1. ELK RIVER LANDFILL
SECTION 1
Application Request Summary
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Elk River Landfill, Inc. (ERL), awholly-owned subsidiary of Waste Management of Minnesota,
Inc., owns and operates a 92-acre mixed municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill (Landfill) under
Minnesota Solid Waste Permit Number SW-74. The Landfill is also licensed and permitted by both
Sherburne County (County) and the City of Elk River (City). The Landfill is located along U.S. TH
169 on 476 acres of land located in the NW ~/a of Section 3, T33N, R26W, and the SW ~/a of
Section 34, T34N, R26W, Sherburne County, Minnesota (see Drawing titled "Site Plan -Entire
Property'. Besides the 72-acre construction and demolition debris (C&D) landfill immediately
and adjacent to the north of the Landfill, the remaining 312 acres of the existing property owned
by ERL provides a buffer surrounding the Landfill. The Landfill is permitted to accept MSW, C&D,
yard waste for composting, industrial waste in accordance with a MPCA-approved Industrial Solid
Waste Management Plan, and processing facility rejects from the Elk River Resource Recovery
Facility.
ERL maintains a Solid Waste Facility (SWF) license and conditional use permits in accordance
with City requirements. ERL and the City entered into a Host Community Agreement in
September 2003 regarding the Landfill. On May 25, 2011, ERL and City entered into an
Agreement related to expanding by 27.2 acres the Landfill's MSW footprint to the south. This
southern expansion includes the southern-most portion of the 137.4-acre landfill property
currently owned by ERL and the northern-most portion of the 109-acre southern development
area (SDA) located immediately south of the Landfill that is currently owned by Tiller Corporation
(Tiller). This application reflects the terms agreed to by both ERL and City in the May 25, 2011
Agreement.
The 27.2-acre expanded Landfill as agreed to in the May 25, 2011 Agreement provides 4,962,000
cubic yards of additional MSW capacity. Per City, the approval of the expanded Landfill requires
the northern-most portion of the SDA to be "r ui e " ' the comprehensive plan as "landfill"
and rezoned to be included in the SWF Overlay District and for a sanitary landfill~iad' ' nal use
permit (CUP) to be obtained. The Landfill's existing County SWF license will also need to be
amended to include the expansion.
1.2 DESCRIPTION OF PRO]ECT
The 27.2-acre expanded Landfill includes an additional 8.9 acres on the southern-most portion of
the existing 137.4-acre landfill property and 18.3 acres on the northern-most portion of Tiller's
109-acre SDA located immediately south of the existing landfill property (see Drawing titled ~~Site
Development Plan -Entire Property'. ERL has entered into a purchase agreement with Tiller for
a portion of the SDA, which will include the 18.3 acres for the expanded Landfill and an additional
13.5 acres for the required 200-foot buffer area. Per City, the affected 31.8 acres of the SDA will
need to be "reguided" and rezoned.
The affected 31.8 acres of the SDA are currently used by Tiller for its gravel mining operation. As
has been the practice at the existing Landfill, the expanded Landfill will follow behind Tiller's
mining operations. Tiller has an approved CUP from City for the entire 109-acre SDA, and Tiller is
concurrently requesting approval to mine the remaining southern 200-foot portion of ERL's
existing 137.4-acre landfill property.
Elk River Landfill SDA section 1-1
Land Use Application ~~~~--~<
ELK LAVER LLKDFlLL A
,.--- Per the terms of the May 25, 2011 Agreement, the expanded Landfill consists of 27.2 acres of
lined MSW landfill area contiguous to the existing Landfill. Development of the expanded Landfill
would be fully integrated into the contours, general design and operation of the existing Landfill.
The expanded Landfill will provide approximately 4,962,000 cubic yards of additional MSW
capacity. Assuming the annual waste flow into the Landfill, including the expanded Landfill, are
consistent with the historic average of 336,048 cubic yards/year, this additional capacity would
extend the operational life of the MSW landfill approximately 18 years. Per the May 25, 2011
Agreement, all landfilling within the expanded Landfill will be completed by December 31, 2030.
The expanded Landfill was included as part of the much larger 73.4-acre expanded Landfill that
required a mandatory Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under the requirements of Minn. R.
