Community Update

We have successfully completed several planned mitigation measures over the past week and are pleased to provide you an update.

The 9-acre geomembrane cap and underlying gas collection system is substantially complete and this area has been placed under vacuum.

The new 24- and 18-inch jumper header is complete. This header is functioning as expected and is providing additional vacuum to Cells 10 and 11.

The anti-vibration system for the flares has been installed, is operational and is undergoing fine tuning adjustments. This corrective system, which is designed to prevent future reverberation events, involves the use of industrial vibration transmitters connected to a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) that will detect excessive vibrations and make adjustments to the system within seconds.

We continue to engage specialty contractors to complete additional improvements to the gas collection system. Preparations for the installation of additional gas collection wells is complete and drilling contractors will begin work February 1st. Please be aware that this activity does involve drilling into the waste mound and it has the potential to cause temporary, intermittent odors during construction. Work was completed prior to the start of this drilling activity that will allow us to put additional vacuum in these areas to minimize offsite odors.

We remain committed to provide the resources and effort to ensure that the facility is returned to a standard of excellence that the community has known for nearly 50 years. If you have any questions regarding this update, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 585-226-6132.

We will begin work today to “tie in” or connect the gas header jumper line to the vacuum source. This work will involve the connection of the new header to existing piping and may result in the temporary shutdown or isolation of portions of the landfill gas system as we make these connections. Please be aware that this activity has the potential to cause temporary, intermittent odors during construction over the next few days as we make these connections. We will do everything we can to mitigate them.

We remain committed to provide the resources and effort to ensure that the facility is returned to a standard of excellence that the community has known for over 40 years.

On January 2, 2018, the temporary shutdown of the High Acres Power Plant and redirection of gas to the enclosed flares caused a reverberation event which was felt by some members of the community. We immediately engaged specialists to design an anti-vibration system for the flare to prevent future events from occurring. This corrective system involves the installation of industrial vibration transmitters connected to a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) that will detect excessive vibrations and make adjustments to the system within seconds. We are confident that this modification will prevent future reverberation incidents and anticipate that installation will be completed by the end of the week.

Thank you for your time and if you have any questions regarding this update, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 585-223-6132.

High Acres has engaged in a fast track approach to incorporate the odor mitigation measures outlined in our action plan as quickly as practical. Specialty contractors and consultants were engaged to expedite the engineering, monitoring and construction tasks. We continue to make progress on these efforts and have completed several tasks. Our focus remains on improving the collection and vacuum in Cell 11.

The installation of the additional 24- and 18-inch vacuum header is approximately 80% complete. The header line has been welded and is currently being installed. This header will allow us to improve the vacuum in cell 11 and provide redundant conveyance for the gas collection system. We anticipate that this header will be fully installed and operational by January 26th.

Additional specialty contractors have been brought into the site to further accelerate the completion of the 9-acre geomembrane cap that is being installed along the North and East slopes of Cell 11. This construction is nearly complete and we expect that this work will be completed by the end of next week.

Work will begin next week on the installation of an additional 18 vertical gas collection wells in Cells 10 and 11. The drilling contractors will be mobilizing to the site and we anticipate that this work will take approximately three weeks to complete. Please be aware that this activity does involve drilling into the waste mound and it has the potential to cause temporary, intermittent odors during construction. We will do everything we can to mitigate them.

First and foremost, thank you for your patience as we continue to work hard to resolve the elevated odor issues. Our Waste Management team takes ongoing, offensive odors very seriously. We are committed to the community, and are in regular communication with the town of Perinton, the town of Macedon, and the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which has oversight responsibilities for High Acres Landfill and conducts on-site visits on a daily basis.

Warmer temperatures this week have benefited our efforts at the landfill. The near-record, subzero temperatures associated with the so-called “Bomb Cyclone” last week slowed our construction progress, but we’ve been able to resume construction in recent days. By the end of the day on Friday, Jan. 12, we expect to have a major portion of the exposed geomembrane cover – 7.5 acres – complete, with liner in place, secured and under vacuum. Weather permitting; efforts on the remaining 1.5 acres will start next week.

On Wednesday, Jan. 10, one of the High Acres Landfill gas system blowers was taken offline to facilitate the installation of an 18-inch tie-in as part of the construction of the gas system jumper header, previously described in our corrective action plan.

During this down period, our corporate engineering team assessed the flares for the design of a vibration detection / monitoring system which will prevent future reverberations during any upset conditions. During the assessment and restart of the blower, specific operating conditions were simulated to generate a short reverberation. The purpose of generating these conditions was to gather data to be incorporated into the design of the system. This event was limited to a brief period starting at approximately 11:15 AM.

We experienced a temporary shutdown of the High Acres powerplant from approximately 8:20 PM to 9:15 PM on the evening of Tuesday, January 2nd. When this shutdown occurs, the gas being combusted by the powerplant is automatically rerouted to the flares to allow us to maintain the landfill gas collection and control system operations. This is a process that typically occurs without incident and while the systems functioned properly to maintain vacuum on the landfill, the low outside temperatures combined with the sudden increase in oxygen-rich landfill gas being directed to the flare caused the flare to temporarily reverberate while adjusting to the new gas flow. Further details on the event are described below.

Enclosed flares are known to vibrate when oxygen levels rise above 2 percent. The flares draw fresh air in to combine with the landfill gas through automated louvers, that adjust to ensure that the gas is being combusted at the proper temperature. When the plant shut down last night, the flare got an immediate surge of oxygen-rich landfill gas, which, when combined with the low outside temperatures, resulted in an extended period of time for the louvers to adjust, causing the vibration. Typically, once the temperature and flow have stabilized, the vibration goes away.

This unusual event was precipitated by the combination of extremely low temperatures in conjunction with the unexpected powerplant shut down, and the higher-than-normal oxygen levels in the landfill gas. The higher oxygen value is the direct result of the ongoing multiple construction projects underway to better capture and control landfill gas onsite. Once these projects are completed, the landfill will once again return to routine operating conditions.