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EPA Signs Agreement with VaDEQ, Waste Management, Inc. for Innovative Landfill Projects

Release Date: 9/29/2000
Contact Information: Roy Seneca, EPA, 215-814-5567 & Bill Hayden, VaDEQ, 804 698-4447

Roy Seneca, 215-814-5567 or Bill Hayden, 804-698-4447

GLEN ALLEN, Va. - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and Waste Management, Inc. signed an agreement today that will explore and compare two innovative waste treatment projects at landfills in the Richmond, Va. area.

Under the agreement, “bioreactor” techniques will be used at two landfills to recirculate landfill leachate through the landfills rather than collecting the leachate and transporting it to an offsite facility for treatment and discharge.

These projects come under EPA’s “Project XL,” which stands for eXcellence and Leadership. This is a national program that allows companies flexibility in environmental regulations on condition that the public benefits from reduced pollution or other superior environmental performance.

“We’re proud to play a part in helping to facilitate this new innovative process. This is truly an initiative that benefits the environment by speeding up the time to decompose waste, and helps Waste Management by reducing its costs and extending the life and capacity of the landfills,” said Bradley M. Campbell, EPA’s regional administrator for the mid-Atlantic region.

The leachate recirculation approach is expected to decrease gas emissions from the landfill, accelerate waste decomposition and increase the landfills’ waste capacity.

“This is a significant step forward in our efforts to improve the management of solid waste,” said DEQ Director Dennis H. Treacy. “Virginia strongly encourages the development of innovative technologies like this that ultimately can have far-reaching benefits.”

Signing the agreement today at the DEQ Piedmont Regional Office were Thomas C. Voltaggio, EPA’s deputy regional administrator for the mid-Atlantic region; David Johnson, chief deputy for VaDEQ; and Robert Kania, regional vice-president, Waste Management, Inc.

The bioreactor techniques will be implemented at the Maplewood Recycling and Waste Disposal Facility in Amelia County, located about 30 miles southeast of Richmond; and the King George County Landfill and Recycling Facility, located about 50 miles northeast of Richmond. Both landfills accept municipal solid waste and a small percentage of other wastes such as construction debris.

The Maplewood facility will recirculate leachate from the landfill, and the King George facility will recirculate leachate plus other liquids such as non-hazardous liquid waste or stormwater. EPA, DEQ and Waste Management will then compare and examine the benefits and costs associated with the systems for future planning.

More information on EPA’s Project XL program and this agreement can be viewed online at https://www.epa.gov/project/XL/