Landfill construction and operation at High Acres are governed by the Facility’s New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) 6NYCRR Part 360 Permit, dated July 9, 2013. The NYSDEC approved landfill footprint in both the Towns of Perinton and Macedon is 360 acres, which 266 acres have been constructed with 94 remaining to be constructed. The Facility’s estimated remaining permitted site life has been calculated to be approximately 33 years. Photos provided below, along with a brief description, depict construction activities which occurred in 2021.
High Acres Landfill & Recycling Center Construction & Operational Update
4th Quarter 2021
Site Information
The High Acres Landfill began in 1971 and joined the Waste Management (WM) family in 1972. The facility provides environmentally responsible solid waste management to the region. Located on approximately 1,500 acres, the facility offers many amenities. The permitted landfill consists of around 360 acres.
The team at High Acres Landfill provides this Construction & Operational Update summarizing the key enhancements that have occurred on-site in 2021. Going forward, WM will provide similar updates on a quarterly basis to the community. Key aspects of the updates will include: Community Benefits, Site Construction Activities, Environmental Performance and Compliance, and Site Monitoring Activities.
Landfill Facts
Total Property: 1,500+ acres
Design Capacity: 3,500 tons per day
Closed Landfill: 72 acres
Western Expansion: 68.1 acres
Parkway Expansion Phase I: 20.1 acres
Parkway Expansion Phase II: 58 acres
Parkway Expansion Phase III: ~150 acres
Site Life: 2051
Community Benefits
Leaf Composting
Each year leaves are received from nearby communities and managed at High Acres. They are placed in rows and “turned” periodically in order to encourage the natural decomposition process. The finished product results in a nice soil enhancement material to promote vegetative growth, which is provided to residents for free. High Acres expects to receive approximately 10,000 cubic yards of leaves this fall from nearby residents, which will be made into compost over the next year. This is 10,000 cubic yards of material that won’t end up in the landfill.
Site Construction Activities
Stormwater Culvert
A stormwater box culvert under our rail spur was completed end of Oct. 2021
Cell 13B2
Cell 13B2 (7.6 acres) under construction
Cell Construction
Another shot of Cell 13B2 undergoing construction
Geomembrane
Approximately 8 acres of temporary exposed geomembrane cover was deployed Q1/Q2 2021
Geomembrane
Another shot of temporary exposed geomembrane cover
Cell 13A
First lifts of waste being placed on Cell 13A and use of enviro cover machine in foreground for daily cover method
Cell 13 overliner with vapor/water based odor control system installed
Environmental Performance and Compliance
Renewable Energy Plant and Landfill Gas Control System
Landfill gas is a naturally occurring byproduct of waste decomposition. At High Acres, WM turns this renewable form of energy into electricity. Landfill gas, the primary component being Methane, is collected by over 370 gas wells spread throughout the site. That gas is transported to the renewable energy plants and three flares by miles and miles of underground piping. When at the power plant the gas is converted to electricity by 8 large CAT engines.
- 9.6 MegaWatts of electricity is produced
- Enough energy to power 10,000 homes
- Over 3300 cfm is turned to power
- Online time consistently above 98%
There are three flares that operate at High Acres. There are two enclosed flares located next to the Renewable Energy Plant. These flares are designed to have enough capacity to handle any excess gas in the event the power plant shuts down. The third flare is an open type and has been strategically located to provide an extra level of control and be a source of vacuum in areas that need it.
Landfill Gas Management System Upgrades
Over the past year, there have been numerous improvements made to the landfill gas management system including the hiring of a new landfill gas technician to assist with day to day maintenance – totaling 5 landfill gas technicians whose sole purpose is to manage the landfill gas system. The closed landfill received an entirely new series of lines to convey the gas to various control points. The newest flare, the parnel candlestick flare, was replaced in response to a noise concern, which was fully mitigated by replacement. The south side force main transmitting leachate from cell 13 and future cells 15 and 17 was completed.
