Landfill Closures Evaluating Importance of Variables and Future Use of Closed Landfills

Transcription

1 Landfill Closures Evaluating Importance of Variables and Future Use of Closed Landfills Project Team: Jeremy Belknap Greta Dupuis Sarah Leiby Problem Statements: First Problem: Lack of understanding of the factors used to evaluate the current state of a closed landfills. There is a present need to assign weighted factors to the variables used in the landfill calculator being created by the calculator group. Second Problem: There is a lack of knowledge for the future uses for closed landfills. No landfills in the state of Vermont have future use plans. Justification: There are currently more than 300 closed landfills across the state of Vermont. Fiftynine of those landfills are under Post Closure Care, being monitored every six months for water quality and gas accumulation. All of these data has never been systematically evaluated for the effects the landfill may be having on the surrounding environment. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) does not believe that the landfills are having a large impact and does not want to continue managing the facilities. The problem lies in quantifying the actual impact of each landfill. By creating a calculator that can be used to prioritize landfills based on a variety of important factors, the Vermont ANR can create future monitoring or use plans for these landfills. The weighted variables are a key component in the landfill-evaluation calculator being constructed. By contacting knowledgeable stakeholders and reading past studies, the group can determine appropriate weight values for each category of variables. After obtaining these numbers, the group will switch the focus of our project to researching potential future uses of closed landfills. Currently most closed landfills are simply grass-covered mounds that don t contribute many ecosystem services, the benefits that flow from nature to people. The hope is that these sites might be put to a more beneficial use than they currently are. Literature Review: Chilton, J., & Chilton, K. (1992). A critique of risk modeling and risk assessment of municipal landfills based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency techniques. Waste Management and Research. (10(6): )

2 This article critiques the Subtitle D Risk Model the U.S. EPA created for assessing closed landfills. The article briefly goes over the criteria found in the model, which the group can translate into our calculator. It contains valuable data on the concentrations of chemicals found in leachates coming from landfills, which can help us assign weights to chemical leachates. De Feo, G., De Gisi, S., & Williams, I. D. (2013). Public perception of odour and environmental pollution attributed to MSW treatment and disposal facilities: A case study. Waste Management. (33(4): ) Since the group decided not to administer a public survey, researching public opinion is important to understand how to assign weights for the calculator. For this study, a survey was administered to 4 villages in Italy near two landfills and a RDF production plant before and after the capping of the landfills. The survey contained twelve questions in 4 parts: public opinion, residents perception, residents concerns and attitudes, and residents awareness about MSW facilities. This study shows that the public is most concerned about water quality and that education has a big influence on public perception. Lutfor Rahman, MD., S. Tarrant, D. McCollin, J. Ollerton. (2013) Plant community composition and attributes reveal conservation implications for newly created grassland on capped landfill sites. Journal for Nature Conservation. (21(4): ) This article is about another use for closed landfills; new habitat. They studied the differences in biodiversity between landfill restoration sites and reference sites to determine if the landfill sites were providing adequate habitat for native species. They found the factors like soil quality are important in determining habitat quality. This may be useful in deciding if sites meet certain criteria for use as natural, native habitat. Misgav, A., Perl, N. and Avnimelech Y. (2001). Selecting a compatible open space use for a closed landfill site. Landscape and Urban Planning. (55: ) The procedure includes two main parts: criteria for selecting open space uses suitable to conditions of the landfill, and criteria examining the compatibility of functional open spaces under the physical potential risks and environmental conditions prevailing in a landfill. This is a potential source for management plans based on aspects of landfill variability. Pohland, FG., Alyousfi, B. (1994). Design and operation of landfills for optimum stabilization and biogas production. Water Science and Technology. (30: )

