HomeMy WebLinkAboutNantucket Landfill Public Information Session 1 - 11-9-2017PSF Community
Room
November 9, 2017
6 pm
NANTUCKET DEPARTMENT OF
PUBLIC WORKS
Nantucket Landfill
Environmental Monitoring Program
Robert McNeil, P.E., MPA
Nantucket Public Works Director
PSF
Community
Room
Waste Options Program Summary
Take It Or Leave It (Madaket Mall or swap shop)
Materials Recovery Facility (MRF)
Recyclables, CRT’s, CFL’s, Hard-To -Manage/Bulky Waste
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Co-Compost Plant
Digester/Composter (±20% reduction in total MSW weight) (mostly water)
Residuals baled to lined landfill cells (±30% total volume)
Biofilter Air-handling Odor Control facility
Leaf & Yard Waste and Mixed-Excavation Waste
Screened, ground up, cured (Final Compost Ingredients)
C & D Facility
Construction Demolition Debris, Hard-To-Manage/Bulky Waste
Clean wood waste recovery (Compost Ingredient)
Other (Glass, Steel, Tires)
Landfill Operations
MSW Residuals into newer lined cells (2A, 2B, 3A coming soon)
Unlined Landfill Mining (±70% reclaimed soils; ±30% returned)
Groundwater Monitoring Program
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Tonight’s Meeting Agenda
Landfills - History and Facts
Origination
Emergence of Regulations
Design of Lined Cells
Monitoring in Closure and Post Closure
Overview of Nantucket Landfill
History
Closed areas
Active mining areas
Landfill Environmental Monitoring Program
MassDEP monitoring requirements
Results
Trends
Additional Nutrient Testing
Questions and links to reports
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Landfill History & Facts
A landfill site (also known as a tip, dump, rubbish
dump, garbage dump or dumping ground) is a site
for the disposal of waste materials by burial and the
oldest form of waste treatment
Modern day landfills are designed and constructed
with environmental protection systems referred to
as a liner. A landfill consist of a bottom liner, a
leachate collection system, and a cover. Often, a gas
recovery system is also utilized.
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Leachate is water that gets contaminated by contacting wastes. It seeps to the bottom of a
landfill and is collected by a system of pipes. Leachate is the moisture that percolates down
through the trash and must be handled as wastewater.
As waste decomposes, a gas byproduct is naturally produced. These gases consist primarily of
carbon dioxide and methane, which is the primary component of natural gas. The methane gas is
captured using gas-collection wells. The landfill gas is burned and, in some cases, used as a
renewable energy source.
Regulated by Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MASSDEP).
Nantucket Landfill
Landfilling activities commenced circa 1940 (unlined cells)
Disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW) and construction and demolition
(C&D) waste
MassDEP approved an environmental monitoring program (EMP) to
monitor for potential impacts to offsite receptors
Landfill Mining Activities 2006 - present
Lined Landfill Cells (2A, 2B, 3A coming soon)
Collected/treated leachate program
Landfill Closure and Capping
What will the future bring?
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Current Landfill Regulations
Operations
Monitoring (Environmental Monitoring Requirements - site specific)
Maintenance
Closure
Post-Closure – approved post-closure use program requirements
(examples from other communities)
Nantucket - MassDEP Southeast Regional Office (SERO) Lakeville, MA
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Massachusetts 310 CMR 19.00 – Solid Waste Facility Regulations
Through these regulations, MassDEP aims to prevent pollution, maximize
materials reuse, and conserve both natural resources and energy by ensuring
the proper handling, transfer, processing and disposal of solid waste.
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/recycle/regulations/310-cmr-19-00.html
Nantucket Landfill Aerial
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Landfill Monitoring Requirements
Massachusetts DEP (310 CMR 19.132) solid waste landfill regulations require
monitoring and reporting to monitor for potential impacts to human health in
the environment.
