United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Environmental Monitoring
Systems Laboratory
Las Vegas, NV 89193-3478
Research and Development
EPA/600/S4-90/012 Sept. 1990
x>EPA Project Summary
Proximity of Sanitary
Landfills to Wetlands and
Deepwater Habitats: An
Evaluation and Comparison of
1,153 Sanitary Landfills in 11
States
V. W. Lambou, J. M. Kuperberg, J. E. Moerlins, R. C. Herndon, and R. L.
Gebhard
Sanitary landfills can cause
considerable harm to sensitive
ecosystems if they are not properly
located, designed, and managed. The
purpose of this report is to evaluate
and comparer the proximity of 1,153
sanitary landfills in 11 states
(Connecticut, Delaware, Florida,
Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey, New
York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania,
Texas, and Washington) to wetlands
and deepwater habitats (i.e., rivers,
lakes, streams, bays, etc.). The
facilities 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. Almost all of the
sanitary landfills are located in or are
close to either wetlands or deepwater
habitats. Almost all are close to
wetlands while approximately half are
close to deepwater habitats. The
hydrology of wet environments and
possible movement of contaminants
from waste-disposal sites located in
these environments are discussed.
Sanitary landfills have the potential to
adversely affect sensitive
ecosystems, such as wetlands and
deepwater habitats, either through
habitat alterations or through the
migration of contaminants. Because
of this, facilities located in or close to
wetlands and/or deepwater habitats
need to be properly designed and
monitored.
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 a separate report of
the same title (see Project Report
ordering information at back).
Introduction
Sanitary landfills, as typically defined,
are waste-management facilities
regulated 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
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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
affect sensitive ecosystems, such as
wetlands and deepwater habitats, either
through habitat alterations or through the
migration of contaminants. 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 evaluate and compare the proximity
of sanitary landfills in 11 states
(Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia,
Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, North
Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and
Washington) to wetlands and deepwater
habitats (i.e., rivers, lakes, streams, bays,
etc.).
Materials and Methods
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.
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.
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
are 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 hierarchical in nature
proceeding 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,
geomorphologic, chemical, or biological
factois, was used tor classification
purposes. The first four systems, i.e.,
Marine, Estuarine, Riverine, and
Lacustrine, include both wetlands and
deepwater habitats whereas the
Palustrine System includes only
wetlands
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 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
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. The occurrence or nonoccurrence
of the wetland and deepwater habitat
systems in each concentric region was
then recorded.
Due to the size and significant
variation in environmental settings across
Texas, as well as the availability of NWI
maps, the state was divided into four
regions: Region 1 - Coastal, Region 2 -
Northeastern, Region 3 - Panhandle, and
Region 4 - Central. Figure 1 identifies the
four regions of Texas as delineated for
this report.
There are 2,191 sanitary landfills in the
DPRA data base for the 11 states
(Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia,
Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, North
Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and
Washington) and we were able to classify
1,153 (or 53 percent) of these facilities as
to their proximity to wetlands and
deepwater habitats. However, if the 463
sanitary landfills in Region 4 (Central) of
Texas (where we were not able to
classify any of the facilities) and the 124
in the state of North Carolina (where we
were able to classify only 5 percent of
the facilities) are subtracted from the
totals, 72 percent of the facilities were
classified as to their proximity to
wetlands and deepwater habitats.
In order to make comparisons relative
to regional differences in the proximity of
sanitary landfills to wetlands and
deepwater habitats, the data were
subdivided into 13 groups, i.e., 10 states
(Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia,
Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, North
Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Washington)
and the 3 regions of Texas (Regions 1, 2,
and 3).
Results and Discussion
Approximately 72 percent of the 1,153
sanitary landfills surveyed in the 11
states are located in or within 1/4 mile of
wetlands, while 91 and 98 percent are
located in or within 1/2 and 1 mile of
wetlands, respectively (Figure 2). Most of
the facilities are located either in or are
close to Palustrine wetlands (i.e.,
approximately 69, 89, and 97 percent are
located in or within 1/4, 1/2, and 1 mile,
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Regions
Coastal, Southeastern
1 = 119 landfills
NWI Maps Available
Northeastern
2 = 264 Landfills
NWI Maps Available
Panhandle, Westcentral
3 = 80 Landfills
NWI Maps Available
Central. Westcostal
4 = 463 Landfills
No NWI Maps Available
T
Figure 1. Four regions of Texas delineated for this report.
respectively of a Palustrine wetland).
