United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Environmental Monitoring
Systems Laboratory
Las Vegas, NV 89193-3478
Research and Development
EPA/600/S4-89/042 May 1990
v°/EPA Project Summary
Proximity of Washington
Sanitary Landfills to
Wetlands and Deepwater
Habitats
J. E. Moerlins, R. C. Herndon, V. W. Lambou, and R. L. Gebhard
Sanitary landfills can cause con-
siderable harm to sensitive ecosys-
tems if they are not properly located,
designed, and managed. The purpose
of these reports is to summarize the
proximity of sanitary landfills in the
state of Washington to wetlands and
deepwater habitats (i.e., rivers, lakes,
streams, bays, etc.); and to present
data on individual landfills. The
source of data used to determine the
locations of the sanitary landfills was
the computer data file developed by
Development Planning and Research
Associates, Inc. (DPRA) for use by
the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's Office of Solid Waste in its
RCRA Subtitle D program. The
sanitary landfills were identified on
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's
National Wetlands Inventory maps.
The nearness or proximity of the
sanitary landfills to wetlands and
deepwater habitats was determined
by drawing three concentric regions
around the point representing the
location of each landfill. The radii of
the concentric regions were: 1/4 mile,
1/2 mile, and 1 mile. Data on 118
individual sanitary landfills in the
state of Washington were contained
in the DPRA data file. Data were
obtained for 96 of these landfills
relative to their proximity to wetlands
and deepwater habitats. Most san-
itary landfills in the state of
Washington are located in or are
close to either wetlands or deepwater
habitats. Most are located close to
wetlands while appoximately half are
close to deepwater habitats. These
facilities have the potential to
adversely affect sensitive ecosys-
tems, such as wetlands and deep-
water habitats, either through habitat
alterations or through the migration
of contaminants from sanitary
landfills.
This Project Summary was
developed by EPA's Environmental
Monitoring Systems Laboratory, Las
Vegas, NV, to announce key findings
of the research project that is fully
documented In two separate volumes
of the same title (see Project Report
ordering information at back).
Introduction
Sanitary landfills, as typically defined,
are waste management facilities regu-
lated under Subtitle D of the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
These facilities are commonly referred to
as municipal waste landfills, and they are
primarily used to receive household
refuse and nonhazardous commercial
waste. However, sanitary landfills also
receive other types of Subtitle D waste,
such as sewage sludge and industrial
wastes. Sanitary landfills typically receive
some hazardous waste in the form of
household hazardous waste, and
hazardous waste from small quantity
generators as defined in 40 CFR Part
261.10 (Definitions). Depending upon the
definition of a sanitary landfill used by the
individual states, there are between 6,500
and 9,300 of these facilities permitted in
the United States.
Sanitary landfills can cause
considerable harm to sensitive
ecosystems if they are not properly
located, designed, and managed. These
facilities have the potential to adversely
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affect sensitive ecosystems, such as
wetlands and deepwater habitats, either
through habitat alterations or through the
migration of contaminants from sanitary
landfills. In order to evaluate the
seriousness of this problem, information
is needed on the nearness of sanitary
landfills to wetlands and surface water
bodies. The purpose of this study is to
document the proximity of sanitary
landfills in the state of Washington to
wetlands and deepwater habitats (i.e.,
rivers, lakes, streams, bays, etc.).
Methodology
The source of data used to determine
the locations of the sanitary landfills was
the computer data file developed by
Development Planning and Research
Associates, Inc., (DPRA) for use by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
Office of Solid Waste in its RCRA Subtitle
D program. The DPRA data file includes
information on 7,683 sanitary landfills,
and 6,849 of these facilities have latitude
and longitude coordinates in degrees,
minutes, and seconds specified in the
data file. Each set of coordinates defines
a point which represents the geographic
location of a sanitary landfill. In addition,
the data file contains the names of the
landfills and data on the cities or counties
in which the landfills reside. Individual
states are responsible for permitting
sanitary landfills under Subtitle D of
RCRA, and, since DPRA obtained the
information for the data file from state
sources, the site location information
varies in terms of accuracy and the point
chosen to represent the location of each
facility.
Wetlands typically form part of a
continuous transition zone between
uplands and open water. Therefore, the
delineation of the upper and lower
boundaries in any wetland definition is
somewhat arbitrary. There are a number
of definitions of wetlands that have been
developed for use in classifying natural
environments or for regulatory purposes.
