycling bins of $8,500.

"Since it (the landfill) is closed we won't have as much costs with the leachate as we had before. So that should save at least $100,000," Harvel said.

Brock said, "It's of course up to the committee, but this was the easiest way to adjust this. The tax-rate remains the same and we just moved the 1.5 cent to make the adjustment for the figures to match the projected numbers," Brock said.

With the adjustment, the projected fund balance for the sanitation fund would be $294,639.

"How do you feel about the fund balance? Could we make it a half-cent less? I'd like to see more go back to debt service. Once it's there it won't go back," 9th District Commissioner and Budget Committee Chairman Carmin Lynch said.

"I don't mind. It's up to Nathan (Brock). He pays the bills. I feel fine about it. This budget's cut to the bone. We may have to come back later in the year and adjust it again. I don't know," Harvel said.

"How does the committee feel?" Lynch asked.

Harry Sabine, 1st District commissioner then made a motion to leave the adjustment alone as it is the way the finance department adjusted the sanitation fund and draw down the fund balance on the sanitation fund if necessary later in the year. Sonya Rimmer, 8th District commissioner, supported the motion.

It was unanimously approved.

Commissioners and committee members Johnny Presley, 3rd District, and Charles Seiber, 4th District, did not attend the meeting.

With the adjustment, the breakdown of the 2011-'12 tax rate of $1.425 will be:

General Fund — 55 cents

Solid Waste/Sanitation Fund — 14 cents

General Purpose School Fund — 56.5 cents

General Debt Service — 17 cents

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Garbage in Hyderabad sold out - Deccan Chronicle

June 1: As cities grow and create more garbage, disposal of the waste has become a big problem for municipal corporations around the country, including the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. So the trend to generate power from garbage, thus keeping cities clean, saving municipal bodies money, and increasing power capacity in a power-hungry city, can only be welcomed.

The waste to electricity project will mean a saving of nearly Rs 200 crore per annum for the GHMC, the amount it spends on collection, transportation, dumping and disposal of 3,500 metric tonnes of garbage generated every day in the city, which will now be done by private operators. The privately owned waste-to-energy plants will make money by converting the municipal solid waste into useful energy (electricity). GHMC has signed an agreement to supply 700 metric tonnes of garbage to Selco power plant at Shadnagar, another 700 metric tonnes per day to RDF Power Plant at Bibinagar, 700 metric tonnes to Sri Venkateshwara Green Power Project Ltd. at Ibrahimpatnam and the remaining to Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd. at Jawaharnagar. What’s more, the Tata Power Trading Company, a giant in the private power sector, has come forward to purchase the power generated by RDF and Sri Venkateshwara power plants. Selco already has an agreement with APTransco, and Ramky is all set to finalise its power purchase agreement with a private company. Urban development experts and environmentalists have welcomed the waste to energy route for garbage disposal. As private companies stand to make crores of rupees, they will ensure that no garbage is left on the streets, and that it is collected and supplied to them for production of power every day.

Eminent environmentalist Mr K. Purushotham Reddy said: “The sate government should set up a mechanism to monitor that the remains of the garbage, after energy is produced, is disposed off in a scientific manner. Let’s hope the private garbage power plants project is successful and Greater Hyderabad becomes a more eco-friendly city.” Venkateshwara Projects will take 700 metric tonnes of garbage daily from GHMC and produce nearly 2 lakh power units per day, according to its executive director Mr N.S.R. Naidu. The 12 MW garbage power plant of Venkateshwara will be operational soon.

The 11 MW waste-to-energy plant of RDF Power Projects Pvt. Ltd. at Bibinagar has already signed a power purchase agreement with Tata Power, which will buy power at Rs 3.60 per unit. The plant will produce 2 lakh units of power every day. The SELCO power plant at Shadnagar and Sriram Energy Systems Pvt. Ltd. at Vijayawada, were the first in the country to start producing power out of garbage. They have a long-term agreement with APTransco to purchase power from them.

In fact, all metropolitan cities are now promoting garbage power plants as not only a solution to dispose of garbage in an environmentally sound way but also to turn a profit while doing so.

Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd.’s project director, Ms Padmaja, said that the company’s Rs 897 crore integrated solid waste management project in Greater Hyderabad will not only set up the garbage power plant but also establish a sorting plant, compost units and leachate sumps at the Jawaharnagar dumping yard.

These three main components of the project will gradually put an end to air and ground water pollution besides allowing the segregation of garbage at the dumping yard if not at the doorsteps of citizens. Leachate sumps will suck the liquid from the garbage while the sorting plant will segregate materials that are harmful to the environment and those that can be sent for recycling or to compost units. The GHMC additional commissioner, health and sanitation, Mr S.K. Aleem Basha, said the demand for supply of garbage to the private power plants is increasing. “All the agreements are in place for supply of 3,500 metric tonnes of garbage to the power plants. One power plant has recently urged us to increase their quota from 700 metric tonnes to 1,000 metric tonnes of garbage per day,” he said.

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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.

"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