Next comes riverine wetlands with
approximately 4, 9, and 15 percent of the
facilities located in or within 1/4, 1/2, and
1 mile of them, respectively. Estuarine
and Lacustrine wetlands have very few
sanitary landfills located in or close to
them. Almost no facilities are located in
or close to Marine wetlands. Only 2
percent of the landfills are located further
than a mile from any type of wetland
(Figure 3). Approximately 18 percent of
the sanitary landfills are 1/4 to 1/2 mile
from the closest wetland while
approximately 7 percent are within 1/2 to
1 mile.
Approximately 17 percent of the
sanitary landfills are located in or within
1/4 mile of deepwater habitats, while 30
and 48 percent are located in or within
1/2 and 1 mile of deepwater habitats,
respectively (Figure 4). Most of the
facilities are in the vicinity of Riverine or
Lacustrine deepwater habitats.
Approximately 11,21, and 33 percent are
located in or within 1/4, 1/2, and 1 mile,
respectively, of Riverine deepwater
habitats while approximately 5, 10, and
20 percent are located in or within 1/4,
1/2, and 1 mile, respectively, of
Lacustrine deepwater habitats. Very few
facilities are located in or close to
Estuarine deepwater habitats and almost
none are located close to Marine
deepwater habitats Approximately 52
percent of the landfills are located further
than a mile from any type of deepwater
habitat (Figure 5).
Approximately 76 percent of the
sanitary landfills are located in or within
1/4 mile of either wetlands or deepwater
habitats, while 93 and 98 percent are
located in or within 1/2 and 1 mile of
either wetlands or deepwater habitats,
respectively (Figure 6). Most of the
facilities are near Palustrine habitats (i.e.,
Palustrine wetlands since the Palustrine
system only includes wetlands).
Approximately 69, 89, and 97 percent are
located in or within 1/4, 1/2, and 1 mile,
respectively, of Palustrine habitats.
Riverine habitats have the next highest
number of sanitary landfills located in or
close to them (approximately 14, 28, and
44 percent in or within 1/4, 1/2, and 1
mile, respectively). Fewer facilities are
located in or close to Lacustrine habitats
(6, 11, and 22 percent are located in or
within 1/4, 1/2, and 1 mile, respectively).
Not many facilities are located in or close
to Estuarine habitats and almost none are
located in or close to Marine habitats.
Approximately 2 percent of the landfills
are located further than a mile from
either a wetland or deepwater habitat
(Figure 7).
There are some differences among
the 10 states and 3 regions in the relative
proximity of sanitary landfills to wetlands
(Figure 8). The percent of the facilities
located in or within 1/4 mile of wetlands
ranges from 45 percent for Washington to
96 percent for Connecticut. More than 75
percent of the sanitary landfills in
Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana,
New Jersey, New York, North Carolina,
and Texas Region 2 (Northeastern) are
located in or within 1/4 mile.
A comparison of the proximity of
sanitary landfills to wetlands among the
three regions of Texas surveyed is
especially interesting. It surprised us to
find that 83 percent of the sanitary
landfills in Texas Region 2 (Northeastern)
are located in or within 1/4 mile of
wetlands as compared to 64 percent in
Texas Region 1 (Coastal) with its large
expanse of coastal wetlands. We also
found it intriguing that 51 percent of the
facilities are located in or within 1/4 mile
of wetlands in Texas Region 3
(Panhandle) which is in the more inland
and arid portion of Texas (Figure 1). If the
results presented here for 11 states
relative to proximity of sanitary landfills to
wetlands and deepwater habitats are
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All Systems
Marine \o
Estuarine
Riverine
Lacustrine
Palustrine
In or Within 1 Mile
In or Within 1/2 Mile
In or Within 1/4 Mile
97
40 60
Percent
Figure 2. Proximity of 1,153 sanitary landfills in 11 states to wetlands.
100
> 1 Mile
1/2-1 mile
1/4 - 1/2 mile
< 1/4 mile
40 60
Percent
100
Figure 3 Distance of 1,153 sanitary landfills in 11 stafes to closest wetland.
somewhat typical of the rest of the
country, then, there is a propensity for
sanitary landfills to be located either in
or close to wetlands. This study did not
acquire data that would elucidate why
facilities are located close to wetlands.
However, we speculate that wetlands
or areas close to wetlands are not
deliberately sought out as sites for
sanitary landfills; but, are often used
for. this purpose because they have low
market values, are undeveloped, and
are relatively close to sources of solid
waste.
Most sanitary landfills in all states
and regions are located within 1/4
mile of a wetland and very few are
further than 1 mile from a wetland.
The percent of the facilities further
than 1 mile from a wetland ranges
from 0 percent for Connecticut,
Delaware, Georgia, New Jersey,
Nort;i Carolina, Texas Region 1
(Coastal), and Texas Region 2
(Northeastern) to 8 percent for
Washington.
