Solid Waste for the Environmental Advisory Council

Briefing on Solid Waste for the Environmental Advisory Council July 21, 2005 Jennifer Kaduck Chief, Land Protection Branch Georgia Environmental Protection Division

Who is responsible for managing Solid Waste in Georgia? Georgia Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Act (OCGA 12-8-20 et. seq.) Department of Natural Resources* Environmental Protection Division (EPD) Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) Local Governments and solid waste authorities *OCGA 12-8-180 established the Pollution Prevention Assistance Division (P2AD) within DNR to work on a voluntary basis with business and industry to prevent pollution. P2AD serves in partnership with EPD and other on solid waste reduction efforts in the state.

Georgia Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Act specifies: EPD has primary responsibility for the state solid waste management program. EPD, jointly with Department of Community Affairs and in cooperation with the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, develops the statewide Solid Waste Management Plan. It serves as the guide for the development of local and regional plans for Solid Waste Management. DCA, in cooperation with EPD & GEFA, prepares and submits annual reports on the status of Solid Waste Management in the state. Each city and county must develop or be included in a comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan. Annual reports and updates required. Multi-jurisdiction or regional plans are acceptable. DCA sets minimum planning standards for local governments to follow.

Environmental Protection Division (OCGA 12-8-20 et. seq.) Regulations Permits Technical Assistance Compliance Monitoring Enforcement Cleanup Solid Waste Trust Fund Administration Coordinates with other state agencies and local political jurisdictions to achieve unified and effective program

Department of Community Affairs - Major roles in Solid Waste Planning and Education State solid waste management plan Coordinates local government solid waste planning activities Annual reports of statewide solid waste management activities Technical assistance and education to local government and public Georgia Clean & Beautiful Program Coordinates waste reduction efforts

Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority loans and grants for solid waste infrastucture to local governments and solid waste authorities Local Governments and Solid Waste Authorities solid waste collection, recycling and disposal. Some provide these services themselves, others contract with private waste management companies. Department of Natural Resources Pollution Prevention Assistance Division assistance to industries, businesses and institutions to reduce solid waste

What is Solid Waste? Any garbage or refuse Discarded material from industrial, commercial, mining, agricultural and community activities (includes liquids, semi-solids and gases) Sludges from wastewater treatment plants, drinking water supply plants and air pollution control equipment Exclusions recovered materials, domestic sewage, permitted wastewater and air discharges, irrigation return flows, radioactive waste

Where does Solid Waste go? Incinerators Solid Waste * homes * businesses * industries * water treatment plants * out of state waste importers Collection Vehicles Waste Transfer/ Processing Facilities Landfills Land Disposal Sites Collection Vehicles Recycling Plants

Goal #1 EPD s Major Goals Solid Waste Significantly reduce the amount of solid waste that has to be disposed reduce need for more landfills that are expensive and problematic conserve land, prevent property diminution save valuable resources that would otherwise be buried in landfills divert waste for use by Georgia industries that use them as feedstocks reduce environmental degradation at landfills reduce traffic congestion, air pollution, litter and conserve energy save money for taxpapers

Goal #2 Insure safe management of solid waste to protect human health and environment adequate disposal capacity landfills safely and properly sited, designed, constructed, operated, closed and maintained after closure waste collection, transfer and processing facilities safely and properly operated

Goal #3 Cleanup problem sites monitoring investigation corrective action

SCRAP TIRES MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE SOLID WASTE LITTER CONTAMINATED SOILS & DEBRIS BIOMEDICAL/ ASBESTOS YARD TRIMMINGS AGRICULTURAL WASTE STORM DEBRIS INERT INDUSTRIAL WASTE SEWAGE SLUDGE CONSTRUCTION/ DEMOLITION WASTE *HAZARDOUS WASTE *Regulated by the Georgia Hazardous Waste Management Act

Total Quantity of Solid Waste (2.6 billion tons per year in U.S.) Industrial D Waste (214) Construction & Demolition (350) Hazardous Waste (34) Other (6) Municipal Solid Waste (232) *Special Industrial Waste (1,782) *CKD; fossil fuel waste; oil/gas; mining/mineral waste

Georgia Waste Trends 14,000,000 12,000,000 10,000,000 8,000,000 6,000,000 4,000,000 2,000,000 0 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 MSW C&D

National Solid Waste Reduction Goal USEPA By 2008, increase recycling of Municipal Solid Waste to 35% (from 31% in 2002). Maintain national average Municipal Solid Waste per capita generation rate at no more than 4.5 pounds per person per day.

