SWANA is offering educational sessions as a webinar series with CEUs available from August through November. Register for just a few or pay one flat fee to participate in as many as you would like.
This week’s Webinar is on Thursday, October 1 at 10:00 am ET, 1 CEU.
State-of-the industry practices pertaining to the design, construction, operations, monitoring, and data analytics of LFG collection and control systems, as well as investigation of the quantity (mass flux) of fugitive (uncollected) LFG emissions.
Webinar Schedule and Registration
This 1 hour SWANA Training includes topics on Landfill Gas Emissions. Register through the VRA/SWANA Webinar Series. If you’d like to learn more about the services and technologies discussed during this session, try one of these links:
With the number of LFG monitoring technologies out there, it can be difficult for operators to distinguish which is the best fit. The authors, Pat Sullivan and John Henkelman of Understanding Landfill Gas Monitoring Techniques, do just that, help readers find the approach that works best for their landfill monitoring needs.
Methane can be monitored above the surface of the landfill as a gauge of potential emissions or can be directly measured using techniques that test for the rate or flux of emissions. The above-surface monitoring techniques for gauging potential emissions include surface emission monitoring, ground-based or low-altitude imaging and satellite and aerial imaging.
Landfill methane measurement is the direct measurement of methane emissions from landfills. Direct measurement of methane is more expensive than surface emission monitoring. Four ways to measure landfill methane directly are flux chamber testing, plume measurement, micrometeorological methods, and dispersion modeling.
This paper, presented at A&WMA’s 111th Annual Conference details the Tier 4 process and the potential issues that have arisen from conducting a Tier 4. This paper also assesses potential Tier 4 sites, exceedance reporting, wind monitoring, additional SEM equipment requirements, penetration monitoring, notification and reporting requirements, and impacts on solid waste landfills that will use the Tier 4 SEM procedure for delaying GCCS requirements. This paper reviews the changes between the draft NSPS and the final version of the new NSPS that was promulgated.
Click to read or share the paper, and learn about the authors.
CQA is essential for ensuring the proper construction of GCCS and meeting the intent of the design, and can help prevent safety mishaps. Even highly experienced design-build teams invest in expert CQA professionals to protect their capital investment, maintain maximum LFG capture through constructed GCCS, and keep operating and maintenance costs in line. It is critical for CQA person-nel to understand the overall intent of the design drawings, current field conditions, long-term conditions, and strict safety protocols. They must also have the expertise to respond to the questions contractors have during construction, especially regarding modifications to the design which will positively impact safety, long-term performance, and maintenance.
Part 1 of the 3-part article series in MSW Magazine discussed essential elements of the piping system in a landfill gas collection and control system (GCCS). The authors examine landfill GCCS design perspective and the benefits of designing landfill gas (LFG) headers outside of the waste boundary. In Part 2, we focus on construction quality assurance (CQA) services and outline the process of taking the design drawings through completion of the CQA report.
Read Part 2 here. Contains link to Part 1.
SCS Engineers periodically prepares Technical Bulletins to highlight items of interest to our clients and friends who have signed up to receive them. Our most recent SCS Bulletin summarizes the new rules which took effect on October 28, 2016, with compliance obligations under the NSPS Subpart XXX rule beginning November 28, 2016. Originally, states and local air jurisdictions were to submit their proposed EG rules by May 30, 2017; however, there have been some delays in this process, which we condense and detail in this Bulletin. SCS will continually update coverage of this Rule on our website.
We continue SCS’s Advice from the Field blog series with guidance from an article in MSW Magazine by Daniel R. Cooper, Jason Timmons, and Stephanie Liptak.
The authors of a recent article in MSW Management Magazine present engineering ideas that provide for more efficient construction of a GCCS. Gas system operators will benefit by having fewer pumps to operate and maintain and shallower headers that are more easily accessible. Odor management will be easier along with other benefits.
Read the full article here to learn about the design elements for maximizing long-term benefits, impacting: bottom liners, location of the blower/flare station, leachate risers, extraction well targets, and external header piping.
Most often, landfill gas system design is added to an existing landfill cell, but the co-authors of this article explain the benefits of considering the LFG system during the landfill bottom liner design process. Doing so during the early stages of the landfill’s life, make it possible to improve collection efficiencies, lower operating costs, and save time in the future.
Continue to the full article, Planning Ahead for the Bottom Liners, published in MSW Magazine’s November 2017 issue and learn about the co-authors from Sarasota County, Florida Public Utilities and SCS Engineers.
The past few decades of advancements in developing new drainage media have led to the use of geocomposites as the primary drainage layer above the bottom lining system geomembrane. However, you need to be watchful for the free flow of leachate through the thin layer of geocomposite under high gas pressures near the bottom lining system.
Short of investigations and clear guidelines for addressing high gas pressure near the bottom lining system, you can use a gas pressure relief system near the bottom in future new disposal cells. The pressure relief system can simply include a few perforated high-density polyethylene pipes laid in parallel directly above the soil layer placed above the bottom lining system drainage layer, as shown in the schematic.
About the author: Dr. Ali Khatami
Landfill Leachate Management Services
What makes Sol shine so brightly?
For Solavann Sim it’s his positive qualities as an individual and his ability to work effectively using a multidisciplinary approach with his clients. Our industry’s strongest and most respected leaders are those who are considered collaborative, not fixated on making all decisions themselves or working in a silo. On the contrary, innovation happens at the crossroads of different disciplines and that is where Sol shines brightest.
Sol’s landfill gas design-build and operations experience, along with his knowledge of hydrogen sulfide treatment programs, help prevent and mitigate potential problems quickly. His comprehensive technical and field competence, along with his clients, and his team comprised of staff in several disciplines approach solutions in various ways; each having unique perspectives but a common goal. Working collaboratively with clients the team solves complex challenges facing landfill owners and operators. Innovative solutions are often found where perspectives, ideas, and fields of expertise meet.
Read more about Solavann Sim and SCS Engineers LFG programs here.
See SCS’s 40+ years of innovative thinking at SCS Firsts an interactive list of client solutions, underneath News, Events, and Blogs.
Read and share the full article by David Greene, PE, here.
EPA recently established expansive new air rules affecting MSW Landfills. Implementation of the new rules places new responsibilities on both the regulated community and regulators alike. However, some of these responsibilities are unclear and have created unresolved issues that should be addressed in close consultation now with your state/local regulatory authority.
For example, if a landfill is “new,” the facility is now subject to NSPS Subpart XXX, which is fully effective. A design capacity and NMOC emissions rate report should already have been submitted.
If NMOC emissions from a facility exceed 34 Mg/yr, then the landfill will need to submit a GCCS design plan within 12 months of the date of exceedance and install and operate within 30 months (no later than May 2019 for those triggering with the promulgation of the rule). If a landfill is an “existing emissions source,” it will be subject to the new EG rule (Subpart Cf).
Landfill owners should maintain close contact with their state/local regulatory authority regarding the status of the regulator’s state implementation plan, due by November 2017. That state implementation plan will prescribe the required compliance dates for an existing landfill, likely to be no later than the 2018/2020 time period. In either case, owners should become familiar with the rule and stayed tuned as compliance guidance evolves to address the unresolved issues.
Contact SCS Engineers to discuss the regulatory status in your state at , or call your local representative.
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