United States Office of Solid Waste
Environmental Protection and Emergency Response EPA/530-SW-91-066
Agenc/ (OS-305) September 1991
Office of Solid Waste
&EPA Environmental
Fact Sheet
Municipal Landfill Regulations
Mean Safer Disposal of Solid Waste
This rule is an important step in improving the safety of municipal
landfills. It establishes comprehensive, protective standards for managing
the nation's solid waste burden by specifying location provisions and design,
operating, and closure requirements for municipal landfills.
By improving the safety of nearly 6,000 municipal solid waste landfills,
these regulations will help to bolster public confidence in landfills as a
component of a workable integrated waste management system. In
addition, the rule is an incentive for increasing source reduction and
recycling nationwide.
Action
This rule establishes requirements for municipal solid waste landfills. It
covers location restrictions, facility design and operations, ground-water
monitoring, corrective action measures, and conditions for closing
(including financial responsibility).
In general, the regulations apply to all municipal landfills that receive
waste 24 months after the rule is published in the U.S. Federal Register. If
a landfill stops taking waste before the regulations are published, the
requirements do not apply. If it stops taking waste after publication, but
before the effective date, the facility has to comply with the rule's final cover
requirements.
Landfill owners/operators must comply with the majority of the
requirements 24 months following publication in the Federal Register.
However, the ground-water monitoring and corrective action requirements
are phased-in, allowing up to five years for compliance. Landfill owners/
operators must have financial mechanisms covering closing costs and
cleanups 30 months after publication in the Federal Register.
Management standards for municipal landfills cover six categories.
Location Restrictions
Municipal landfills cannot be located close to airports. Siting
in ecologically valuable wetlands or areas subject to natural
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disasters (floodplains, fault areas, seismic zones, and
unstable terrane) is restricted.
Operating Requirements
Landfills must: (1) keep out regulated hazardous waste; (2)
apply a daily cover; (3) control disease vector populations
(rodents, flies, mosquitoes, etc.); (4) monitor methane gas; (5)
restrict public access; (6) control storm water run-off; (7)
protect surface water from pollutants; and (8) keep
appropriate records.
Design Standards
In states with EPA-approved permitting programs, landfills
must be designed to ensure drinking water standards are not
exceeded in ground water. In states without EPA-approved
programs, landfills must be designed with a composite liner
made of synthetic material covering a two-foot clay liner.
Ground-water Monitoring and Corrective Action
All landfills must have monitoring wells to detect any ground-
water contamination. If ground-water is contaminated, the
owner/operator is required to clean it up to acceptable
standards to protect human health and the environment.
Closure and Post-Closure Care
When a landfill stops accepting waste, it must be covered to
keep any liquid away from the buried waste. Once the landfill
is closed, the owner/operator is responsible for maintaining
~ the final cover, monitoring ground water and methane gas,
and continuing leachate management for 30 years.
Financial Assurance
Landfill owners/operators must show that they have financial
mechanisms to cover the costs of closure, post-closure care,
and any needed cleanups from releases. Financial
mechanisms can include surety bonds, letters of credit,
insurance, or guarantees, among others.
Since small communites operate about 50 percent of the landfills
potentially affected by this rule, EPA carefully considered their concerns. In
this rule, small landfills serve communities that dispose of less than 20
tons of municipal solid waste per day. Certain small landfills are exempt
from the designt ground-water monitoring, and corrective action
requirements. To qualify for an exemption, a small landfill must not be
causing ground-water contamination, and must be located in either a very
dry climate or a very remote location.
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Implementation
The national solid waste management program creates a framework for
federal, state, and local government cooperation in controlling the
management of municipal solid waste. While this rule establishes
minimum standards for protecting human health and the environment
implementation of solid waste programs remain largely state
responsibilities.
Since implementation is primarily a state function, states will need to
incorporate these standards into their permitting programs to ensure that
landfills are being operated properly. EPA will evaluate each state's
program to determine its adequacy for safely managing municipal solid
waste. States that apply for, and receive, EPA's approval of their program,
are provided extensive flexibility in implementing the regulations. The
Agency has the authority to enforce the regulations in those states that
EPA determines do not have adequate permitting programs.
Contact
For additional information or to order a copy of the Federal Register
notice, contact the RCRA Hotline, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
EST. The national, toll-free number is (800) 424-9346; TDD (800) 553-
7672 (hearing impaired); in Washington, D.C., the number is (703) 920-
9810, TDD (703) 486 3323.
Copies of documents applicable to this rulemaking may be obtained by
writing: RCRA Information Center (RIC), U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Office of Solid Waste (OS-305), 401 M Street SW, Washington, D.C.
20460.
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