Mixed waste landfill cell construction at energy solutions LLC: a regulator's perspective
- Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Div. of Solid and Hazardous Waste (United States)
A small percentage of the property that EnergySolutions' (formerly Envirocare) operates at Clive, Utah is permitted by the State of Utah as a treatment, storage and disposal facility for mixed waste. Mixed Waste is defined as a hazardous waste (Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations Part 261.3) that also has a radioactive component. Typically, the waste EnergySolutions receives at its mixed waste facility is contaminated with heavy metals and organic compounds while also contaminated with radioactivity. For EnergySolutions, the largest generator of mixed waste is the United States Department of Energy. However, EnergySolutions also accepts a wide variety of mixed waste from other generators. For many wastes, EnergySolutions goes through the process of characterization and acceptance (if appropriate) of the waste, treating the waste (if necessary), confirmation that the waste meets Land Disposal Restriction, and disposal of the waste in its mixed waste landfill cell (MWLC). EnergySolutions originally received its State-issued Part B (RCRA) permit in 1990. The Permit allows a mixed waste landfill cell footprint that covers roughly 10 hectares and includes 20 individual 'sumps'. EnergySolutions chose to build small segments of the landfill cell as waste receipts dictated. Nearly 16 years later, EnergySolutions has just completed its Phase V construction project. 18 of the 20 sumps in the original design have been constructed. The last two sumps are anticipated to be its Phase VI construction project. Further expansion of its mixed waste disposal landfill capacity beyond the current design would require a permit modification request and approval by the Executive Secretary of the Utah Solid and Hazardous Waste Control Board. Construction of the landfill cell is governed by the Construction Quality Assurance/Quality Control manual of its State-issued Permit. The construction of each sump is made up of (from the bottom up): a foundation; three feet of engineered clay; primary and secondary geo-synthetics (60 mil HDPE, geo-fabric and geo-textile); a two foot soil protective cover; tertiary geo-synthetics (80 mil HDPE, geo-fabric and geo-textile); and a final two foot soil protective cover. The Utah Department of Environmental Quality Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste (UDEQ/DSHW) oversees the construction process and reviews the documentation after the construction is complete. If all aspects of the construction process are met, the Executive Secretary of the Utah Solid and Hazardous Waste Control Board approves the landfill cell for disposal. It is the role of the regulator to ensure to the stakeholders that the landfill cell has been constructed in accordance with the State-issued permit and that the cell is protective of human health and the environment. A final determination may require conflict resolution between the agency and the facility. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, 1628 E. Southern Avenue, Suite 9 - 332, Tempe, AZ 85282 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21317015
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-09-WM-07292; TRN: US10V0204060612
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM'07: Waste Management Symposium 2007 - Global Accomplishments in Environmental and Radioactive Waste Management: Education and Opportunity for the Next Generation of Waste Management Professionals, Tucson, AZ (United States), 25 Feb - 1 Mar 2007; Other Information: Country of input: France
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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