SESSION: GREEN WASTE AND STANDARDS
Landfill Reuse ASTM Standard
Marty Rowland. PhD P.E., Third Leg Consultants
Amanda Ludlow, Principal Scientist, Roux Associates
There is no comprehensive guide for municipalities, regulators, or landowners for restoring waste disposal sites for beneficial reuse
or guide future or active sites to productive post-closure reuse. Many legacy disposal sites cannot develop without clear direction,
although many small, 50+ year old municipal trash sites contain waste that has degraded and poses only de minimis risks to
human health and the environment. At other waste sites, beneficial reuse is hindered by non-standard directives of hundreds to
thousands of U.S. regulators, when common approaches are clearly possible. Internationally, second and third world nations
struggle to adopt safe and effective waste management practices, where reuse is not yet a consideration. Potentially valuable land
stays unused or misused, municipalities lose opportunities to gain revenue, and landowners face uncertain financial risk in
attempting rational reuse options. The solution is the development of an international landfill/waste site reuse guide by the
consensus-driven, ASTM task group WK42846, an assemblage of environmental professionals with regulatory, consulting, and
waste site management expertise. The task group anticipates having the guide published by mid-2015. The leaders of the group
present the status of the guide’s development.
Marty has served in many capacities as a professional environmental engineer throughout his 38 year career, including NYC Dept of Parks & Recreation contaminated soil
expert, Lockheed Martin chlorinated solvent remediation specialist, hazardous waste landfill site manager, environmental consultant, and State of Michigan regulatory official.
He played a leading role in the publication of the ASTM Standard E2876-13 Integrating Sustainable Objectives into Cleanups, and is task lead on ASTM work group WK42846
Beneficial Reuse of Landfills. Marty is a professional civil and environmental engineer, certified hazardous material manager, permaculture design professional, and certified
Passive House designer.
Amanda Ludlow, Principal Scientist at Roux Associates, Inc., has over 16 years of experience in design and implementation of natural systems for the sustainable remediation
of contaminated soils and sediments, industrial and municipal wastewaters, groundwater, surface water, and stormwater. Ms. Ludlow directs the firm’s sustainable
remediation practice termed Engineered Natural Systems (ENS®). Ms. Ludlow's expertise extends from constructed treatment wetlands, phytotechnologies, alternative landfill
closure, and natural media filtration through the development and design of green infrastructure practices. Ms. Ludlow holds a BS in Bio Engineering, MA in Marine Biology,
and a MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Ms. Ludlow also specializes in the assessment and restoration of sensitive habitats from freshwater wetlands and tidal
wetlands to riparian ecosystems—incorporating bioengineering and living shorelines—to grassland and woodland habitats.
Landfill Reuse ASTM Standard
Marty Rowland, Ph.D., P.E., CHMM
Third Leg Consultants
Amanda Ludlow
Roux Associates
June 18, 2014
Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Workshop
Transportation Research Board Committee ADC60
New York City
Content
Why reuse waste sites?
Why ASTM?
WK42846 – Landfill Reuse Task Group
What the standard would avoid
Anticipated use
Public/commercial reuse
Controls, safety, value recovery
Process
Next steps
Questions?
Why Reuse Waste Sites
“They ain’t making any more of the stuff (land)” – Will Rogers
Even the worst ones have some value
Large demand – brownfields programs
What limits their reuse?
no comprehensive, professional guide on repurposing sites
with chemical and waste exposure challenges
today, it is all case-by-case
Why ASTM?
History of providing value to target disciplines / industries
- E1527
- E1903
- E2081
-E2876
-E2893
Environmental Phase I
Environmental Phase II
Risk-based corrective action
Sustainable Cleanups
Greener Cleanups
Consensus based
International acceptance
WK42846 Landfill Reuse Task Group
Kicked off in April 2013, group has 23 members
2
3
3
6
9
local officials
state officials
federal officials
waste industry reps
consultants
First complete draft by August 2014
Published standard by October 2015
What the TG Avoids / Minimizes
Private transaction costs
Necessary, but “wasted” labor
Regulatory burden – seeks private/public sector joint interests
Oversight duplication – one day, future reuse at design stage
Anticipated Uses
Municipal Solid Waste Landfills
- pre-RCRA (orphan, latchkey)
- operated pre-RCRA, closed post-RCRA
- operating
- in design
Construction and Demolition landfills
- closed
- operating
Historic fill sites
Airborne deposition sites
Monofill landfills
- coal ash
- foundry sand
Buffer zones
Public / Commerical Reuse
Development in lieu of cap
Commercial / Industrial use on account of landfill age
Incorporate monitoring infrastructure into beneficial reuse
Protection of non-RCRA cap
Uses that preserve the integrity of RCRA cap
Passive uses
Active uses
Strategic placement of waste and infrastructure
Any use, including green energy PV and wind
Stability period required
Controls, Safety, Material Recovery
Control / Safety
- Erosion
- Infiltration
- Secured monitoring infrastructure
- Leachate
- Landfill gas
- Soil / waste stability
- Trespass
Value Capture
- Material recovery
Process
5 Forms
Appendix – guide on documenting what is known what isn’t
Form 1 – low risk, expedited approval
Form 2 – elevated risk, soft conditions only
Form 3 – disturbing cover / cap
Form 4 – agricultural operations
Form 5 – complex and controversial sites, hard conditions
Potential Uses / Case Studies
Newburgh, NY – pre-RCRA operation, latchkey landfill
Park in NYC – filled pre-RCRA, closed post-RCRA
Ballfield, legacy lead smelter – environmental justice concern
Large RCRA Landfill in design – opportunity for lessons
learned, design with eye on future reuse
Next Steps
Take comments today – first complete draft by August
Rework that draft at next ASTM Committee Week in October
Questions?