Nantucket program:
Groundwater – semi-annual sampling
Samples collected from (6) shallow/deep monitoring well locations-
upgradient/downgradient
Samples analyzed for volatile organic compounds, metals, indicator parameters
Results compared to MassDEP drinking water standards (primary/secondary)
Surface water – semi-annual sampling
Samples collected from (3) locations – upgradient/downgradient
Same analyses as groundwater
Results compared to National Recommended Water Quality Criteria (NRWQC)
Landfill gas – quarterly sampling
Samples collected from (13) locations around perimeter
Samples analyzed for methane, carbon dioxide, oxygen, H2S, total VOCs
MassDEP landfill gas limits
Reporting requirements:
Standard within 60 days; exceedances as required; all reports posted on Town website
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Groundwater
Flow
Direction
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Environmental Monitoring Results
Groundwater
Primary – Drinking water standards
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
VOCs are from chlorinated solvents, petroleum fuels
72/72 chemicals tested have consistently been less than drinking water standards
since 2000
1,4-Dioxane (emerging contaminant) added to list in 2006
Current drinking water guideline promulgated in 2011
Present in shampoos, detergents, cosmetics
Detected at two well locations beginning in 2015
Metals – naturally occurring and/or possible landfill contaminants
Heavy metals consistently not detected: Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, Lead,
Mercury, Silver, Zinc
Arsenic detected – exceedances are typical results for a landfill since arsenic is
naturally occurring in underlying soils and rock
Cyanide – consistently less than drinking water standards since 2000, typically
not detected
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Groundwater and Surface Water Sampling Locations
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Monitoring Program Sampling Locations
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Environmental Monitoring Results
Groundwater
Secondary (Indicator parameters)– aesthetic impacts
(color, taste, odor, etc)
Metals – iron and manganese exceedances
Similar to arsenic, typical results for a landfill since iron and
manganese are naturally occurring in underlying soils and rock and
become dissolved in groundwater
Alkalinity, sulfate, chloride, COD – typically acceptable
pH typically low; sodium typically high (saltwater intrusion)
Occasional exceedances of total dissolved solids in shallow wells only
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Environmental Monitoring Results (continued)
Surface water –
VOCs are consistently not detected
Metals are less than National Recommended Water Quality Criteria
(NRWQC) which are protective of ecological and human receptors
Include - Arsenic, Barium, Cadmium, Calcium, Chromium, Copper, Iron, Lead,
Manganese, Mercury, Selenium, Silver, Sodium and Zinc
Indicator parameters are less than NRWQC
Chloride exceedances – likely due to tidal intrusion
Landfill gas –
Gas monitoring wells located around site perimeter which is compliance
boundary to monitor potential off-site migration
Gas samples from wells and probes around perimeter are typically less
than landfill screening limits (Lower Explosive Limit)
Measure total VOCs, hydrogen sulfide, methane, carbon dioxide
Compost area occasionally has methane detections (above 25% LEL) which
are reported to MassDEP
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Environmental Monitoring Trends for
Groundwater - Primary
Arsenic
Exceedances in MW-4S from 2007-2009. No samples taken since 2009 as
this location was buried in reclaimed soils and will sampled in the future as
MW-4 being replaced.
Fairly consistent exceedances in MW-7S. Results were decreasing until
2014. Results have increased and remained steady since 2015.
Inconsistent exceedances in MW-8S, generally decreasing. One low
level exceedance since 2013.
1,4-Dioxane
Consistent exceedances in MW-3D, MW-3S, MW-7D, MW-7S (ranging
from 0.35 µg/L - 2.08 µg/L) since 2014*
Nitrate/Nitrite
One slight exceedance in MW-7S in 2011, One in MW-8S in 2017– no
trend established
*lower detection limit as of 2014 with analytical technology improvements
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Environmental Monitoring Trends for
Groundwater - Secondary
Chloride
Consistent exceedances in SW-1
Sodium
Consistent exceedances in MW-3D, MW-3S, MW-7D, MW-7S, MW-8S
Iron
Consistent exceedances in MW-3S, MW-5S, MW-7D, MW-7S
Manganese
Consistent exceedances in MW-3D, MS-3S, MW-5S, MW-5D, MW-7D,
MW-7S, MW-8S.
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Additional Nutrient Analyses
Massachusetts Estuaries Project (MEP)
Determine current nitrogen loads to southeastern MA estuaries
Evaluate reductions that may be necessary to support healthy ecosystems (develop
nitrogen loading thresholds as goals for nitrogen management)
MEP used assumptions for Landfill nitrogen load
Additional nutrient testing for nitrogen has been voluntarily
conducted by the Town to assess nitrogen load from the
landfill
Sampled for additional nitrogen parameters in July, August and September 2017.
Review of nitrogen loading evaluation is still underway
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Links to Monitoring Reports
Semi-annual monitoring reports for groundwater
and surface water
Quarterly reports for landfill gas
Available online Nantucket Department of Pubic
Works website under Solid Waste at:
http://www.nantucket-ma.gov/844/Solid-Waste
QUESTIONS?
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Thank You!