WHY IT TOOK HALF A CAREER TO CLOSE A LANDFILL Burns… · Ley Creek . Lesson #2 A Record of...
26
WHY IT TOOK HALF A CAREER TO CLOSE A LANDFILL LESSONS LEARNED…. BUT NOT WHAT YOU LEARNED IN SCHOOL CHRISTOPHER BURNS, PH.D., P.G. CHA CONSULTING, INC. MAY 2015
Transcript of WHY IT TOOK HALF A CAREER TO CLOSE A LANDFILL Burns… · Ley Creek . Lesson #2 A Record of...
WHY IT TOOK HALF
A CAREER TO
CLOSE A LANDFILL LESSONS LEARNED….
BUT NOT WHAT YOU LEARNED IN SCHOOL
CHRISTOPHER BURNS, PH.D., P.G.
CHA CONSULTING, INC.
MAY 2015
MAIN POINTS
• THIS IS MOSTLY ALL TRUE
• SOME POINTS MAY BE RELEVANT
• I WILL LIKELY OFFEND SOMEONE
CHALLENGES
• 8 Town Boards
• 5 Property Owners
• 4 DEC Attorneys
• 3 DEC Project Managers
• 3 Town Supervisors
• 2 Utility Companies
• 2 Regulatory Agencies (DEC and EPA)
And
• 1 Stream running through the Landfill
SALINA LANDFILL – NEAR SYRACUSE, NY
Salina Landfill
PROPERTY OWNERSHIP
Salina Landfill
1
1
2
3
3
3
2
2
4
5
4
1
• 1950’S–1974 Active Landfill • 1982 Soil Cap Installed • 1990’s DEC Preliminary Assessments • 1996 Named Class 2 and NPL subsite • 1997 Town Signs Consent Order • 1998 - 2000 Remedial Investigation • 2000 - 2002 Feasibility Study • 2007 1ST DEC/EPA ROD • 2007 - 2010 Remedial Design • 2010 Amended ROD • 2010 - 2013 Part 360 Cap Installed • 2013 Collection Trench Installed • 2014 - 2015 Pretreatment Plant Constructed • 2015 Remedial Action Complete
CB Starts
SITE CHRONOLOGY
18 Years
Lesson #1
Background Data should come from Off-Site
1964
1972
Ley Creek
Lesson #2
A Record of Decision Can Say Funny Things
Comment on Proposed Plan: “The Natural Gas
Pipeline cannot be under the cap”.
DEC Response in ROD: “The landfill cap will not
be placed over the gas line and access will be
maintained during and after construction of the
remedy”.
Lesson #3
How to “Negotiate” with a Utility Company
(or the story of pipes, small wires and big wires)
Lesson #4
Wetland Impacts
(something EPA really cares about)
Lesson #5
Site Redevelopment is a cool idea
but NYSDEC
Regional Directors
have no
Imagination
Lesson #6
Running Out of Money
Before Construction Starts
is a Bad Thing
DEC would limit annual
reimbursement to Town
Devised Construction Phasing Plan
Divided work into 6 Parcels
Work would stretch over 6 years
Estimated Cost > $25M
Lesson #7
Politics Enters into Everything
Design Element included leachate collection trench.
Dilemma was how to dispose of leachate?
Obvious choice was to pretreat and discharge to County
sewer immediately adjacent to site.
But…..
Lesson #7
Politics Enters into Everything
Town with Democratic Majority and
County with Republican Majority
= NO DEAL
Town with Republican Majority and
County with Republican Majority
= DEAL!
Lesson #8
Lawyers Make More Money than
Engineers
(so why do they always want to do
engineering?)
Lesson #9
Time can be your friend!
Project Elements
National Grid Completed $900K Utility Relocation
Project Elements
Satisfied National Grid by installing clay cap in utility corridors
Project Elements
Reduced Landfill Footprint by 12.3 acres
Project Elements
Capped 3 cell areas with geomembrane
Project Elements
Re-routed major drainage swale beyond limit of waste
Project Elements
Mitigated wetlands at 1:1 ratio and
created more contiguous habitat
Project Elements
Installed 2,100 foot long leachate collection trench
Project Elements
Constructed 2,400 sq ft Pretreatment Building
Lesson #9
Time can be your friend!
Project Completed in 2 Phases
Remediation took 4 years
Original Estimated Cost = $25M
Final Cost = $15.5M
Thank You
For More Information, please contact:
Chris Burns
804-897-3564