Highlights of LFG Enhancements Include:
15,429
feet of perforated HDPE pipe used for collection was intalled in 2021
14,784
feet of solid HDPE pipe used for gas transmission was installed in 2021
8
acres of geomembrane was installed on the northeast portion of cell 12
Q-HUT
pump station was replaced and upgraded to a modern design
Landfill Gas Collection Upgrades
There are a variety of industry accepted landfill gas extraction well technologies used at High Acres for collection and control, as well as odor management as part of the Landfill’s Gas Collection and Control System (GCCS). Prior to implementation of vertical slip form wells, traditional vertical wells were used by WM for collection of landfill gas. Traditional vertical wells (depicted furthest to the left) cannot be installed until the waste mass in a particular area (cell) reaches an elevation that allows for drilling which is typically 50 to 60 feet or more, which means gas collection and odor control cannot begin until the waste reaches those levels. These wells are also drilled from the top down, and only installed after substantial amount of waste has accumulated.
Beginning in 2015/early 2016, began using newer industry technology by installing the newer generation of vertical slip forms wells at the landfill (depicted in the center of the diagram below) instead of the traditional vertical wells. The benefit of the vertical slip form well is an innovative design which facilitates more efficient and effective gas collection and odor control. Unlike traditional vertical wells, the slip forms are constructed in a cell from the bottom up. And as a result, gas is collected from the first lift of waste. The slip forms include a perforated riser pipe that facilitates the system’s vacuum and collection of gas through perforations in the riser that are located essentially from the top to the bottom of each slip form well.
WM has since adopted even newer industry technology by installing slip form wells connected to the primary drainage stone (depicted as slip form well with drainage). This allows liquid that might otherwise block the flow of landfill gas to drain to the floor of the cell and be managed by the leachate collection system.
Landfill Gas Collector Highlights
7
new vertical collectors (2nd generation slipform) were installed in 2021
9
horizontal collectors were installed in 2021
Odor Neutralizing Program
WM has been and continues to employ the latest odor control measures/technology utilized in the waste industry at the Facility. These measures include extending the water and vapor odor control systems along the extensive perimeter of the Facility. In addition to the more recent measures implemented and upgraded for odor control completed this year, WM employs an odor neutralizing system unit as a redundant control measure, as well as the targeted use of misting sticks; it also continues to deploy the mobile misting system and the Odor Boss Directional Vapor Canon system. The use of both the oil-based and water-based systems allow coverage year-round.
A critical component of an effective odor control system is to continually collect performance data, evaluate feedback, and make operational adjustments. The NYSDEC, in conjunction with the Towns of Perinton and Macedon, implemented a dedicated odor hotline and verification system for residents to report and record any concerns regarding High Acres and its operation. All parties involved in the development of this system concluded that the dedicated Hotline provides an efficient, actionable, and verifiable way to address, investigate and respond to residents’ complaints. The Hotline alerts WM, the NYSDEC and the Towns of a possible odor concern. This provides a timeframe to investigate and report on those concerns through a trained and experienced third-party service, Towpath. The results of those investigations are then communicated via email to WM, the NYSDEC and Towns immediately after the investigation. NYSDEC has directed the use of the Hotline as the method of reporting complaints, rather than through use of a phone app being used by some residents. NYSDEC has previously noted that the Hotline program is available 24/7 and provides a convenient, rapid, and actionable method of investigating and corroborating/validating reported concerns. Towpath has been trained to use the 8-point butanol odor intensity scale (ASTM E544-10), which is utilized for each investigated Hotline call.
