New stringent solid waste environmental regulations prompted a major Kansas City utility company to retain SCS Engineers to assist with a landfill permit application for a proposed 40-acre landfill. The permit requirements of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) ranged from topographic surveys and 100-year flood projections, to site operations and air quality plans – with an emphasis on the characterization of the waste products and an assessment of the hydrogeology of the waste site.
SCS Engineers staff performed all geologic and hydrogeologic services at the site, including the installation and sampling of monitor wells and numerous soil borings. The investigation indicated that the site is underlain by a relatively dense layer of low-permeability clay soils and groundwater, all under confined conditions. The dense clay layer appears to be acting as a confining layer for both the downward migration of perched water and the upward flow of groundwater. These factors, when combined with the favorably low results of toxicity testing (the leachability test of the United States Environmental Protection Agency) conducted on the ash by-products, resulted in a low pollution potential at the site.
Additional services for the assessment included estimating the groundwater quality, yield characteristics and stormwater runoff containment calculations relative to 25-year, 24-hour storm records.
SCS Engineers staff also provided technical support during the landfill permit negotiations between the utility and the MDNR, including:
