Issue Paper: Solid Waste Disposal

Transcription

1 Issue Paper: Solid Waste Disposal 1. Introduction And Background 1.1. Purpose and Scope This issue paper discusses the ground water quality issues relating to solid waste disposal facilities in Kitsap County with the major emphasis on landfills. Previously developed information found in other final and draft ground water management programs (see References) has been extensively used in developing this paper. For reading ease, citations, except for statutes or rules, have not been used. The goal is to prevent the occurrence of ground water contamination through closed or operating landfills in Kitsap County Background Solid waste landfills can pose a threat to ground water quality due to leachate production. Leachate is water or other liquid that has been contaminated by dissolved or suspended materials due to contact with solid waste or gases therefrom (see WAC (44)). Leachate can be produced by rainfall percolating through landfill waste materials, addition of liquid wastes to a landfill, or a high water table which results in direct contact of the wastes and ground water. Leachate generally consists of a mixture of chemical and biological substances. The precise composition of the leachate generated by a solid waste facility is dependent on the nature of landfill materials. While landfill operators currently take steps to ensure that hazardous and dangerous wastes are not accepted for disposal, this was not the case until recent years. Therefore, the risk of potential contamination of ground water is likely higher in old landfills than in currently operated solid waste facilities that are complying with current laws and regulations. In addition to a lack of control over the type of wastes that were disposed of in old landfills, the citing of such landfills in the past in old gravel pits, gullies, or ravines without regard to the ground water table, increases the potential for ground water contamination. In Kitsap County's "Final Amendment to the 1990 Final Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan," fifteen closed or abandoned landfills have been identified throughout Kitsap County. Olympic View Sanitary Landfill (OVSL) is now the only operating mixed municipal solid waste (MMSW) facility in Kitsap County. The Morrison Demolition Landfill, an active construction and demolition waste landfill was closed in November, Solid Waste Disposal (SW) 1

2 2. Current Laws, Practices And Procedures 2.1. A. Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 USC Section Amends the 1965 Solid Waste Disposal Act. Outlines Federal government program to manage solid and hazardous wastes and establishes standards for treatment, storage, and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes. Encourages the development by states of environmentally sound methods of solid waste disposal. Washington State is encouraged to develop a plan to implement the guidelines and to assume enforcement responsibility. However, EPA has no legal authority to require states to follow the guideline. This Act prohibits solid waste facilities from contaminating current or potential underground drinking water sources beyond the solid waste disposal site boundary, or an alternative boundary selected by a court. Maximum contamination limits established in the Safe Drinking Water Act will be used as ground water standards where possible. Otherwise, there is to be no increase over background levels. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 USC Section Known as "Superfund," the Hazardous Substances Response Fund finances government containment or clean up responses to actual or threatened releases of substances that may harm human health or the environment, including ground water. It is sustained mainly by taxes on petroleum products and chemicals. The liability provisions authorize EPA to hold polluters liable for the expenses of removal, cleanup, and containment, as well as to force the responsible parties to undertake such actions at their own expense. The response provisions obligate private and government entities to report spills of hazardous substances in excess of specified quantities to EPA or the Coast Guard. It is designed to remedy existing contamination rather than to prevent such problems. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, 7 USC Section 136. The polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) regulations contain restrictions designed to prevent and clean up spills that could enter ground water. Landfills permitted by EPA to receive PCB wastes are required to conduct ground water monitoring pursuant to 40 CFR PCB regulations are covered under the Toxics Substances Control Act (TSCA 40 CFR 761) State In 1969, the Washington State Legislation enacted our first Solid Waste Management laws, Chapter RCW, which was most recently amended in 1989 and The 1989 amendments were significant in that priorities for solid waste management were set in descending order as follows: Waste reduction Recycling, with source separation of recycled materials as the preferred method. Energy recovery, incineration, or separated waste landfills. Solid Waste Disposal (SW) 2

3 Energy recovery, incineration, or mixed waste landfills. Final Draft\gwmp\vol4_rev\appndx-2\solwaste.doc The State's goal was to "...achieve a 50 percent recycling rate by 1995." This program directional guidance should extend the life of existing landfills and provide more time for a careful site selection process for new landfills. Chapter RCW establishes permitting, financial, and technical review procedures for solid waste facilities. It gives primary responsibility to local governments for solid waste handling. Cities have the option to write their own solid waste plans or cooperate with counties in the development of a county or regional plan, which the Department of Ecology (Ecology) would approve. These plans may be more stringent than the State requirements. Ecology reviews all permit applications and may appeal the issuance of permits. This law, Chapter RCW, also authorized Ecology to promulgate the "Minimum Functional Standards for Solid Waste Handling," Chapter WAC, which is described below. WAC The "Minimum Functional Standards for Solid Waste Handling" (MFS) contain solid waste disposal facility standards for leachate management, ground and surface water monitoring, facility citing operations, and other factors important to ground water management. All active landfills in Washington State are required to comply with MFS regulations or obtain a variance, temporarily suspending this requirement, from Ecology. The following summarizes important elements of the MFS as they relate to ground water management at active as well as closed solid waste disposal facilities. WAC Location Standards for Disposal Sites. Ten citing criteria are described in this section of the MFS. These criteria include geology, ground water, natural soils, flooding, surface water, and land use. WAC and 467 General Closure and Post-Closure Requirements. These sections establish requirements for developing closure and post-closure plans for landfill facilities and procedures for working with local health jurisdictions during the closure process. Also, Section 467 requires financial assurance for twenty years following closure for maintenance and monitoring. WAC Landfilling Standards. These regulations govern landfill design, landfill maintenance and operation, leachate management, and ground and surface water monitoring. WAC (2)(a) maintains that "An owner or operator of a landfill shall not contaminate the ground water underlying the landfill, beyond the point of compliance." The "point of compliance" is the part of ground water that lies beneath the perimeter of the active area as that active area would exist at the closure of the facility. This minimum compliance level for Washington State is set at the standard as defined in WAC , the Sate Drinking Water Standards. Local health jurisdictions have the option to establish a stricter point of compliance. Solid Waste Disposal (SW) 3