Water/vapor based odor neutralizer system pictured above along the litter fencing
Site Monitoring Summary
H2S Monitoring
Since March 6, 2018, GHD has instituted an ambient hydrogen sulfide (H2S) monitoring program which consists of five monitoring location (4 perimeter stations and 1 location on the roof of the Dudley School). H2S is being monitored because it is more easily identified and analyzed than other emissions associated with the landfill, and we also know that if there is a reading above a relevant threshold of H2S other landfill gases may have been emitted. On the other hand, if H2S is not being detected above the relevant threshold, other landfill emissions are not being emitted at levels of concern. An Acrulog PPB instrument samples and collects readings at a frequency of every 10 minutes while in operation. Of more than 500,000 readings that have been collected since March 6, 2018 (as of November 16th, 2021), approximately 99.7% of all readings have been non-detect for H2S. In addition, there have been no exceedances of the 1-hour air quality standard for H2S attributable to the landfill.
A summary of H2S detections by monitoring location is provided in the table below (through November 16, 2021):
Station Name | # Readings Collected | % Non-Detections (% of Total Readings) |
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Quarterly Landfill Surface Monitoring Program
Summary of Surface monitoring readings above 200 ppm by quarter (through Q4 2021):
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The purpose of the landfill surface emissions monitoring program is to provide an ongoing corrective action/ remedy program to control emissions at the landfill surface and to monitor if any possible methane is escaping from the landfill surface, which is a primary constituent of landfill gas. If methane is detected at certain thresholds then corrective action is implemented. The Facility also conducts a monthly wellfield monitoring program to confirm that the collection system is operating as intended. Since 2018, both programs cited have been implemented to comply with a significantly more stringent level than what is required by New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) regulations. High Acres follows the NSPS surface emission monitoring standard with a threshold of 500 ppm. High Acres also monitors at a level above 200 ppm as required by the Town’s Special Use Permit. Monitoring at this lower threshold ensures that the collection system is operating in an efficient manner by minimizing the amount of fugitive emissions from the surface of the landfill and in any event meeting or in most cases surpassing regulatory requirements.
An evaluation of surface monitoring data shows that out of 15,027 readings recorded since the 1st quarter of 2018, less than 2 percent have been greater than the more stringent limit of 200 ppm. However, in all cases, corrective actions were initiated and completed as required, and in many cases much earlier than required and often within the same day, and follow-up readings demonstrated successful remedies within the required timeframes. All follow-up actions were completed within 1 month of the initial reading above 200 ppm and there were no instances that required an extended 120-day corrective action period which is indicative of a very successful surface monitoring program.
Of the 281 locations that had initial readings over 200 ppm during the initial quarterly surface scan events since 2018, 83 readings were between 200 ppm and 500 ppm. All locations were successfully corrected within the required timeframes. These 83 locations were not required to be corrected under NSPS or permit rules, but all were restored to less than 200 ppm upon corrective actions. Therefore, there is some ongoing reduction in fugitive emissions at the landfill surface because of the enhanced monitoring.
The calculation of collection efficiency is useful for the purposes of permitting and design but is not the preferred method for determining the effectiveness of a gas collection and control system as there are many variables that such calculations cannot account for, such as cover oxidation and enhanced collection and maintenance. The best method, consistence with Federal NSPS regulations, is the operational monitoring of individual collectors and surface emissions monitoring as described herein and those results have consistently demonstrated that HALRC's collection system is operating to eliminate fugitive emissions that not only meets, but in many cases surpasses regulatory standards.
Summary
WM has been and continues to employ what it believes are state of the art odor control measures for the industry at the Landfill, including more recent measures implemented and described in this Update. We remain vigilant in our evaluation and implementation of best management practices and technology to enhance operations. WM continues its commitment to the Department and the community by continuing to conduct continuous ambient monitoring for H2S at the North Monitoring Station and the Dudley/Northside School. The data supports that landfill gas is being collected and not migrating off site, and further that there is no indication that emissions implicate any health concerns. Furthermore, the site’s gas collection and control system, operating records, odor control programs, off-site H2S monitoring data, enhanced quarterly surface scans, DEC notification hotline and follow up data from a trained odor detection investigator, and DEC inspection reports, all indicate the Landfill is operating in a manner that minimizes off site odors to the greatest extent practicable.