2000 Annual Report: Permitting and Operations

Closure and Postclosure for Landfills

Landfill decomposition and resultant generation of landfill gas and leachate continues to be a significant threat to public health and safety and the environment after a landfill ceases to accept waste. The decomposition process and resultant threat is believed to extend to possibly as long as over 200 years in the future after a landfill ceases to accept waste. Therefore, the IWMB’s regulations require implementation of closure plans and postclosure maintenance plans to ensure that disposal sites are controlled to prevent environmental problems.

Closure plans require construction of final cover and environmental monitoring and control systems shortly after the landfill ceases to accept waste to control leachate and landfill gas. Postclosure maintenance plans are required to monitor and maintain the landfill during the postclosure maintenance period, which is the period of time after closure when the waste poses a threat to public health and safety and the environment. AB 939 requires the operator to provide financial assurances for closure, postclosure, and corrective action to ensure that funds are in place to properly close and maintain landfills for a minimum of 30 years after the site ceases accepting waste. Without these requirements, funds may not otherwise be available to prevent a catastrophic threat that could occur to public health and safety and the environment, and the State could be faced with the responsibility of cleaning up the site.

The IWMB evaluates preliminary and final closure and postclosure maintenance plans for landfills in coordination with the LEAs and the regional water quality control boards. The IWMB reviews the technical, engineering, and financial aspects of solid waste landfill closure and postclosure maintenance plans and disposal site postclosure land use proposals, in addition to conducting site investigations and assistance.

Prior to regulatory changes promulgated in 1997, the IWMB was responsible for coordinating the review and approval of closure and postclosure maintenance plans. With the modified regulations, the IWMB no longer serves as the coordinating agency; therefore, the IWMB’s authority is limited in directly ensuring that closure and postclosure maintenance plans are submitted and implemented as required. This has resulted in multimedia coordination issues with the other landfill regulatory agencies. To help determine the extent and possible solutions of multimedia issues, the IWMB is currently implementing a landfill study. This study will address all issues concerning landfills to enhance the record of compliance and technological improvements, including closure and postclosure.

IWMB staff reviewed 39 final closure plans, 21 preliminary closure plans, 9 closure certifications, and 18 remediation plans.

Postclosure Land Use
To implement AB 939, the IWMB adopted regulations on disposal site closure and postclosure to include specific requirements governing postclosure land use. Prior to these regulations, disposal sites may not have been properly identified (i.e., located and characterized). In such cases, a local agency reviewing a proposed development would not have been aware that the project was on or near an old disposal site. If the disposal site was identified, there may still have been a lack of full understanding of the implications of development practices on disposal sites. Because of the unique characteristics of disposal sites, postclosure land use must be carefully designed and engineered to avoid hazards to public health and safety such as: explosive landfill gases; toxic exposures from landfill gas, leachate, and exposed waste; and settlement and stability problems with inhabited structures.

Implementation of the IWMB’s postclosure land use regulations has shown that, in contrast with the past problems, new land use changes at closed landfills can be developed in a manner to significantly benefit local communities. Postclosure land uses successfully implemented in accordance with these regulations include solid waste transfer stations and recycling facilities, composting facilities, parks, golf courses, and commercial and industrial developments. LEAs are a key entity in ensuring that postclosure land use development is properly designed, controlled, and tracked.

Postclosure land use development has also benefited recently from the focus on “brownfields,” defined by U.S. EPA as “abandoned, idled, or underused industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination.” The IWMB is increasing its coordination and work with local governments on brownfields issues as they relate specifically to disposal site postclosure land use.

IWMB staff reviewed 8 postclosure land use plans.

Additional information on postclosure land use is available in IWMB’s publication Local Enforcement Agency Advisory #51.