3 This article discusses the potential for microbially-mediated anaerobic landfills to be used for biogas production. They weigh the costs of utilizing the site as a biogas production facility compared to other management options. This may be useful if some of the landfills are producing methane gas. Robinson, G. R. and Handel, S. N. (1993), Forest restoration on a closed landfill: Rapid addition of new species by bird dispersal. Conservation Biology. (7: ) This article discusses an experimental study based at the Fresh Kills Landfill located in Staten Island, NY. The focus of the study was to determine how restoration on landfills or impaired sites could stimulate natural succession. This is a potential source for future use of closed landfills sites specifically the remediation process near stream banks. This source will be helpful for identifying different remediation practices that could be implemented in Vermont s based on similar landfill characteristics of New York s closed landfills. Ruotsinoja, S. (2010). Close Landfill Program 2010 Report to the Legislature. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Retrieved from This article focused on the closed landfill program in the state of Minnesota. This source includes remedial response actions, land use control, alternative energy opportunities and leachate and gas reduction progress. Acceptable Uses of a Closed Landfill. Missouri Department of Natural Resources: Solid Waste Management Program Retrieved from This article provides information about variables to be accounted for when determining future use for closed landfill sites. Considerations include protection of landfill cap, methane gas generation and migration, differential settlement of waste and existing environmental monitoring and control systems. This article provides general information about potential future uses, which will help generate ideas for Vermont's closed landfills. Probable Original Contribution: 1. Research variables: chemical leachate, climate, topography, water quality, methane release, structural components, geology, and public perception to understand importance for further monitoring of closed landfills. This research will be used to determine the weights for variables in the calculator being made by the calculator group.

4 2. Research and summarize in a detailed report post closure landfill monitoring, care, and use methodologies of other state agencies that can be applied to the closed landfill sites in Vermont. 3. The group will describe a classification system for potential future uses based on variables that make a landfill suitable for a given future use. Landfills in Vermont will be assigned to a likely future use based on their characteristics. From three of those classifications, the group will pick one landfill for each and create a plan for that specific site that can be applied to all other sites in that same classification. Proposed Effort: The group will address the contributions through a thorough literature review. Researching peer-reviewed articles to find acceptable levels for leachates coming from closed landfills, and the influence of climate, topography. Information will also be gathered on groundwater quality and methane release standards to determine the acceptable levels in the state of Vermont. If no Vermont standards exist, EPA standards will be used. Completing research to understand how the structure of the landfill affects the variable leachates. This information will be relayed to the calculator group to be used the calculator. A survey will be created and sent to Kasey and her colleagues to get their expertise on the acceptable levels of toxic metals in leachate, public perception of odor and water quality. The group will first ask the group to rank the variables by importance in terms of public health and acceptable levels of environmental contamination. The group will then compile all of the rankings into one combined ranking of all the variables. If discrepancies are present, research or justification from the ANR employees will be used. Next, the combined ranking will be sent back to ANR where the participants will be asked to assign weight to the variables. Once all of the surveys are returned to the group, the results will be combined with the research to make judgments and justifications for the weight of each variable to be used in the calculator. The group will reach out to Dr. Isabelle Cozzarelli of the U.S. Geological Survey. She conducts research at the Norman Landfill Environmental Research Site. Dr. Cozzarelli can help determine the group interpret the data from the landfill sites and how to select thresholds to put in the calculator. The group will also consult with Dr. Alan McIntosh of the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, who has conducted research on toxic contaminants in freshwater sources, to determine acceptable risk levels for developing thresholds to be used in the calculator. From previous research, the group has determined that the public s main concern with the future monitoring and use of closed landfills is the risk to water quality. Dr. McIntosh has knowledge of Vermont that can help the group compare other sites to the state. These consultations will help us determine the weight these topics should hold in determining the current state of the landfill and the need for further monitoring.

5 Research will be completed on what other state agencies have done with the future use of their closed landfills. This research will focus on landfills that are similar to the ones found in Vermont to allow for comparison. Research will be focused on closed capped landfills in rural agriculture environments with similar underlying geology and humid continental climate. The group will also look to see how other states have dealt with monitoring of closed landfills. Based the on score of the calculator, the landfills will be placed into a classification system that correlate to future uses. Three examples of future use plans for three different types of landfills will be generated: remediation, renewable energy, and public use. There are more options for the future use of landfills but the group has chosen these three to create plans for as they are the most popular. A short written document explaining the goals, options, and methodologies for each landfill future use category will be provided to Kasey. Photo boards and site plan drawings depicting potential uses will accompany the report. Effort Assignment: Jeremy: Research the variables climate and geology. Research what other state agencies have done in Massachusetts and New York. Create a landfill future use plan for a renewable energy landfill. Greta: Research variables of landfill characteristics and methane release standards. Research what other state agencies have done in Minnesota and Missouri. Create a landfill future use plan for a landfill requiring remediation. Sarah: Research variables of water quality standards and public perception and attitudes. Research what other state agencies have done in Virginia and Florida. Create a landfill future use plan for a public use landfill.