LEA Central: Landfill Gas

Control and Monitoring

A landfill, by the nature of the wastes placed in it, will most likely generate landfill gas, comprised mainly of methane. This landfill gas can pose serious health and safety problems for operators, during the operation of the landfill and after it has been closed. The links below demonstrate some landfill gas control issues:

• Colma Landfill, San Mateo County: Demonstrates an active landfill gas control system.
• Lopez Canyon, Los Angeles County: Microturbine landfill gas-to-energy system.
• San Quentin Landfill, Marin County: Passive gas control systems that collect gas and mitigate its impacts.
• Shoreline Landfill Amphitheater, Santa Clara County: "Great Balls of Fire" as a gas control issue.

Additional Resources

Monitoring Program Plan Review Approach. Current CIWMB regulations require operators of active landfills to submit landfill gas program plans that demonstrate compliance with landfill gas monitoring criteria to the enforcement agency (EA) and CIWMB for EA review and approval and CIWMB review and concurrence. This page describes the procedures for plan submittal and review and clarifies exemptions for non-municipal solid waste landfills.

Monitoring Plan Parallel Review Process. This document describes the process LEAs should use to request a parallel review of plans from the CIWMB. By following this process, LEAs will be able to receive comments from CIWMB technical staff on plans prior to the LEA's need to take action.

Landfill Gas Monitoring and Control Systems for Active Disposal Sites Regulatory Gap Enforcement Guidance. On August 19, 2008, the CIWMB directed staff to revise the Gas Monitoring and Control at Active and Closed Disposal Sites Regulations (Title 27, California Code of Regulations (27 CCR), Chapter 3, Subchapter 4, Article 6) to extend the deadline for compliance with 27 CCR 20921. We anticipate that the revised regulations will become effective in approximately five months. This creates a gap period in which existing regulations remain in place until the effective date of revised regulations. This webpage provides guidance to LEAs on enforcement of the existing regulations during this gap period. However, please note that this guidance is not mandatory. LEAs retain their ability to enforce Board regulations within their jurisdiction.

The proposed regulations will keep the requirement to submit gas monitoring and control program plans (plans) for landfills over 20 tons per day to the EA by September 21, 2008. However, operators will not have to fully implement the plans, as approved by the EA and concurred with by the CIWMB, until eight months after the effective date of the proposed regulations or September 21, 2009, whichever is later.

Final Best Management Practices (BMP) for Landfill Gas Monitoring Well/Probe Design and Construction. These BMPs were adapted from the SCS Engineers report on Landfill Gas Monitoring Well Functionality at 20 California Landfills (Word, 443 KB). The Board accepted the SCS report and recommendations. The BMPs are intended to provide operators, consultants and LEAs the benefit of the study's findings and recommendations when designing, reviewing, installing or replacing required landfill gas (LFG) monitoring wells/probes. Stakeholder comments, along with those from a Technical Advisory Group, were incorporated by CIWMB staff to finalize the BMPs.

Landfill Gas Monitoring and Control Systems at Active Landfills FAQs (Adobe PDF, 83 KB). This FAQ, previously published in June 2008, was revised on July 28, 2008 to include additional information about enforcement as well as new information on closed site requirements and a related Board agenda item for August 2008. Provides answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) by stakeholders regarding the new landfill gas monitoring regulations which now include the more detailed requirements currently applicable to closed disposal sites. Answers discuss the requirements, submittal and approval process, exemptions to the regulations or alternatives to the standards, and required documents.

Landfill Gas Monitoring Procedures. This document provides standardized procedures for California Integrated Waste Management Board (Board) inspectors to use when performing landfill gas (LFG) screening monitoring* during routine disposal site inspections.

Landfill Gas Training. Presentations and handouts are available from the training provided by the Board annually for the past several years.

Landfill Gas Primer, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. This primer is designed to provide environmental health professionals with a general understanding of landfill gases and to help them in responding to community concerns that may be related to landfill gas issues. It provides basic information about the composition, formation, and movement of landfill gas. The primer also discusses health and safety issues related to landfill gas, and it provide information about landfill gas monitoring methods and control measures. Finally, the primer presents some basic guidance on how to communicate information about landfill gas issues.

This document incorporates information on landfills and landfill gases from a variety of sources, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the California Air Resources Board, the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and many professional publications.

Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP): US EPA's official website link to all things technical, dealing with landfill methane technology. The Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP), created as part of the United States' commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is a voluntary program designed to encourage and facilitate the development of environmentally and economically sound LFG projects. LMOP does this by educating local government and communities about the benefits of LFG recovery and building partnerships among state agencies, industry, energy service providers, local communities, and other stakeholders interested in developing this valuable resource in their community.