Laserfiche WebLink
I <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />! <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />A significant amount of noise from a landfill can be reduced. Placing berms <br />around the site will deflect the sound waves upward. Trees, shrubs and other <br />vegetation will act as noise breaks, muffling the intensity of the sound. <br />Buffer zones could be expanded to provide more distance between the source of <br />noise and recipients, thereby reducing the intensity of noise. The hours of <br />fill operation could be limited to control noise when it may be particularly <br />offensive. An important and effective mitigating measure to reduce noise at <br />the site is simply routine vehicle maintenance. The noise associated with <br />truck traffic along the truck route is not as easily reduced. However, the <br />selection of a particular route through a community to the landfill could <br />result in a more acceptable noise level. <br /> <br />The scattering of litter and debris or the blowing of sludge ash is associated- <br />with the day-to-day operation of a landfill. Such scattering wiql be influ- <br />enced by wind speed, wind direction, amount of waste uncovered at the landfill, <br />type of cover material and the local topography. It can be a problem along <br />haul routes if trucks are not properly closed or covered. <br /> <br />Littering can be significantly reduced around waste disposal facilities. <br />Installing litter fences, earth berms and shrubs; immediately applying daily <br />cover; covering incoming trucks and providing cleanup crews should reduce the <br />impact of litter on properties adjacent to a landfill. <br /> <br />Concerns about truck traffic, noise and litter should be resolved before the <br />facility is put into operation. The Metropolitan Council's solid waste policy <br />plan contains review criteria that address these issues for waste disposal <br />facilities. Before sanitary landfill sites are finally placed in a county's <br />landfill inventory, their location with regard to transportation routes will <br />have been considered. <br /> <br />Safety measures such as imposing speed limits, installing traffic control <br />signals or hiring additional school crossing guards can be negotiated between <br />the facility developer, the community and haulers who would be using the facil- <br />ity. Other amenities that could be negotiated include: the size and location <br />of buffer zones, construction and placement of earth berms, placement of trees <br />or shrubs within the buffer zone, and details of a litter control program. The <br />negotiations should take place concurrently with the permit application review <br />process conducted by the PCA and Metropolitan Council. This will help ~revent <br />unnecessary delays and reduce the financial burden on the developer while he <br />obtains the necessary permits. However, responsible parties must be willing to <br />negotiate for such a process to work. This process can work if we can struc- <br />ture it in such a way that the host community, facility developer and any other <br />involved group realize that it is in their best interest to negotiate rather <br />than occupy intransigent positions. <br /> <br />WATER POLLUTION <br /> <br />Contamination of Surface Waters <br /> <br />Surface waters could be contaminated by a sanitary landfill in two ways. <br />First, storm water can filter through the waste and flow over land into nearby <br />streams. Water polluted'by waste materials is known as "leachate." Second, <br />leachate can seep through the soil at the border of the fill and into streams. <br />The first kind of contamihation occurs during operation of a landfill. Extreme <br /> <br /> <br />