While these definitions are not identical,
they are very similar. The selection of a
specific definition for use in this study
was determined by the availability of
national wetlands and deepwater habitats
geographic data.
The most extensive, consistent source
of wetlands and deepwater habitats
geographic data is the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service's National Wetlands
Inventory (NWI). The NWI has developed
detailed, large-scale maps for a
significant portion of the United States.
To date, wetland maps have been
developed for approximately 40 percent
of the contiguous 48 states, 10 percent of
Alaska, and all of Hawaii. Large-scale
NWI maps typically are either 1:24,000
scale or 1:63,360 scale U.S. Geological
Survey quadrangle maps; however, most
are 1:24,000 scale. Wetlands and
deepwater habitats are delineated on the
NWI maps. The delineation of wetlands
and deepwater habitats was developed
using remote sensing techniques and
field investigations. The NWI maps are
developed in accordance with the
National Map Accuracy Standard
(NMAS). The NWI 1:24,000 scale maps
used in this study are accurate,
according to the NMAS, to within 40 feet
of ground measurements. These maps
were particularly useful for plotting the
location of sanitary landfills and for
determining the proximity of these
facilities to wetlands and deepwater
habitats.
The NWI maps use the definitions and
the classification system for wetlands and
deepwater habitats developed by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wetlands
are defined as lands transitional between
terrestrial and aquatic systems where the
water table is usually at or near the
surface, or the land is covered by shallow
water. Deepwater habitats are defined as
permanently flooded lands lying below
the deepwater boundary of wetlands.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's
classification of wetlands and deepwater
habitats is hierarchial in nature pro-
ceeding from general to specific. There
are 5 systems, 10 subsystems, and 55
classes. In this study only the "system,"
i.e., the complex of wetlands and
deepwater habitats that share the
influence of similar hydrologic, geomor-
phologic, chemical, or biological factors,
was used for classification purposes.
In order to link the location of sanitary
landfills in the DPRA data file to the
appropriate NWI maps, we used the
information on the T-70 computer tape
obtained from the U.S. Geological
Survey. The NWI large-scale maps were
developed using U.S. Geological
Survey's quadrangle maps as base
maps. The T-70 computer tape contains
67 fields of information including latitude
and longitude that can be used for
identifying the 1:24,000 scale maps, the
map names, and the state codes
assigned to the maps. Sanitary landfill
location data on the DPRA computer file
tape were matched by a computer
program against location data on the U.S.
Geological Survey's T-70 computer tape
in order to identify the specific maps that
contain sanitary landfills and/or that would
be needed to evaluate the wetlands and
deepwater habitats that are within 1 mile
of each sanitary landfill. The map names
obtained from the computer matching
were sorted by state and compared with
inventories of available NWI maps.
Each sanitary landfill included in this
study was located on NWI large-scale
maps using standard cartographic
techniques. Nearness or proximity of
sanitary landfills to wetlands and deep-
water habitats was determined by
drawing three concentric regions around
the point representing the location ol
each landfill. The radii of the concentric
regions were: 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, and 1
mile. The occurrence or nonoccurrence
of the wetlands and deepwater habitat
systems in each concentric region was
then recorded.
Many sanitary landfills are typically ol
the order of 100 acres in size. Foi
example, in the state of Florida about 3E
percent of the active sanitary landfills arc
between 50 and 150 acres in size, with
the average size being 110 acres, f
landfill that is 100 acres in size anc
uniformly distributed about its latitude
longitude point designation will have <
radius of approximately 1/4 mile and
therefore, will approximate the boundary
of the first concentric 1/4-mile radiu:
region. Undoubtedly, most of the landfill;
located in a 1/4-mile radius regior
containing either wetlands or deepwate
habitats should be considered to b<
located in wetlands or deepwate
habitats. Since landfills vary considerably
in size and shape, some of the landfill;
located in the 1/2-mile radius and 1-mik
radius regions containing wetlands o
deepwater habitats will probably also b<
located in wetlands or deepwate
habitats. The exact geographic boundar
of the landfill is not the critica
consideration for determining adversi
impacts associated with these facilities
since contaminants can migrate off-site t<
affect wetlands and deepwater habitats.
Results
We obtained data on the proximity c
96 sanitary landfills in the state c
Washington to wetlands and deepwate
habitats. There are 118 sanitary landfill
in the DPRA data file for the state <
Washington and 96 (81 percent) of thes
facilities have NWI maps available for sit
interpretation. As a result, 22 (19 percen
of the 118 sanitary landfills in the state <
Washington are not included in thi
study.
