Landfill Air Quality

The primary air quality concern at landfills involves landfill gas (LFG) emissions, and the main compliance tool is the Gas Collection and Control System (GCCS). The NSPS/EG rules require LFG testing and collection system installations at many sites, and they require landfill owners/operators to:

• Estimate total LFG emissions using sophisticated gas models, laboratory analyses, and gas pump tests
• Install comprehensive gas collection systems throughout the landfill at any site shown to have high emissions of non-methane organic compounds (NMOCs)
• Perform long-term operation and record keeping on such LFG systems.

SCS Engineers offers comprehensive LFG services to help you meet regulatory compliance requirements within budget, including engineering test services, laboratory analysis, gas system design, system installation, and operations. We find that once compliance with NSPS air quality criteria is achieved, other LFG issues (e.g., lateral migration, impacts to groundwater, odor, etc.) usually begin to resolve.

Typical CAA tasks that SCS performs for landfills include:

• NSPS Tier 1 NMOC emission modeling
• NSPS Tier 2 testing
• GCCS design plans
• GCCS design, construction, operation, and maintenance
• Surface emission monitoring
• Wellfield monitoring and adjustment
• Data analysis
• Compliance reports
• Startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM) plans and reporting

Expert witness

Because of our extensive CAA experience, SCS is well-positioned to provide additional services that may be required as new air quality regulations are issued in the years ahead.

Why landfill clients choose SCS Engineers:

• Significant Project Experience. We have conducted NSPS-related projects at hundreds of landfills nationwide.
• A Strong Relationship with the EPA. Since 1989, we have worked actively with the EPA and state agencies on the NSPS rule for landfills. We have provided numerous technical comments and supporting documentation, and assisted in negotiations on the rule. SCS Engineers is well-known and respected by the EPA and state agencies nationwide.
• A Strong Relationship with the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) and the Waste Industry Air Coalition (WIAC). SCS Engineers developed the course materials and provided instructors for SWANA NSPS workshops around the country. We are also highly involved with SWANA’s LFG Division and support its work.
  • Pat Sullivan, CPP, REPA, a Senior Vice President of SCS Engineers and our National Expert on air quality and compliance programs, is a former Vice Director of SWANA’s LFG Division, and one of the founding members of the WIAC, which works with the EPA and other agencies to negotiate reasonable application of air quality regulations to landfills.
  • Srividhya Viswanathan, PE, of SCS, is the current SWANA LFG Vice Director.
  • Significant Presentation and Training Experience at Industry Conferences. SCS’s air quality experts have continued to make technical presentations on the NSPS rule at hundreds of international, national, and state solid waste conferences and workshops since 1991.
  • Engineering News Report – ENR – ranks SCS as the #1 solid waste management engineering and consultant globally for over a decade.