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Concerns over 'explosive' levels of methane in WA landfills
As the state prepares to enhance its rules on methane gas coming from landfills, documents obtained by an environmental group show that a number of landfills have been found to exceed allowed limits on the amount of gas escaping sites.
KING COUNTY, Wash. - As the state prepares to enhance its rules on methane gas coming from landfills, documents obtained by an environmental group show that a number of landfills have been found to exceed allowed limits on the amount of gas escaping sites.
Methane is an odorless gas that can reduce the amount of oxygen breathed from the air, and it can cause a number of health problems. It’s also a powerful greenhouse gas that is more damaging, in the short-term, than CO2.
EPA documents obtained by Industrious Labs showcase a level of concern following site visits at a number of landfills, including dumps used for King and Pierce counties' trash.
At the Land Recovery Incorporated (LRI) landfill in Graham, a 2022 report found levels of methane that were so high it exceeded the capability of the equipment used to measure it.
The report indicated that a tarp was visibly inflated with gas, with "explosive levels of gas being measured coming out of it, indicating both an environmental concern and a safety concern."
That report indicates not only a threat to explosion, but raises concerns about the ongoing impact on our environment.
Methane gas has approximately 83-times the global warming potential of CO2 over a 20-year period and is responsible for a quarter of all global warming that’s already being experienced per Washington’s Department of Ecology.
Ecology has been tasked by the State Legislature to create rules to reduce landfill emissions through stringent rules to stop gas from escaping those facilities. Those who’ve been monitoring the situation are hopeful that the rules could create major change.
"The status quo isn’t working," said Katherine Blauvelt, the circular economy campaign director for Industrious Labs. "This is Ecology’s chance to cement Washington as, really, a national leader on addressing climate change."
Blauvelt, however, is concerned that new rules won’t go far enough. The current proposal would rely on enforcement that involves individuals measuring methane emissions.
"That method is not only ineffective, but it increases safety risk and there’s human error," she said. "So instead, the state should require the use of available technology, such as drones, that can be the recognizance and comprehensively monitor that landfill surface, and people can come in afterwards and plug the leak."
Changes are needed, as Blauvelt noted landfills are essentially on an "honor system" to self-report numbers to the EPA with checks taking place, which lead to the types of EPA reports that they uncovered.
The Department of Ecology began accepting public comments on their latest rules in late October, and have scheduled a public hearing on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023 that will include an overview of the proposed rules and a question-and-answer period.
Waste Connections, which operates LRI in Pierce County, did not respond to requests for comment on the 2022 EPA inspection report that showed ‘explosive levels’ of methane on their site.
Another report focused on King County’s Cedar Hills Regional Landfill found the facility had a location on their site with a methane concentration of 9,000 parts per million—that’s 8,500 ppm higher than federal standards.
According to a spokesperson with King County, that exceedance was tied to wildlife, in a closed area of the landfill.
"Following a detection of the leak, we made immediate repairs to the cover and increased the frequency of synthetic cover inspections to identify any potential damage and repair it as soon as possible," said the spokesperson.
They also noted that they've launched a program called Re+ to find new uses for recyclable materials that typically end up in their landfill.
One major concern is that 30-percent of garbage that goes to a landfill is organic waste, typically food, which is a major source of methane when it decomposes.
"King County is working with its partners as well as local businesses and communities to make food and organics waste collection more accessible and convenient," a spokesperson said.