How is solid waste regulated? LAWS Federal Resource Conservation Recovery Act of 1976 Georgia Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Act RULES USEPA Subtitle D national minimum standards for municipal solid waste landfills GA Rules for Solid Waste Management States operate solid waste programs in lieu of USEPA No federal funds provided to states Annual state appropriations fund EPD s Solid Waste Management Program current funding is sufficient for 26 EPD staff.

Federal Acts & Regulations Major Solid Waste Milestones Federal and State Resource Conservation & Recovery Act (RCRA) Proposed Guidelines for Landfill Disposal of SW and Guidelines for Development & Implementation of SW Mgmt Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendment to RCRA Criteria for SW Disposal Facilities and Practices (40 CFR 257, 258) 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2005 Solid Waste Management Act of 1972 Executive Reorganization Act of 1972 and EPD Created Rules, Solid Waste Management Rules & Regs for Solid Waste Mgmt Rules, Solid Waste Management Rules, Solid Waste Management Georgia Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Act Rules, Solid Waste Management SWTF Trust Fund Fees Authorized. Sub-Title D Amendments EPA Approves Georgia Solid Waste Program Technical Rule Amendments SWTF Fees Extended 5 years SWTF Fees Extended 3 Years Liquid Waste Rule Amendment Georgia Acts & Regulations

Major Solid Waste Efforts (1990s present) Moving Municipal solid waste from just holes in the ground to modern, properly designed Subtitle D landfills to entomb waste siting criteria liners leachate collection methane collection groundwater monitoring 98.2% of all MSW now disposed in lined Subtitle D landfills Reducing amount of MSW disposed segregating yard trimmings & encouraging composting recycling Properly closing and maintaining old substandard and completed landfills Investigating and mitigating: leachate releases, ground water contamination, methane migration, air emissions and odor from landfills Cleaning up 12.5 million abandoned scrap tires and recycling scrap tires as they get generated Preventing solid waste dumping thru comprehensive solid waste regulatory program Encouraging 25% waste reduction goal efforts Solid waste planning

What is a municipal solid waste landfill? - An engineered structure built into or on the ground designed to isolate waste from the environment - EPD permits are required - Local government approval required - Subtitle D regulations govern landfill design and operation liners, leachate, methane gas collection systems, groundwater monitoring systems, cover systems are required - Final closure, 30-year post-closure maintenance required - Some are very large typically several hundred acres with disposal capacities ranging up to 53 million cubic yards (Imagine a cube of compressed garbage measuring 400 yards per side)

How many landfills do we have? Where are they?

111 Total

Are our modern, permitted landfills safe? Yes, if properly sited, designed, constructed, operated and maintained in perpetuity Will liners eventually degrade over time and begin to leak? Yes. Landfill liners are not designed to last forever. As lined landfills age, leakage may occur.

What environmental problems can be caused by Landfills? Erosion & sedimentation into streams

What environmental problems can be caused by Landfills? Erosion & sedimentation into streams Groundwater contamination

What environmental problems can be caused by Landfills? Erosion & sedimentation into streams Groundwater contamination Surface water contamination

What environmental problems can be caused by Landfills? Erosion & sedimentation into streams Groundwater contamination Surface water contamination Air Pollution from landfill gases (methane, H2S, other volatile air pollutants) Explosion hazards from methane generation Waste of large amounts valuable materials that can and should be recycled Air pollution and fuel consumption for waste collection vehicles Litter Possible diminution of nearby property values

How many closed landfills do we have in Georgia?

How many landfills in Georgia have groundwater contamination?

Landfills listed on the Hazardous Sites Inventory 117 Total Funds expended to date from Hazardous Waste Trust Fund Approximately $18M on 96 local government contracts

Can these problems be corrected or controlled? Yes, but it is very expensive and takes many years. How much will it cost to correct or control environmental problems at old leaking landfills? Total future costs are unknown. In 2001, EPD projected the Hazardous Waste Trust Fund will need a minimum of $177 Million to help local governments. Hazardous Waste Trust Fund can pay up to $2 Million per site in correcting problems for landfills listed on the state Hazardous Site Inventory.

