Chapter 173-408 WAC – Landfill Methane Emissions
Ecology proposes a new rule: Chapter 173-408 WAC, Landfill Methane Emissions. The purpose of this rulemaking is to implement Chapter 70A.540 RCW, Landfills – Methane Emissions.
This rulemaking will implement new requirements:
- Technology and performance requirements
- Gas collection and control system installation
- Gas collection and control system design plan
- Gas control system equipment requirements
- Gas collection and control system performance requirements
- Methane destruction efficiency requirements for flares and energy recovery control devices
- Requirements for open flare systems
- Requirements for landfill gas treatment and processing
- Wellhead gauge pressure requirements
- Requirements for devices measuring gauge pressure
- Requirements for instruments used to measure methane
- Control device destruction efficiency calculation requirements
- Gas generation flow rate calculation requirements
- Source testing requirements for any gas control device or devices
- Monitoring requirements
- Instantaneous and integrated surface emissions monitoring
- Surface monitoring design plan
- Remonitoring and corrective action(s) for methane limit exceedances
- Gas collection and control system component monitoring
- Methane leak rate limits for treatment systems that process routed gas
- Wellhead gauge pressure monitoring
- Shutdown and removal of the gas collection and control system
- Reporting and recordkeeping requirements
- Waste in place reporting
- Landfill gas heat input capacity calculation and reporting
- Surface emissions monitoring reporting
- Gas collection and control system operations reporting
- Records maintenance for monitoring, source testing, landfill operations, operation of the gas collection and control system, methane level exceedances, and actions involving the disturbance or removal of areas of the landfill surface
- Reporting for capping of landfill gas collection wells, removal or cessation of gas collection and control system equipment
- Landfill closure reporting to Ecology or the local clean air agency
- Other requirements
- New statutory civil penalties for violation of the law and implementing rules
- Maximum methane concentration limits for both owners and operators of active and closed municipal solid waste landfills
- Exemptions for methane concentration limit exceedances due to activities defined in RCW 70A.540.050(3)
- Method for landfills to claim exemption from the rule
- Alternative compliance measures
- Terms and definitions
This rulemaking must be informed by landfill methane regulations adopted by California Air Resources Board, Oregon Environmental Quality Commission, and EPA.
This rulemaking applies to owners and operators of municipal solid waste landfills that received solid waste after January 1, 1992. This includes both active and closed municipal solid waste landfills, as defined in RCW 70A.540.010. The proposed rule exempts the following types of landfills from these new requirements:
- Landfills that receive or received only hazardous waste(s)
- Landfills regulated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, also known as Superfund), if they meet the criteria for exemption set forth in the rule
- Landfills that receive or received “only inert waste or non-decomposable wastes,” as defined in WAC 173-350-100
- Limited purpose landfills, as defined in WAC 173-350-100
Rulemaking timeline
Announcement phase (CR-101)
Filing date:
Dec. 8, 2022
Announcement documents
Rule development phase
December 8, 2022 – October 29, 2023Public input & involvement
Public comment period (informal) – EXTENDED
March 30, 2023 – July 21, 2023 (originally June 30, 2023, then July 7, 2023)
Comment on the draft rule
Read comments.
Ecology's meetings with stakeholders
| Date | Documents | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday March 30, 2023 10 a.m. – noon |
Agenda Presentation Draft rule language |
|
| Thursday May 4, 2023 10 a.m. – noon |
Agenda Presentation Draft rule language |
webinar recording 1 |
| Wednesday June 21, 2023 9 a.m. – noon |
Agenda Presentation Draft rule language |
webinar recording 1 |
1 Webinar information:
Register for each webinar to get your meeting ID and passcode.
To hear the webinar better or to call in only, use your phone (instead of the computer) to call 253‑215‑8782.
Rule proposal phase (CR-102)
Oct. 30, 2023
- Proposal notice – CR-102 form
- Proposed rule language
- Preliminary Regulatory Analyses
- SEPA Determination of Nonsignificance and Environmental Checklist
Comment period
Comments were due by December 13, 2023. We accepted comments in the following ways:
-
Attend a public hearing online (webinar): December 6, 2023, 10 a.m.
- Mail to: Bill Flagg
Department of Ecology
Air Quality Program
P.O. Box 47600
Olympia, WA 98504-7600
Public hearing
Date/Time: December 6, 2023, 10 a.m. online (webinar)
Location: online (webinar)
Register for the webinar to get your meeting ID and passcode.
To hear the webinar better or to call in only, use your phone (instead of the computer) to call 253‑215‑8782.
Agenda: Presentation, question-and-answer session, followed by public hearing
Accessibility: To request ADA accommodation for the public hearing, email Ecology’s ADA coordinator by November 29, 2023. Or call 360-407-6831, 711 (relay service), or 877-833-6341 (TTY).
Related links
Contact information
Bill Flagg
Rulemaking Lead
bill.flagg@ecy.wa.gov
564-669-1385
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Accessibility
To request ADA accommodation for disabilities, or printed materials in a format for the visually impaired, contact Ecology's ADA Coordinator by email at ecyadacoordinator@ecy.wa.gov, or call 360-407-6831. People with impaired hearing may call Washington Relay Service at 711. People with speech disability may call TTY at 877-833-6341.