Proposed Solid Waste Management Rule Changes

NCDENR has released proposed rule changes for North Carolina solid waste facilities. These rule changes address several points which include:

• The disposal of untreated wood at Land Clearing and Inert Debris (LCID) facilities (15A NCAC 13B.0101 & 0563);
• Clarification of critical language regarding leachate releases (15A NCAC 13B.1604 & .1626); and
• Removal of the requirement to perform statistical analysis on groundwater monitoring data (15A NCAC 13B.1632 - .1635, & .1637).

The proposed rule changes can be viewed in full at the following:

http://www.oah.state.nc.us/rules/register/Volume25Issue4August162010.pdf

The comment period for these proposed rule changes ends on October 15th. Comments can be sent to:

Ellen Lorschieder
NCDENR – Division of Waste Mgt – Solid Waste Section
Planning and Programs Branch Head
1646 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1646

E-mail: Ellen.lorscheider@ncdenr.gov
Phone (919) 508-8400

A brief summary of the proposed changes and their potential impact to landfills in NC is provided below.

Untreated Wood in LCID Landfills -15A NCAC 13B.0101, & .0563

The proposed rule changes remove untreated wood as a waste that can be accepted at LCID landfills. This proposed rule change is explained by NCDENR as being necessary due to the numerous markets for recycling untreated wood. The reason for the proposed rule change further states that since most untreated wood is comingled with treated wood, paint and other construction and demolition debris, this waste can become contaminated by these other wastes and thus may pose an environmental threat due to the origin of generation.

Potential Impact to Solid Waste Facilities

Untreated wood will no longer be accepted at LCID facilities and must either go to a C&D facility or be recycled at the source.

Leachate Release Definition – 15A NCAC 13B.1604 & .1626

The proposed rule change changes the definition of a leachate release from “from the permitted facility” to “outside the liner, collection system or other containment component”. This defines a leachate release as any release that migrates beyond the liner or leachate collection system (effectively anywhere outside the landfill anchor trench). NCDENR provides the reason that this rule change is proposed is to eliminate ambiguous wording, and to prevent any leachate release from outside the landfill liner system due to a potential for environmental impact.

Potential Impact to Solid Waste Facilities

Any leachate seep or release of leachate that is discovered outside the leachate collection system of the landfill will be against the law and the site will be subject to Notice of Violation and potential fines.

Removal of Statistical Analysis Requirement – 15A NCAC 13B.1632 - .1635 & .1637

This proposed rule change removes the requirement for statistical analysis of groundwater monitoring data and relies solely upon groundwater standards (15A NCAC 2L.0200) and Interim Maximum Allowable Concentrations (IMACs) for a determination if groundwater has been impacted by a facility. This is proposed due to the redundancy of the statistical analysis with the groundwater standards that NC already had in place at the time of adoption of Subtitle-D.

Additionally, the proposed rule changes include a revision to the section regarding completion of groundwater remediation. Previously, this section outlined that compliance with groundwater standards after a remedial action could be achieved through statistical analysis indicating no statistical increases over a period of three years. The proposed change removes the statistical analysis requirement and indicates that compliance may be achieved through no exceedance of groundwater protection standards over three years.

Potential Impact to Solid Waste Facilities

The good news is that this will potentially reduce regular groundwater monitoring costs for landfills where statistical analyses are currently required (MSW landfills). For naturally occurring constituents, some landfills may want to continue using statistical analysis in order to show that the naturally occurring concentrations are not increasing due to impact from the landfill. 

The bad news is that removal of the guidance for statistical analysis may unintentionally create more confusion about how statistical analysis should be performed.  Additionally, clarification regarding whether additional Alternate Source Demonstrations will be required for naturally occurrring constituents is needed.  If additional ASD reports will be required, any savings by limiting statistical analysis will be lost in the generation of these additional reports.

If you have any questions as to how these rule changes may affect your particular facility, please e-mail Joan Smyth, P.G. (Joan@RSGengineers.com) or Pieter Scheer, P.E. (Pieter@RSGengineers.com) or phone: (919) 828-0577.