WASTE ISSUES AND LANDFILL CAPACITY IN DELAWARE November 7, 2005 M c C a b e & A s s o c i a t e s Environmental Consulting

Background In 2004, DNREC Secretary John Hughes engaged McCabe & Associates to conduct an analysis of the current and projected status of numerous issues surrounding the disposal of solid waste and dredge spoils in the State of Delaware. Delaware faces a number of significant issues relating to solid waste, biosolids and dredged material disposal that require immediate resolution before capacity limits are reached and disposal alternatives are no longer viable. These issues are interrelated and involve a number of public institutions and private and community interests, as well as a number of sites. Resolution of these issues should involve a coordinated and collaborative approach.

Disposal Requirements DSWA needs to have a cost-efficient, reliable and environmentally sound means of disposing of approximately 1,000,000 tons of MSW landfilled statewide each year, with approximately 638,000 tons being landfilled in New Castle County; The City needs to have a cost-efficient, reliable and environmentally sound means of disposing of 60,000 tons of sewage sludge generated annually by Wilmington and New Castle County; The Port of Wilmington needs capacity to place approximately 500,000 to 750,000 tons of dredged material per year in order to have adequate clearance from the river bottom for ships to dock.

Capacity Needs - short term Cherry Island Landfill is reaching permitted capacity. Without the requested expansion, DSWA claims the landfill will reach capacity at current fill rates in 2009; Wilmington Harbor North, one of two alternating facilities operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for dredged material from Wilmington Harbor is projected to reach capacity in No disposal alternative has been designated; City of Wilmington contracts to have sludge disposed of in a beneficial use application - stabilized sludge is used to regrade closed Pigeon Point Landfill. Current reuse application reaches capacity in 2008.

Ripple Effect Future expansion of CIL depends on annexing adjacent Wilmington Harbor North. The timeline for transfer is uncertain; Cherry Island Landfill limit could affect other DSWA facilities, particularly Sandtown outside Dover; Expansion of Cherry Island Landfill puts pressure on communities located nearby that feel they shoulder a disproportionate burden of New Castle County’s waste problem; If the ash and the sludge cannot be beneficially reused in sufficient quantities, DSWA is obligated to accept the material at CIL; The type of and rate at which recycling is adopted will extend landfill capacity to a lesser or greater degree depending on whether it is residential MSW only or all MSW.

Capacity Needs - long term There is no landfill capacity shortage in Kent and Sussex Counties. Jones Crossroads Landfill in Sussex County has an estimated capacity of 28 years. The Sandtown Landfill located Kent County has more than 55 years of capacity at current fill rates and could accommodate waste from New Castle County. DSWA expansion permit would extend the life of the landfill by approximately 15 years (approximately 12 million tons). Acquisition of the adjacent property currently used for WHN could bring an additional 13.5 million tons (or 15 to 20 years) of disposal capacity. MSW generation is growing faster than predicted – an 18 percent increase in four years -- putting additional pressures on solutions for disposal and volume reduction.

Volume Reduction - Recycling, WTE Significant reductions in the volume of MSW can most readily be achieved through recycling and waste-to-energy. Both options face formidable barriers in terms of costs, start-up and public acceptance The recycling rate in Delaware for residential MSW is only 4 percent. When commercial recycling is added, the rate of recycling for all municipal solid waste rises to approximately 22 percent. If residential MSW recycling reaches a 30 percent rate, capacity at CIL would be expanded approximately 4.4 years over a 20-year period (this assumes the landfill expansion plans are permitted). If recycling of all MSW, including commercial, reaches a 40 percent rate, capacity at CIL would increase by approximately 13.3 years over the same period. WTE generally reduces MSW volume by percent and reduces feed waste weight by 70 percent. In-state incineration is prohibited by a de facto ban on plant siting.