There are differences among the
10 ;tates and 3 regions in the
relative proximity of sanitary landfills
to deepwater habitats (Figure 9). The
percent of the facilities located in or
within 1/4 mile of deepwater habitats
ranges from 0 percent for Georgia to
33 percent for Delaware. In five states
(Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana,
New Jersey, and New York) more than
20 percent of the facilities are located
in or within 1/4 mile of deepwater
habitats. In seven of the 10 states and
3 regions, more than half of the
sanitary landfills are located further
than 1 mile from a deepwater habitat.
These are Texas Region 3
(Panhandle) (96 percent), Georgia (67
percent), North Carolina (67 percent),
Pennsylvania (57 percent), Texas
Region 2 (Northeastern) (56 percent),
Texas Region 1 (Coastal) (54 percent),
and Florida (51 percent). Connecticut,
with 23 percent, has relatively the
fewest facilities further than 1 mile
from a deepwater habitat.
Relative distances of the sanitary
landfills to either wetlands or
deepwater habitats in the 10 states
and three regions are given in Figure
10. Since most facilities are much
closer to wetlands than to deepwater
habitats, the distribution of their
relative proximity to either wetlands or
deepwater habitats reflects more
closely the distribution of their
proximity to wetlands. The percent of
the facilities located in or within 1/4
mile of either wetlands or deepwater
habitats ranges from 49 percent for
Washington to 99 percent for
Connecticut. More than 75 percent of
the sanitary landfills in Connecticut,
Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, New
Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and
Texas Region 2 (Northeastern) are
located in or within 1/4 mile of either
wetlands or deepwater habitats.
In all states and regions, most
sanitary landfills are located within 1/4
mile of either a wetland or deepwater
habitat and relatively very few are
located further than 1 mile. The
percent of the facilitieslocated further
than 1 mile from either a wetland or
deepwater habitat ranges from 0
percent for Connecticut, Delaware,
Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina,
Texas Region 1 (Coastal), and Texas
Region 2 (Northeastern) to 7 percent
for Washington.
The data available to us specifies
only the point location of the sanitary
landfills and, therefore, does not
define either their size or boundaries.
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All Systems
Marine
Estuarine
Riverine
Lacustrine
In Or Within 1 Mile
In or Within 1/2 Mile
In or Within 1/4 Mile
40 60
Percent
80
100
Figure 4. Proximity of 1,153 sanitary landfills in 11 states to deepwater habitats.
> 1 Mile
1/2-1 mile
114 - 1/2 mile
< 114 mile
52
18
14
17
20
40 60
Percent
80
100
Figure 5 Distance of 1,153 sanitary landfills in 11 states to closest deepwater habitat.
However, we know from other studies
that many sanitary landfills are
typically on the order of 100 acres in
size. For example, in the state of
Florida, approximately 35 percent of
the active sanitary landfills are
between 50 and 150 acres in size,
with an average size of 110 acres. A
landfill that is a 100 acres in size and
uniformly distributed around a point
will have a radius of approximately 1'4
mile and, therefore, will approximate
tho boundary of the first concentric
1/4-rnile radius region. Undoubtedly,
most of the landfills located in a 1/4-
mile radius region containing either
wetlands or deepwater habitats are
located in, adjacent, adjoining,
contiguous, abutting, or in very close
proximity to wetlands or deepwater
habitats. Since landfills vary
considerably in size and shape, some
of the landfills located in the 1/2-mile
radius and 1-mile radius regions
containing wetlands or deepwater
habitats will probably also be located
in wetlands or deepwater habitats.
We believe that, for the most part,
the wetlands and deepwater habitats
identified in this study as being close
to sanitary landfills are not small,
isolated, or unimportant habitats. Small
wetlands or deepwater habitats
typically do not appear on NWI maps,
because of the limitations associated
with the remote sensing techniques
and interpretation procedures used by
the NWI. Habitats less than 5 acres in
size are typically not included in NWI
map products due to these limitations.
However, some habitats between 1
and 5 acres in size may occasionally
appear on NWI maps. The minimum
size of a habitat that will appear on
NWI maps depends upon the habitat
type (i.e., some types are easier to
photo interpret than others), isolation
from similar types, areal extent and
shape, as well as other attributes.
The exact geographic boundary of
the landfill is not the critical
consideration for determining adverse
impacts associated with these
facilities. A major consideration is
whether or not the facility site is
hydrologically interconnected, either
by surface or subsurface flows, with
wetlands, deepwater habitats, and/or
habitats with water tables close to the
surface. If hydrologically
interconnected, contaminants can
easily migrate off-site to the other
environments. Also, the construction
and operation of a landfill in or close to
sensitive habitats can cause physical
alterations to the landscape that may
adversely affect these habitats.
