United States Office of Solid Waste
Environmental Protection and Emergency Response EPA/530-SW-91-067
Agency (OS-305) September 1991
Office of Solid Waste
SEPA
Environmental
Fact Sheet
Small Communities and the
Municipal Landfill Regulations
This rule concludes a major effort to improve the safety of municipal
solid waste landfills. It establishes comprehensive, protective standards for
the disposal of municipal solid waste at approximately 6,000 landfills. The
Agency has taken special care to reduce the impacts of these regulations on
small communities. Small communities can further reduce the impacts of
this rule by developing regional solid waste management facilities with other
communities.
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 jRegister.
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
cleemups 30 months after publication in the Federal Register.
Since small communities operate nearly half of the landfills potentially
affected by this rule, EPA carefully considered its impact on small landfills.
In this rule, small landfills serve communities that dispose of less than 20
tons of municipal waste per day. To mitigate the impact on these landfills,
-------
this rule exempts certain small landfills from the design, ground-water
monitoring, and corrective action requirements so long as they are not
causing ground-water contamination, and they meet one of the following
criteria:
The landfill serves a community where surface
transportation is interrupted for at least three
months in a row each year, preventing access to
a regional waste management facility. (For
example, communities experiencing significant
snowfall rnay be unable to transport waste
outside their local area for several months.)
OR
The landfill serves a community that has no
practical waste management alternative, and the
landfill is located in an area that receives no more
than 25 inches of precipitation a year.
The Agency built in extensive flexibility regarding technical
requirements and implementation in states with EPA-approved permitting
programs. In these states, this flexibility is available to all landfills, and
may be particularly useful for small communities that cannot qualify for
the special small landfill exemption. Under certain conditions, for example,
states with EPA-approved programs can approve alternative landfill
designs, allow use of alternative daily cover materials, or modify the 30-
year post closure care period, among others.
Management standards for municipal landfills cover six categories.
Location Restrictions
Siting of municipal landfills near airports is restricted. Siting
in ecologically valuable wetlands or areas subject to natural
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.
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,
have 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-Fttday, 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
EST. Tlie 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.
------- |