New Technologies New waste disposal and conversion technologies are largely unproven on a large scale and are still in the development and pilot stage The Bouldin Company has developed a process called WastAway that processes unsorted MSW into what it claims to be a stable, safe, odorless product similar in consistency to wood pulp and weighing 40 percent less than the input waste. Plasma arc gasification is a non-incineration thermal process that uses extremely high temperatures to completely decompose feed wastes into synthetic gas and slag. Manufacturers claim that MSW volume reduction exceeds 99.6 percent. Thermal Depolymerization (TD) is a process that mimics the natural processes that convert organic matter, under heat and pressure, into oil. The application of thermal depolymerization to MSW as yet is unclear. The technology has been successfully applied to all of the constituent organic elements of MSW, yet research is still ongoing to design a facility to process a mixed MSW stream.

Sewage Sludge 60,000 tons of sewage sludge is generated annually by the City of Wilmington wastewater treatment system. While the City owns the plant and contracts for its operation, New Castle County generates approximately 70 percent of the treated wastewater. VFL Technologies operates a biosolids treatment facility and converts the plant’s sewage sludge and Delmarva Power’s power plant fly ash (approximately 100,000 tons/year) into a product called “stabilized sludge.” Since January 2003, stabilized sludge has been utilized to regrade the former Pigeon Point Landfill. Pigeon Point regrading ends in 2-3 years at current rates. If the City of Wilmington has to dispose of its sludge in the CIL, it would have to pay a tipping fee ranging from the Differential Disposal Fee Program (DDFP) rate of approximately $48 per ton to the set rate of $61.50 per ton, costing the City between $2.9 to $3.7 million annually.

Recommendations - DNREC Either as lead agency or under the auspices of the Governor’s office, develop a decision tree portraying the sequencing of decisions that must be made to determine: When DSWA needs to start using landfill capacity made available by transfer of WHN to optimize Cherry Island Landfill expansion plans if landfill expansion is approved; When the Corps can transfer WHN and in what condition, i.e. dewatered, reconstructed and ready for use by DSWA or “as is;” When the Corps needs to complete its DMMP with updated analysis, choose preferred alternative, secure authorization and implement choice in order to maintain Port viability; and When the City must find an alternative means of disposing of stabilized sludge currently used to regrade Pigeon Point. Either as lead agency or under the auspices of the Governor’s office, convene a meeting of appropriate State, Federal and local agencies to reach consensus on decision tree and assign tasks to resolve outstanding issues. Develop process to include stakeholder involvement.

Recommendations - DNREC 2 Require as a specific condition relating to approval of the permit to expand the Cherry Island Landfill that DSWA complete an updated Solid Waste Management Plan, including but not limited to items listed in recommendation #1 below, and hold public hearings on the plan within a year of permit issuance. Under ideal conditions, the issues examined in a new plan should precede permit approval. Review DSWA’s stabilized sludge plan and application rate at Pigeon Point Landfill to determine if it meets original project criteria and site stability requirements. Currently, three divisions within DNREC have some form of involvement with and/or oversight of activities at Pigeon Point Landfill. These activities should be coordinated for purposes of this review.

Recommendations - DSWA Revise and update Statewide Solid Waste Management Plan and solicit public comment about landfill alternatives. The plan should examine in detail: Alternatives to landfilling, both in-state and out-of-state, including, but not limited to, waste-to-energy; Comparative cost/ton of various alternatives; Impacts of alternatives on DSWA’s ability to meet its responsibilities under Title 7 Delaware Code, Chapter 64; Comparative human health, environmental and community welfare impacts of alternatives; Combinations of options to avoid landfilling at current rates, such as Chester, PA WTE, out-of-state/downstate shipments, recycling and alternative technologies; Comparative community impacts of alternatives, including assessment of public/community attitudes about location and visual statement made by Cherry Island Landfill; and Market incentives to reduce solid waste flow to landfills, such as “pay-as-you-throw.”

Recommendations - DSWA 2 Follow RPAC and SB 225 recommendations to pursue goal of 30 percent recycling rate for residential MSW and SB 225’s goal of 50 percent recycling of commercial MSW. Conduct study of commercial waste stream in order to optimize recycling and landfill capacity extension. Conduct a thorough review of potentially available landfill sites in New Castle County, including southern New Castle County and south of the C&D canal. Review decision to discontinue use of stabilized sludge as daily landfill cover.

Recommendations - Gen. Assembly Fund recycling programs and grants significantly like other states do. Pass legislation to allow unclaimed bottle deposit funds to be used to support recycling.