small scale landfill

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There are Thousands of closed landfills in The u.s. Today, and

many o them are currently being used or their landll gas, recreational orcommunity-development potential. Although large or recently closed landlls

can be appealing or their surace area and greater landll gas generation, it can

be easy to overlook the benets smaller closed landlls can provide. In many

cases, a small closed landll can be transormed into a wonderul community

asset.

This can be particularly true when considering harvesting landll gas rom

small closed landlls. Small landlls (5 to 10 acres) or landlls that have been

closed or a number o years are oten assumed to have very limited landll

gas potential. However, a small amount o gas can be just enough o a seed to

sprout a community center that can continue to thrive years ater the landllgas output has declined. When the right initiative is implemented correctly, it

may be surprising what can be accomplished with a small amount o resources.

When a diverse combination o community partners unite around common

causes, it can surprise even the most skeptical or what is possible.Altamont Environmental, Inc., based in Asheville, NC, has provided

technical expertise and proved to be a vital partner in turning ideas into reality

on a number o successul landll reuse projects. This article highlights two

small-scale landll reuse case studies and the commonalities that made them

work. The rst is a 12-year-old landll-gas-to-energy project that supports

a horticulture and artisan community. The second is a regional livestock

center built on a closed industrial landll. Following are the common keys to

implementing these successul reuse projects.

Diverse Group o PartnersSuccessul reuse o a closed landll requires expertise and eectiveness by

a diverse group o community leaders, investors, volunteers, technicians and

RTL| Recycling | Transer Stations | Landflls

LandfllsSmall-Scale Closed Landfll: Large-Scale Community BeneftPaul Dow

Packed house viewing the cattle auction at the WNC Regional Livestock Center. It is common or community members to outnumber the livestock producers in the stands.Photos courtesy o Altamont Environmental.

64 WasteAdvantage Magazine April 2012

As Seen In

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engineers, state and local agencies, and politicians.

Regardless o landll size, the project is likely to ail i

it is not supported by the community, local government

and regulators.

Environmental EectsAnd Risk Abatement

Exposure to waste, leachate and landll gas is a

concern when reusing a landll, and the means and

methods used or past landll closure are not acceptable

today. Small landlls may be more likely neglected than

large landlls in the years ollowing closure. Thereore,

determining the best type o reuse must include assessing

the adequacy o existing cover and abating the potential

exposure routes. Proper environmental assessments and

engineering controls are vital to post-closure reuse.

It is usually preerable to construct buildings outside

o the edge o waste. Covered waste areas are commonly

better suited or activities such as parking or landll gas

extraction. Proposed reuse ideas that have the potential

to compromise landll cover should be rejected.

Compliance with StateAnd Local Regulations

State and local authorities are charged with issuing

the required permits in compliance with established

regulations. Engaging with regulators early and oten

can prove worthwhile. The regulatory climate has

moved toward accepting landll reuse that provides

both a sae and eective means o promoting ongoingmaintenance o the landll cover. A landll that is re-

used will be monitored and maintained much better

than a landll that simply gets mowed twice a year.

Regular use and maintenance o landlls results in

improved access and establishment o vegetation, both

common violations issued to closed landll owners

throughout the country.

Case #1: EnergyXchangeIn 1973, Yancey and Mitchell, two adjoining

Western North Carolina Counties, cooperated in

opening a 7-acre municipal landll. The landll was

closed in 1994 with approximately 385,000 tons o

waste. Like many closed rural mountain landlls, the

site now provides a gorgeous scenic view o the Black

Mountains, where visitors can see or miles.

Today the site, which is called EnergyXchange,

includes a glass studio, clay studio, our greenhouses and

an art gallery that use landll gas rom 10 extractionwells. Landll gas rom the nearby landll provides uel

or the glass and pottery kilns, heating or greenhouses,

and hydronic heating or galleries and oces.

View o WNC Regional Livestock Center with theclosed industrial landll in the background.

View o WNC Regional Livestock Center rom

Interstate 40 with the closed industrial landll tothe right.

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Key partnership organizations responsible or the

creation o the EnergyXchange include Blue Ridge

Resource Conservation and Development Council

(BRRC&D), HandMade in America (HandMade) andMayland Community College (MCC). These organizations

began community meetings and interviews in 1996 to

determine the best use o the landlls resource. Among

other eorts, they contacted the EPAs Landll Methane

Outreach Program (LMOP). The LMOP program

conducted a easibility study o the landll gas potential

and determined that the landll gas was commercially

viable. Commissioners rom the two Counties that once

shared the landll, banded together again to support a

shared initiative to use landll gas to help uel an artisanand horticulture center. Altogether, $1.5M was raised to

und the EnergyXchange.