4410.4400, subp. 13(E). The Draft and Final EIS for the initially proposed 73.4-acre expanded
Landfill have previously been provided to City. The EIS was completed in 2005 and approved by
the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) in 2006. The EIS findings concluded that
environmental impacts of the much larger 73.4-acre expanded Landfill would likely be minimal
and the proposed management and mitigation standards would meet or exceed regulatory
standards.
1.2.1 INFRASTRUCTURE
Expansion of the following existing infrastructure systems will be required as part of the
expanded Landfill:
^ Leachate collection and storage facilities.
^ Gas extraction wells, piping, and monitoring probes will be installed in accordance with
required regulations.
• Groundwater monitoring wells in accordance with the site's permits and MPCA approved
workplans.
The expanded Landfill will be served by existing access points along TH 169.
1.2.2 SITE SCREENING
Other than the requisite setbacks, mining is currently allowed to occur within the entire SDA but
not within the southern-most 200-foot buffer on ERL's existing 137.4-acre landfill property. An
application for the mining of the 200-foot buffer on ERL's existing property is being submitted by
Tiller Corporation concurrently with the submittal of this application.
Screening will be done per the terms of the May 25, 2011 Agreement, and it is reflected on
Drawing 5'~Screening Plan." This includes planting trees and vegetation along facility access
roads, perimeter roads and future sedimentation ponds located along the proposed eastern,
southern and western sides of the affected property.
1.2.3 EXPANDED LANDFILL DESIGN
The expanded Landfill is designed to dispose of non-hazardous solid wastes. The design as well
as the construction and operation of the landfill are governed by MPCA, County and City. Each of
these three regulatory bodies has performed or will perform a review of the general landfill
design as well as reviewed the environmental impacts of the landfill development through an EIS.
The design of the expanded Landfill incorporates astate-of-the-art composite liner system and
two feet of compacted clay soil barrier overlain by a 60 mil high density polyethylene flexible
membrane liner. Together, these two components of the liner system prevent contaminants from
Elk River Landfill SDA a., Section 1-2
Land Use Application " W~r~CI<
penetrating the surrounding environment.
Overlying the liner section is the leachate collection layer. The leachate collection layer consists
of either one foot of highly permeable drainage sand or a synthetic drainage material called a
geocomposite. The geocomposite is comprised of high density polyethylene channels
manufactured to rapidly convey liquids and is considered equal to the transmission capacity of
one foot of drainage layer sand.
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Liner System
The final cover section is similarly designed with a layer of buffer material installed over the final
waste elevation prior to the placement of a 40 mil. linear low density polyethylene liner material
°. that is overlain by either a sand drainage material or a synthetic drainage material,
geocomposite. The final layer of the landfill cover section is a layer of soil material that can
sustain and promote vegetative growth.
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The landfill base liner, in conjunction with the final cover liner, completely encapsulates the MSW
materials from the surrounding environment.
Elk River Landfill SDA - - Section 1-3
Land Use Application ~ ~~~~~~
ELK NYIR LLwpflLi
The expanded Landfill will be constructed in a series of phased construction projects. The timing
`~ of the phases will be dictated by incoming waste volumes and site operations. The following
Table 1 indicates that anticipated expanded Landfill construction schedule based on current and
anticipated waste volumes.
Table 1. Expanded Landfill Construction Phasing
Cell Number Approximate
Year of Construction Approximate
Acres Constructed
18 2011/2012 7.86
19 2014 8.11
20 2017 15.73
1.2.4 GRADING AND DRAINAGE PLAN
ERL has made it its priority to handle and control on-site all stormwater generated on the landfill.
The grading and drainage plans are provided on the Drainage Plan (Sheet 4). The drainage
calculations are presented in Attachment 1.
During the initial construction phases of the expanded Landfill, stormwater generated will be
piped to an interim pond located south of the active cells. As construction and mining conditions
dictate, permanent sedimentation basins will be constructed and put into service for treatment of
runoff from the expanded Landfill. The sedimentation ponds will control and minimize the
amount of sediment-laden runoff that leaves the expanded Landfill. If the designated area for the
permanent ponds is not available, then an equivalent sized temporary pond will be constructed in
the mined area. Perimeter ditches of equivalent capacity to those shown on the final closure
plans will route stormwater to the temporary ponds.
The surface water runoff from the final covered landfill surface will be routed by drainage
terraces that are graded into the waste structure that direct surface water to gabion-lined
downslope structures. From the downslope structures, the water is subsequently routed by
perimeter ditching to two sedimentation basins located on the south west (P-1) and southeast (P-
2) corners of the expanded landfill. P-1 will accept runoff from the western half of the expansion
and P-2 will accept runoff from the eastern half of the expansion. P-2 will discharge via a pipe to
P-1.