4 WAC Ground Water Monitoring Requirement. These requirements apply to the number and location of ground water monitoring wells. Monitoring frequency and the parameters requiring testing are also included in this section. WAC Maximum Contaminant Levels for Ground Water. References for Federal and State regulations that define maximum contaminant levels for ground water are provided in this section Local Programs Administration and enforcement of solid waste regulations in Kitsap County is the joint responsibility of the Bremerton - Kitsap County Health District (BKCHD), the Kitsap County Solid Waste Division (KCSWD) of the Department of Public Works, the incorporated Cities, Tribes, and the Navy. The County has the authority to own and operate solid waste disposal facilities or to contract for these services. County control of disposal of solid waste generated within incorporated jurisdictions requires interlocal agreements between the County, City, or Tribes. The County has the authority and responsibility to prepare comprehensive solid waste management plans (CSWMP) for unincorporated areas and for jurisdictions that agree to participate in the planning process. Cities may also develop their own and operate solid waste handling systems and prepare their own CSWMP, but in Kitsap County, the four cities (Bainbridge Island, Bremerton, Port Orchard, and Poulsbo) have participated with the County (KCSWD) in developing one CSWMP. The most recent CSWMP work is the previously referenced "Final Amendments to the 1990 Final Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan," June All cities, as well as the Suquamish Tribe and Port Gamble S Klallam Tribe, have participated in this work. The BKCHD issues permits for solid waste facilities and enforces solid waste handling regulations in the County. BKCHD inspects different facilities at various frequencies, and regulates the storage, treatment, transportation, and disposal of special waste materials. In 1992, BKCHD had 4.0 Full Time Equivalent(FTE) budgeted for solid and moderate risk waste operations and management. BKCHD is the primary regulatory authority for solid waste management in the cities and the County. Solid waste management on reservations is under tribal and/or Federal regulatory authority. 3. Gaps And Problems The potential for ground water contamination resulting from existing operational and future solid waste disposal landfills is reduced because of strict regulatory controls for operating and closure and stringent citing criteria for new landfills. There is, however, concern relating to the fifteen closed landfills that have been identified in Kitsap County as shown on Figure 8-1 and described on Table 8-1 of the June 1992 Final Amendment to the 1990 Final Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan for Kitsap County. The table Solid Waste Disposal (SW) 4

5 indicates that seven of the fifteen landfills had accepted MMSW, demolition, and industrial wastes, and twelve of the fifteen have had no post-closure maintenance. The June 1992 Amendment, although very comprehensive in such areas as waste reduction and recycling and looking toward the future, does not directly address existing or potential contamination problems that may result from the closed landfills. The plan does show that twelve identified closed landfills are monitored by the BKCHD on a limited basis, but for the most part it appears that the impacts of the closed landfills on ground water are not known. Fortunately, few, if any, of the landfills appear to overlay any of the principal aquifers (see Exhibit II-8 of Vol. 1, Kitsap County GWMP, Grant No. 1). It is important that the State goal of a 50 percent recycling rate by 1995 be achieved to extend the life of the OVSL. Even with this, Kitsap County will still have to locate a site for a new landfill to be available at some presently undetermined future date. Notwithstanding the present strict regulatory control over new landfill development, proper site selection is a concern. 4. Recommendations SW 1. Request BKCHD develop an abandoned (or closed) landfill investigation program to determine whether landfills have caused ground water quality problems, either underlying or down gradient. NOTE: BKCHD Expressed great concern over the cost of this proposal. SW 2. Support and encourage more comprehensive County efforts in the recycling program. SW 3. Petition Kitsap County and Cities to preclude new landfill citing within principal aquifer areas as identified in Vol. 1, Kitsap County GWMP, Grant No. 1 or aquifer recharge areas as identified by the County pursuant to the requirements of the Growth Management Act. Solid Waste Disposal (SW) 5

6 5. References Chapter RCW, Solid Waste Management Reduction and Recycling. Chapter WAC, Minimum Functional Standards for Solid Waste Handling. Clover/Chambers Creek Basin Ground Water Management Program, prepared by Brown and Caldwell Consultants, and other, December Final Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan (for Kitsap County). prepared by Kitsap County Department of Public Works, October Final Amendment to the 1990 Final Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan, prepared by Kitsap County Department of Public Works, Solid Waste Division, and others, June Ground Water Quality Issues Related to Solid Waste Landfills, prepared by Trudy C. Rolla, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health, Draft Issue Paper, August 1, Kitsap County Ground Water Management Plan, Grant No. 1, Basic Data Collection and Management Issues, Volumes I and II, prepared by Kitsap County Ground Water Advisory Committee, and others, April North Thurston County Ground Water Management Plan, prepared by Thurston County Health Department, and others, Draft February Solid Waste Disposal (SW) 6