Jim McEldu, P.E., a ounding member o Altamont,

donated his time and technical guidance rom 2000

through the initial years o operation. Altamont has been

the environmental consultant to the EnergyXchange since

2005. For the recent upgrade projects, Altamont managed

grant administration and obtained permits or treatment

processing and or a new wood waste boiler and kiln.Residents include two glass and our clay artists who

pay rent to use the acilities. EnergyXchange gives

the artists a place to both hone their crat and develop

Upgrades to the existing landll gas fare being conducted at the EnergyXchange in 2011.
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View o closed landll and Black Mountains in the background at the EnergyXchange.

their businesses. The residencies are highly sought-ater

positions because the landll gas supplements a good deal

o the uel costs or these artists. The horticulture aspect o

EnergyXchange, known as the Project Branch Out, is designedto nurture a market or native and endangered plants. Seeds are

collected locally, and the landll gas is used to heat greenhouses

that grow several varieties o evergreen rhododendrons and

deciduous azaleas. Plants are sold in to local growers.

The EnergyXchange has been so successul that the campus

has been looking beyond the landll gas resource. The

output o the gas collection system was initiated in 1999 and

currently averages approximately 40 standard cubic eet per

minute (scm). The projected output o the system in 2030

is anticipated to be approximately 15 scm. Recently, theDepartment o Energy provided a grant to improve the gas

collection system, implement the use o wood waste and solar

energy, and improve the eciency o the campus ensuring that

the EnergyXchange will have a uture as a local resource or job

skills, community involvement and education.

Case #2: Western North CarolinaRegional Livestock Market

Western North Carolina is home to approximately 3,000livestock producers, who prior to March 2011 did not have a
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reliable sales and auction acility in the region. Like the EnergyXchange, a

diverse group o stakeholders was ormed, consisting o livestock producers,

non-prot organizations, government agencies and local businesses, to conduct

a easibility study or the center. The preerred site was a closed industriallandll, ormerly operated by Champion International Corporation, that had

accepted paper and pulp waste, fy-ash and wastewater treatment sludge.

The site is highly visible and has a large fat area, which are both valuable

commodities in the mountains area. The property contains two distinct landll

areas, one o which was already being used or an athletic acility.

Altamont conducted site investigations to determine the groundwater and

surace water quality, landll gas migration, site integrity, utility location,

subsurace geophysical characteristics and geotechnical aspects o the site.

Following this investigation and preliminary discussions with the North

Carolina Department o Environment and Natural Resources, it was decided tolocate the building or the livestock center o o covered waste, and to use the

covered waste area or parking and access.

From March 2011 to December 31, 2011, 13,283 head o cattle and

1,275 head o sheep and goats were sold with a sales value o $9.1 million

and an economic impact o $13.65 million at the center. This equates to

more than $18.0 million annually. Key partners in this eort, Southwestern

Commission in Sylva and Land-o-Sky Regional Council in Asheville, received

a 2011 Innovation Award rom the National Association o Development

Organizations (NADO) Research Foundation or promoting the economicdevelopment in the region.

This eort could not have been accomplished without the generous support

o the landowner, International Paper Company (IP), who provided a 99-year

low-cost lease or the project area. IP supported the community by allowing the

construction o the livestock center at the site. According to Tom Richardson,IP Remediation Program Manager, International Paper is always looking or

ways to reduce our ootprint and impact. The maintenance and upkeep o the

livestock center helps stabilize the site and reduce the potential or the landll

to pose a risk to human health and the environment. Richardson believes that

there is now an appropriate use or the property that incorporates IPs ocus on

sustainability and stewardship o property and natural resources. This project

has provided IP with an opportunity or public outreach and community

involvement. IP may not be manuacturing in this location, but the livestock

center has urthered IPs goal to be a good neighbor.

Site PotentialOwners o small-scale closed landlls and community leaders wishing to

nd sites or community development projects should take a new look at the

potential these overlooked sites can provide. Assembling a team o qualied

engineers and community organizations could result in a project that has

tremendous benet or years to come. |WAPaul Dow , P.E. works for Altamont Environmental, Inc. in Asheville, NC. He

specializes in solid waste and water resources engineering. Paul can be reached

at (828) 281-3350, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.altamontenvironmental.com.

2012 Waste Advantage Magazine, All Rights Reserved.Reprinted rom Waste Advantage Magazine.

Contents cannot be reprinted without permission rom the publisher.
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