The drainage routing features have all been sized to minimize the erosion from the site. In
addition to permanent control structures, the site also utilizes temporary erosion control features,
such as silt fencing, biologs, and erosion control matting to minimize erosion from the site.
Portions of the final closure area are covered with erosion control matting upon closure to
minimize erosion from the newly graded surfaces.
stormwater generated from the site will be discharged from P-1 via a storm sewer system, under
the exterior roadway to the north end of the expanded Landfill, then west under the City Trail
into a wetland upstream of the Rice Lake wetland complex. The discharge point will be onto
property owned by the ERL. Discharge from P-1 to the wetland west of the site has been
designed to minimize impacts by limiting bounce in the wetland, restricting flow rates, and
treating stormwater prior to discharge in accordance with applicable permits.
Elk River Landfill SDA W ---, Section 1-4
Land Use Application ` WP_nCl<
~..-~ This wetland receiving discharge from the site currently has two existing channel outlets, both of
which eventually drain into Rice Lake. The north channel outlet, currently located on property
owned by ERL will be utilized as the outlet channel for the southwest storm water pond. The
channel outlet will be re-excavated to match the elevation of the more southerly outlet to ensure
that flows through the south outlet onto the adjoining property are not significantly increased
from the existing condition.
Routine maintenance of the drainage control structures are initiated in response to general
inspections or inspections prompted by a heavy rain. The sedimentation ponds will be cleaned
periodically to maintain their optimum settling capacity.
The location of the easement for the proposed stormwater discharge piping located under the
City Trail is illustrated on the Drainage Plan Drawing (Sheet 4).
The exact location and configuration of the downslope structures and conveyance piping
discussed above may be revised in the future, but will be in general conformance with the
stormwater routing and management system presented in this application.
1.2.5 LANDFILL CLOSURE CONSTRUCTION
Final grading and closure of the landfill will be in accordance with the drawings included as ~~Final
Cover Grading Plan" (Sheet 2). The grades of each closure phase will provide a uniform surface
with adjacent phases to facilitate surface water drainage. Each closure construction phase, as
well as the final closure of the landfill, will be done in accordance with approved plans and
regulations. Upon completion of final closure of the expanded Landfill, County will record a deed
notation for the property indicating what the property had been used for and pertinent details.
The expanded Landfill will be closed in a series of phased construction projects. The anticipated
closure sequence and timing for the expanded Landfill is shown in the following Table 2. The
timing of closure construction will be dictated in part by incoming waste volumes, as well as site
operations to maximize gas production. Closure of the landfill includes the engineered cover
system, gas collection components, and the surface water controls as approved in permit
documents.
Table 2. Anticipated Closure Sequence and Timing
Cell Number Approximate
Year of Closure Approximate
Acres Closed
18 2015/2016 8.35
19 2017/2018 7.64
20 2022-2030 31.5
City, as well as MPCA and County, will be notified of impending phased closure at the expanded
Landfill prior to initiation of closure construction. The ERL will make any updates to the closure
sequence as part of the facility's annual report.
1.2.6 LANDFILL END USE
The current end use plan for the Landfill applies to the expanded Landfill. The end use plan
provides for open green space. Long term, the open space planned for the site would be
compatible with any adjacent future use. The final end use determined for the site will be
~;, consistent with the terms of the May 25, 2011 Agreement.
Elk River Landfill SDA Section 1-5
Land Use Application ~V21~CI<
ELR FIVL.x LLncFlCt
ERL has site-specific provisions in place for the closure of the Landfill, including the expanded
Landfill, in accordance with their site permits. In addition, ERL has guaranteed these closure
activities, as well as post-closure care and potential contingency actions that may be required
through the use of a surety bond in accordance with the financial assurance requirements by
MPCA. Closure plans for the existing Landfill have previously been approved by MPCA, County
and City.
After final closure of the Landfill, including the expanded Landfill, security associated with the
end use will likely focus more on safety. It is anticipated that certain portions of the site will be
secured such that only those persons authorized by ERL will be permitted in these areas.
~ ~_.-
_---
Elk River Landfill SDA ~~ Section 1-6
Land Use Application ' ' ~~~~~~
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