Agenda - Council - 11/25/1980 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

WHAT IS A HAZARDOUS WASTE LAND DISPOSAL FACILITY AND WHY DOES MINNESOTA NEED ONE? Along with the benefits of modern technology come certain drawbacks. To make our standard of living possible, a variety of manufacturing processes furnish necessary products. Those same processes, however, produce by-products and eventually wastes. These include, for example, miscellaneous chemicals, waste oils and solvents, paint sludges, electro- plating wastes, and incinerator ashes. These waste by-products must be safely disposed of or effectively recycled or reprocessed. Most wastes from industry do not constitute a problem, but some do. ~i'he U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency have identified certain wastes from industrial, laboratory, medical, mining, and agricultural activities as "hazardous." (Actually, even some household activities could generate hazardous wastes.) Unlike solid waste, such as househoJd garbage, hazardous wastes usually cannot be routinely managed in a sanitary landfill. Specially designed facilities may be necessary to ensure that these wastes are reduced and disposed of safely. Processing facilities can recycle or reduce the amount of hazardous waste, and disposal facilities are used for long-term containment. Technology exists to ensure the safe disposal of hazardous waste, but currently Minnesota does not have the facilities needed to manage the hazardous wastes generated by our state (more than 150,000 tons per year, by one estimate). It is the responsibilitv of the Waste Management Board to determine specifically what sizes and types of facilities are needed to manage these wastes, and th~n to find a site for at least one land disposal facility in the State. The private sector will be expected to construct and operate the facilities once the sites are finally chosen. Since the technical options available must be tailored to the specific needs of the State, Minnesotans must register their opinions on the need, safety, cost, benefit and effect of a hazardous waste disposal facility. That's why public involvement is needed. Without this involvement, it is too early to say exactly what Minnesota's land disposal_facility will-look like.: However, a general picture can be tentatively drawn. The land disposal facility would be large -- possibly 400 acres if it is to contain 20 years of Minnesota's land dlsposable hazardous waste. "Ceils" for waste containment would be constructed, first by excavating soil and then by installing engineering safeguards against waste seepage. These would probably include carefully placed clay or synthetic liner systems and underground collection pipes to collect seepage and return it to the surface for treatment. There would also be monitoring systems to warn if any seepage had penetrated the liners and escaped into surrounding soils. Wastes would probably be trucked in; possibly 20 to 30 loads a day. Laboratory spot checks (on or off site) would ascertain the identity and appropriate management of incoming wastes. Pre-treatment of certain wastes would probably be required, and could occur either at the disposal site or at a waste processing facility elsewhere. This would have the effect of reducing the volume or the level of hazard of the wastes, or of removing excess water that could complicate operations or carry contaminants away from the land disposal facility. Incompatible wastes would be separated and placed in different parts, of the site, and accurate records of all wastes disposed and their locations in the facility would be maintained. As individual waste containment cells were filled during the operation of a site, impermeable soils or liners would be placed over them and the top soil would be contoured to handle rain runoff. This would help divert moisture from the wastes and still further reduce the chance of seepage away from the site. Final closure of the facility would be performed according to strict federal and state environmental standards. Before the facility operator could even be licensed he or she would have to have determined provisions for long-term care of the site. Included would be final cover and contouring, and groundwater and other long-term monitoring of the site. Any problems would have to be corrected by the facility operator alone or in conjunction with federal or state authorities. This description is only preliminary, since the final design of the facility is one of the issues for public discussion before the Waste Management Board makes any final decisions. prepared by: Minnesota Waste Management Board 7323 58th Avenue North Crystal, MN 55428