Approximately 45 percent of th
sanitary landfills are located in or with
1/4 mile of wetlands, while 74 and £
percent are located in or within 1/2 and
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mile of wetlands, respectively (Figure 1).
Only eight (8 percent) of the landfills are
located more than a mile from any type of
wetland. Most sanitary landfills are
located either in or are close to Palustrine
wetlands (approximately 40, 73, and 91
percent are located in or within 1/4, 1/2,
and 1 mile, respectively, of a Palustrine
wetland).
Approximately 15 percent of the
sanitary landfills are located in or within
1/4 mile of deepwater habitats, while 32
and 54 percent are located in or within
1/2 and 1 mile of deepwater habitats,
respectively (Figure 2). Fourty-four (46
percent) of the landfills are located more
than a mile from any type of deepwater
habitat. Most of the facilities that are
located in or that are close to deepwater
habitats are in the vicinity of Riverine or
Lacustrine deepwater habitats (i.e., 35
percent are located in or within 1 mile of
a Riverine deepwater habitat and 24
percent are located in or within 1 mile of
a Lacustrine deepwater habitat).
Approximately 49 percent of the
sanitary landfills are located in or within
1/4 mile of either wetlands or deepwater
habitats, while 80 and 93 percent are
located in or within 1/2 and 1 mile of
either wetlands or deepwater habitats,
respectively (Figure 3). Seven (7 percent)
)f the landfills are located more than a
mile from either wetlands or deepwater
habitats. Most of the sanitary landfills are
located either in or are close to Palustrine
or Riverine habitats (approximately 40,
73, and 91 percent are located in or
within 1/4, 1/2, and 1 mile, respectively, of
a Palustrine deepwater habitat while
approximately 18, 37, and 54 percent are
located in or within 1/4, 1/2, and 1 mile,
respectively, of a Riverine habitat).
Coding procedures used to compile the
data on the proximity of waste sites to
wetlands and deepwater habitats are
given in the "Data on Individual Landfills"
report. Appendix B of that report presents
the data on the individual landfills in the
state of Washington.
Conclusions
Most sanitary landfills included in the
state of Washington are located either in
or are close to wetlands. From this, we
conclude that these facilities have the
potential to adversely affect sensitive
ecosystems, such as wetlands, either
through habitat alterations or through the
migration of contaminants from sanitary
landfills. In addition, approximately half of
the sanitary landfills in the state of
'Vashington are located either in or close
) deepwater habitats and they also have
the potential for adversely affecting these
sensitive ecosystems.
Palustrine^
Lacustrine
Riverine
Estuarme
Marine
All
systems
0 20
Percent
Figure 1. Proximity of 96 Washington sanitary landfills to wetlands.
Lacustrine
91
|j In or within 1 mile
In or within 1/2 mile
In or within 1/4 mile
Riverine
Estuarine
Marine
All
systems
35
10
In or within 1 mile
In or within 1/2 mile
In or within 114 mile
;.i:i 4
r*
0
54
20
\
40
\
60
I
80
100
Percent
Figure 2. Proximity of 96 Washington sanitary landfills to deepwater habitats.
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Palustrinei
54
|PM-.:.i;;si! a
Estuarinem •,,'""
91
73
37
In or within 1 mile
In or within 1/2 mile
In or within 1/4 mile
Marine
All
systems
0
Percent
Figure 3. Proximity of 96 Washington sanitary landfills to either closest wetland or deepwater habitat.
The EPA author, Victor W. Lambou (also the EPA Project Officer, see below), is with Environmental Monitoring System
Laboratory, Las Vegas, NV 89193-3478; J.E. Moerlins and R.C. Herndon are with Florida State University, Tallahassee, F,
32306; and R.L Gebhard is with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
The complete report, consists of two volumes entitled "Proximity of Washington Sanitary Landfills to Wetlands and Deepwate
Habitats:"
'Volume I. Statewide Results" (Order No. PB 90-164 849/AS; Cost $15.00, subject to change).
'Volume II. Data on Individual Landfills," (Order No. PB 90-164 857/AS; Cost $15.00, subject to change).
The above reports will be available only from:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Telephone: 703-487-4650
The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:
Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Las Vegas, NV 89193-3478
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati OH 45268
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
EPA/600/S4-89/042
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