Closed, Illegal, and Abandoned Sites

Closed, illegal, and abandoned solid waste disposal sites include older disposal sites that ceased accepting waste prior to the existence of closure and postclosure regulations, illegal sites that dump waste without required controls or permits, and abandoned sites which are sites that have no identifiable responsible party. These sites pose a potential threat to public health and safety and the environment from exposed waste, leachate, landfill gas, vectors, and hazardous materials. IWMB staff is also investigating these sites to address concerns on environmental protection for school sites and low income and minority areas (environmental justice issues). The IWMB’s current records include 2,675 closed, illegal, and abandoned sites, with approximately two-thirds identified as not having adequate preliminary assessments and considerations of enforcement. The IWMB’s mandate to investigate these sites to ensure protection of public health and safety and the environment was adopted as part of AB 939 (PRC section 44105), subsequently revised in PRC section 45013.

Cleanup
The IWMB initiated the Solid Waste Disposal and Codisposal Site Cleanup Program (AB 2136, Eastin, Chapter 655, Statutes of 1993) in 1994. The program’s purpose is to clean up solid waste disposal and codisposal sites that pose a risk to public health and safety, and the environment, and the responsible party either cannot be identified or is unable or unwilling to pay for timely remediation. The IWMB can expend funds directly for cleanup using the IWMB’s contractors, provide loans to responsible parties who demonstrate the ability to repay State funds, provide matching grants to local governments to assist in site remediation, and provide grants to certified LEAs for abatement of illegal disposal sites. AB 992 (Wayne, Chapter 496, Statutes of 1999), which became effective January 1, 2000, modified the program to authorize loans to all parties, not just responsible parties; and grants to public entities for illegal disposal site clean up, not just local governments. AB 992 also provides the IWMB with additional flexibility to spend funds the IWMB collected through cost recovery.

Approved Projects. The IWMB approved 1 loan, 2 illegal disposal site grants, 2 matching grants, and 11 IWMB-managed remediations totaling approximately $4.4 million in remediation funds during 2000.

One of the approved matching grants involves the Los Angeles Stormwater Project. In November 2000, the IWMB approved a $584,136 grant that the City of Los Angeles matched to clean up storm drain outfall sites at 6th and 8th streets, two major sources of pollution in the Los Angeles River. Wastes from food processing, commercial, and transportation-related businesses accumulated at the sites.

These wastes, added to those of an estimated 3,000 homeless people living upstream of the drains, flow downstream to beaches, urban streams, and wetlands. With the grant funds, the Los Angeles Stormwater Division (LASD) is installing systems to remove any accumulated wastes within 1,000 feet of commercial and industrial properties and the Los Angeles River. The total cleanup project cost is estimated to top $1.4 million.

The 16 approved projects will clean up over 30 sites throughout California when completed.

Completed Projects. A total of 11 remediation projects were completed in 2000 resulting in the cleanup of more than 20 sites. The 11 completed projects resulted in over 6,700 tons of solid waste landfilled, 80 tons of tires removed, 310 tons of metal recycled, 1,500 tons of wood recycled, 14 tons of incidental hazardous waste properly disposed of, and 96 acres of land returned to beneficial use in the state.

Regulations. The IWMB adopted new regulations for the Solid Waste Cleanup Program that were added as 14 CCR, Division 7, Chapter 10.

Farm and Ranch Solid Waste Cleanup.The IWMB also implements the Farm and Ranch Solid Waste Cleanup and Abatement Grant Program (SB 1330, Lockyer, Chapter 875, Statutes of 1997), under which cities and counties may seek financial assistance for the cleanup of illegal solid waste disposal sites on farm or ranch property. There must be verification that the landowner is not responsible for any of the illegal waste. Grants can be used for waste removal and disposal, and for site remediation activities. Grants are limited to $10,000 per project, with a limit of $50,000 per year for any city or county.

This program receives a total allocation of up to $1 million annually. The funds are derived from the California Tire Recycling Management Fund, Integrated Waste Management Fund, and the California Used Oil Recycling Fund. For fiscal year 1999-00, the IWMB adopted a funding allocation of $920,000.

Approved Projects. The IWMB approved seven grants for the cleanup of 37 sites at an estimated cost of $172,342.

Completed Projects. Of the grants approved in 2000, one site has been cleaned up and two other grantees have started cleanup activities.

Regulations. The IWMB adopted new regulations for the Farm and Ranch Solid Waste Cleanup and Abatement Grant Program that were added as 14 CCR, Division 7, Chapter 4.5.