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<br />- 3 - <br /> <br />The cr 1 ter ia to be us ed by the Counci 1 in the s 1 te se lect ion <br />process favor protection of public health and the environment. <br />These criteria will help assure the sites eventually chosen will <br />be the bese known available sites for sludge and solid waste <br />disposal. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The Council criteria have been extracted from reports and studies <br />by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), MPCA, <br />. Minnesota Waste Management Board and MWCC. These agencies have <br />the latest technical information and most experience with sludge <br />and solid waste management. A complete bibliography is contained <br />on page 13 of this report. Recent experiences in Oakdale, Spring <br />Valley and St. Louis Park illustrate how important protection of <br />the grou nd wa te r is for po ta b Ie wa ter now and in the fu tu re . For <br />this reason, precautions are in order in the search for a <br />suitable landfill site. These precautions are reflected in the <br />criteria for landfilling of ash, grit and screenings that are <br />more rigorous than the criteria for landspreading of sludge. It <br />is possible in the future that incinerator ash from the Metro <br />Plant may be declared a hazardous waste. If the ash is declared <br />a hazardous waste it becomes the Minnesota Waste Management <br />Board's responsibility to locate a site suitable for ash <br />disposal. This will not be known for several years, therefore, <br />we must continue with the siting process now. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />However, no matter how thorough the environmental guidelines used <br />in the selection process, .no site can be guaranteed as absolutely <br />safe. The best the Council can do 13 to use the criteria to <br />identify candidate sites that, because of their inherent and <br />natural attributes, would no.tbelikely ..to result in material <br />harm to the public health or detrimental to the environment. In <br />addition to natural safeguards, it may be necessary to add safety <br />factors through site engineering, such as adding a bottom <br />liner. The degree of engineering will depend on the inherent <br />site characteristics and a determination of how safe the site <br />should be. These decisions will be made at the time the <br />candidate site is going through the state's solid waste permit <br />process. <br /> <br />The criteria to be used in the selection of candidate sites <br />follow. The criteria differ depending upon whether the site will <br />be used for the landfilling of ash, grit and screenings or <br />landspreading of sludge. The potential harm to public health and <br />natural resources are greater from concentrated disposal: <br />therefore, the criteria for selection of landfill sites are more <br />rigorous than for land spreading of sludge. <br /> <br />2. illlliLLINQ. OF Q.!!.!!..z.. SCREENINGS AN~ INCINERATOR lli <br /> <br />The disposal of solid waste and sludge into sanitary landfills is <br />preferable to disposal into open dumps. Sanitary landfills are <br />selected, designed, constructed and operated to minimize <br />pollution. Open dumps are not. The most important aspect to be <br />considered when locating a landfill is selecting the most <br />suitable site. It is desireable tQ find an area with natural or <br />inherent characteristics that inhibit pollution prOblems, such as <br />sites with soils of low permeability to prevent leachate <br />migration. Once a suitable site is found, additional safety <br />factors can be engineered into the site. <br />