Does Georgia have enough permitted landfill capacity for future needs? YES

Existing Disposal Capacity 2004 MSW 26.6 Years C&D 19.9 Years

Percent of MSW Disposed in Georgia Landfills From Out-of-State Sources 16% 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Why does Georgia have so much landfill capacity? Private sector has developed several very large landfills in Georgia Cost of disposal is CHEAP Low tipping fees Competition in private sector Cheap, abundant land with plenty of clay

Current Status of Solid Waste in Disposal is cheap Georgia

Georgia Landfill Disposal 2004 Public vs. Private (in million tons) 10 45 9 8 41 MSW Landfills 37 C&D Landfills 9 40 35 7 30 6 25 5 4 3 2 3.0 16 MSW Landfills 14 C&D Landfills 20 15 10 1 0 0.63 3 5 0 Public Private MSW Disposal C&D Disposal # of MSW Facilities # of C&D Facilities

Current Status of Solid Waste in Disposal is cheap Georgia Out-of-state waste importation to Georgia s landfills is dramatically increasing. Intermodal transportation is expected to magnify this trend. Shift from public to private operations Fewer, but much larger, landfills Waste reduction efforts need significant improvement statewide

Benefits of the Current Status Cheap and abundant landfill capacity keeps disposal costs low for citizens and businesses. Trash is cash increased revenues for landfill owners (private and local governments).

Drawbacks of our Current Status Big landfills can REALLY STINK! We have growing odor problems at several of them. Transportation of waste to big landfills increases traffic congestion, energy consumption, air pollution and litter. Landfills are permanent. While the available land suitable for landfills is currently plentiful, it will decrease as Georgia continues to grow. Our current system of waste disposal is not sustainable for the future. Long term costs are large. Existing rules provide for post closure care for landfills for 30 years after closure, yet they will need maintenance forever. No provisions have been made for this. Many closed landfills need long term corrective action. Funding is inadequate for this. Bankruptcy or financial instability of landfill owners leave the public holding the bag for maintenance and cleanup costs.

True costs of landfills are masked by failure to address long term maintenance and corrective action and failure to recognize value of materials that are recyclable - this thwarts development of more sustainable solutions. Profits to be made siting new landfills encourage developers to force landfills on communities that do not want them. While our laws provide for significant amount of local control, many local governments have failed to enact ordinances to enable control. These communities are targeted by landfill developers and then turn to EPD and elected officials to stop the landfill often too late. Failure to recycle means lost resources and lost jobs in industries that used recycled materials as feedstocks. Our disposable society is producing a vast and ever-increasing array of cheap, disposable products and packaging, resulting in increased waste disposal demand and increased environmental impacts.

Improvements Underway Solid Waste Trust Fund recently reauthorized until 2008 FY06 appropriation $1.5 Million Improvements in local government solid waste planning process Improvements in EPD s review of solid waste management plans as part of proposed landfill applications Recently completed State waste characterization study will help focus and improve future recycling efforts. Increasing emphasis on environmental education EPD s Task Force on Landfill Odor Mitigation Governor s Executive Order on Litter; establishment of Litter Task Force

Concerns Waste disposed on a per capita basis is significantly higher than national norms. Recycling rate is much too low; huge quantities of valuable materials are being wasted. Out-of-state waste imports into Georgia are dramatically increasing. Long-term costs of perpetual care and cleanup of leaking landfills are not provided for in the current system and keep the true costs of disposal artificially low. Landfill odors are a significant problem at some large sites. General public does not want new landfills sited. Landfills are being located far away from population, adding to traffic and air pollution problems. Litter is a significant and growing solid waste problem. Solid Waste Trust Fund used by the state to fund many important functions expires in 3 years. Solid Waste Trust Fund appropriation for FY04 & 05 was zero. FY06 appropriation was$1.5 Million (out of $6.5 Million in fees collected). Lack of sustained funding jeopardizes Georgia s ability to adequately deal with solid waste.