Beyond the adverse physical
alterations to the habitat from the
landfill, ingress or egress (i.e., access
roads and transportation of waste) to a
landfill can cause additional physical
alterations to the surrounding
landscape.
There are special problems
associated with the siting, design,
operation, and monitoring of waste-
disposal sites in or close to either
wetlands or deepwater habitats. These
problems stem from conditions that
are common and somewhat unique to
wet environments. Conditions of
concern that often occur in these
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All Systems
Marine
Estuarine
Riverine
Lacustrine
Palustrine
In or Within 1 Mile
In or Within 1/2 Mile
In or Within 114 Mile
0
20
80
40 60
Percent
Figures Proximity of 1,153 sanitary landfills in 11 states to either wetlands or
deepwater habitats.
> 1 Mile
1/2-1 mile
1/4-1/2 mile
1/4 mile
40 60
Percent
80
100
environments include: (1) high-water
tables; (2) hydrological inter-
connections of deepwater habitats,
wetlands, and adjacent areas with a
high-water table; (3) ground-water
discharges; (4) production of large
quantities of leachates as a result of
water percolating through waste-
disposal piles; (5) lateral and upward
components of ground-water flows; (6)
disposal-site waste piles extending
below the water table; (7) complex
local hydrology; (8) high hydraulic
conductivity of the substrate because
of saturated conditions; and (9)
increased likelihood of contaminants
coming in contact with surface waters,
soils, plants, and animals.
Conclusions and
Recommendations
We conclude that sanitary landfills
have the potential to adversely affect
sensitive ecosystems, such as
wetlands and deepwater habitats,
either through habitat alterations or
through the migration of contaminants.
Landfills located in or close to these
environments need to be properly
designed and monitored. It is
recommended that special monitoring
and design requirements be developed
for waste disposal sites located either
in or close to wetlands and/or
deepwater habitats.
Figure 7 Distance of 1,153 sanitary landfills in 11 states to either the closest wetland or
deepwater habitat.
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State (Total #)
All States (1153)'
Connecticut (83)
Delaware (3)
Florida (122)
Georgia (24)
Louisiana (47)
New Jersey (68)
New York (110)
North Carolina (6)
Pennsylvania (131)
Texas 1 (Coastal) (119)
Texas 2 (N. Eastern) (264)
Texas 3 (Panhandle) (80)
Washington (96)
0
< 1 4 Mile
1/21 Mile
| 1/4 - 1/2 Mile
[] > i Mile
40 60
Percent
100
Figure 8. Distance of 1,153 sanitary landfills in 11 states to the closest wetland by state or
region.
State (Total #)
All States (1153)
Connecticut (83)
Delaware (3)
Florida (122)
Georgia (24)
Louisiana (47)
New Jersey (68)
New York (110)
North Carolina (6)
Pennsylvania (131)
Texas 1 (Coastal) (119)
Texas 2 (N. Eastern) (264)
Texas 3 (Panhandle) (80)
Washington (96)
< 1/4 Mile
1/2-1 Mile
1/4 - 1/2 Mile
> 1 Mile
40 60
Percent
100
Figure 9 Distance of 1,153 sanitary landfills m 11 states to the closest deepwater habitat by
state or region.
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State (Total #)
All States (1153)
Connecticut (83)
Delaware (3)
Florida (122)
Georgia (24)
Louisiana (47)
New Jersey (68)
New York (110)
North Carolina (6)
Pennsylvania (131)
Texas 1 (Coastal) (119)
B < 1/4 Mile
HI 1/2 - 1 Mile
1/4 - 1/2 Mile
> 1 Mile
20
40 60
Percent
80
100
Figure 10. Distance of 1,153 sanitary landfills in 11 states to the closest wetland or
deepwater habitat by state or region.
The EPA author, V. W. Lambou (also the EPA Project Officer, see below), is with
Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory, Las Vegas, NV 89193-3478;
J. M. Kuperberg, J. E. Moerlins, and R. C. Herndon are with Florida State
University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4016; and R. L. Gebhard is with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, St. Petersburg, FL 33702.
The complete report, entitled "Proximity of Sanitary Landfills to Wetlands and
Deepwater Habitats: An Evaluation and Comparison of 1,153 Sanitary
Landfills in 11 States," (Order No. PB 90-216 5241 AS; Cost: $17.00,
subject to change) will be available only from:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA22161
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/S4-90/012
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