SB2155 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 27476 CPF 53848 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB2155

Introduced 2/10/2023, by Sen. Laura Fine

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

415 ILCS 5/22.40b new

Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Provides that an owner or operator of an active municipal solid waste landfill having fewer than 450,000 tons of waste in place must submit an annual waste in place report to the Board or local authority. Places a cap on methane gas emissions according to specified times. Requires specified methods for measurements and tests conducted under the provisions. Provides that an owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill may request alternatives to the compliance measures, monitoring requirements, and test methods and procedures. Allows the Board and local authorities to assess and collect such fees as may be necessary to recover the direct and indirect costs associated with the implementation of the provision. Contains requirements for calculating landfill gas heat input capacity, gas collection and control systems, source tests, enforcement provisions, and other provisions.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning safety.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by adding Section 22.40b as follows:

(415 ILCS 5/22.40b new)

Sec. 22.40b. Methane emissions; landfills.

(a) In this Section:

"Active municipal solid waste landfill" means a municipal solid waste landfill that has accepted or is accepting solid waste for disposal and has not been closed in accordance with the requirements set forth in Sections 22.17 and 22.19b.

"Air pollution" means the presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or more air contaminants in sufficient quantities and of such characteristic and duration as is, or is likely to be, injurious to human health, plant or animal life, or property or that unreasonably interferes with the enjoyment of life and property.

"Ambient air" means the surrounding outside air.

"Closed municipal solid waste landfill" means a municipal solid waste landfill that no longer accepts solid waste for disposal and has been closed in accordance with the requirements set forth in Sections 22.17 and 22.19b.

"Emission" means a release of an air contaminant into the ambient air.

"Gas collection system" means a system that employs various gas collection wells, connected piping, mechanical blowers, fans, pumps, or compressors to create a pressure gradient and that actively extracts landfill gas.

"Gas control device" means a device used to dispose of or treat collected landfill gas, including, but not limited to, enclosed flares, internal combustion engines, boilers, boiler-to-steam turbine systems, fuel cells, and gas turbines.

"Gas control system" means a system that disposes of or treats collected landfill gas by:

(1) combustion; or

(2) treatment of gas for subsequent sale or for sale for offsite processing, including, but not limited to, for transportation fuel and injection into a natural gas pipeline.

"Local authority" means any air pollution control board whose jurisdictional boundaries are coextensive with the boundaries of one or more counties.

"Municipal solid waste landfill" means a discrete area of land or an excavation that receives household waste and that is not a land application site, surface impoundment, injection well, or pile.

"Person" means an individual, firm, public or private corporation, association, partnership, political subdivision of the State, municipality, or governmental agency.

(b) This Section applies to all municipal solid waste landfills except landfills that:

(1) receive only hazardous waste or are currently regulated under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act; or

(2) receive only inert waste or noncompostable wastes.

(c) The Agency shall propose, and the Board shall adopt, rules to implement this Section. The rules shall be informed by landfill methane rules and regulations adopted by the California Air Resources Board, the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

(d) An owner or operator of an active municipal solid waste landfill having fewer than 450,000 tons of waste in place must submit an annual waste in place report to the Board or local authority. The waste in place report must be:

(1) prepared for the period of January 1 through December 31 of each year;

(2) submitted to the Board or local authority on a date during the subsequent calendar year by a date established by the Board by rule; and

(3) submitted annually until either:

(A) the active municipal solid waste landfill reaches a size greater than or equal to 450,000 tons of waste in place; or

(B) the owner or operator submits a closure notification under subsection (j).

(e) An owner or operator of an active municipal solid waste landfill having greater than or equal to 450,000 tons of waste in place or a closed municipal solid waste landfill having greater than or equal to 750,000 tons of waste in place must calculate the landfill gas heat input capacity in accordance with subsection (j) and the Board's rules and must submit a landfill gas heat input capacity report to the Board or local authority. If the calculated landfill gas heat input capacity is less than 3,000,000 Btus per hour recovered, the owner or operator must:

(1) recalculate the landfill gas heat input capacity annually using the procedures specified in subsection (j) and the rules adopted under this Section; and

(2) submit an annual landfill gas heat input capacity report to the Board or local authority until either:

(A) the calculated landfill gas heat input capacity is greater than or equal to 3,000,000 Btus per hour recovered; or

(B) if the municipal solid waste landfill is active, the owner or operator submits a closure notification in accordance with subsection (j).

If the landfill gas heat input capacity is greater than or equal to 3,000,000 Btus per hour recovered, the owner or operator must either:

(1) comply with the requirements of this Section and the rules adopted under this Section; or

(2) demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Board or local authority that after 4 consecutive quarterly monitoring periods there is no measured concentration of methane of 200 parts per million by volume or greater using the instantaneous surface monitoring procedures specified in other states' requirements and the rules adopted under this Section, based on the monitoring results, and:

(A) if there is any measured concentration of methane of 200 parts per million by volume or greater from the surface of an active, inactive, or closed municipal solid waste landfill, comply with this Section and the rules adopted under this Section;

(B) if there is no measured concentration of methane of 200 parts per million by volume or greater from the surface of an active municipal solid waste landfill, recalculate the landfill gas heat input capacity annually as required under this Section until the owner or operator submits a closure notification under this Section; or

(C) if there is no measured concentration of methane of 200 parts per million by volume or greater from the surface of a closed or inactive municipal solid waste landfill, the requirements of this Section and the rules adopted under this Section no longer apply, provided that the following information is submitted to and approved by the Board or local authority:

(i) a waste in place report in accordance with this Section and the rules adopted under this Section; and

(ii) all instantaneous surface monitoring records.

(f) An owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill that has a calculated landfill gas heat input capacity greater than or equal to 3,000,000 Btus per hour recovered must install a gas collection and control system that meets the requirements of this Section and the rules adopted under this Section, unless the owner or operator demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Board or local authority that after 4 consecutive quarterly monitoring periods there is no measured concentration of methane of 200 parts per million by volume or greater using instantaneous surface monitoring procedures. If a municipal solid waste landfill partners with a third party to operate all or a portion of the gas collection and control system or energy recovery device, the obligation to comply with this Section is the responsibility of the owner or operator of the relevant portion of the gas collection and control system or energy recovery device. The gas collection and control system must:

(1) handle the expected gas generation flow rate from the entire area of the municipal solid waste landfill and must collect gas at an extraction rate to comply with the surface methane emission limits under this Section and the rules adopted under this Section;

(2) be designed and operated so that there is no landfill gas leak that exceeds 500 parts per million by volume, measured as methane, at any component under positive pressure;

(3) if it uses a flare, achieve a methane destruction efficiency of at least 99% by weight and must use either an enclosed flare or, if the system uses an open flare, the open flare:

(A) must meet the requirements of 40 CFR 60.18;

(B) if it was installed and operating before December 31, 2022, may operate until January 1, 2032 unless the owner or operator demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Board or local authority that the landfill gas heat input capacity is less than 3,000,000 Btus per hour in accordance with this Section and the rules adopted under this Section and is insufficient to support the continuous operation of an enclosed flare or other gas control device; and

(C) may be temporarily operated by the owner or operator during the repair or maintenance of the gas control system, while awaiting the installation of an enclosed flare, or to address offsite gas migration issues; an owner or operator seeking to temporarily operate an open flare under this subparagraph must submit a written request to the Board or local authority in accordance with Section 50 and the rules adopted under this Section;

(4) if it does not use a flare, either route the collected gas to an energy recovery device or must route the collected gas to a treatment system that processes the collected gas for subsequent sale or use;

(5) if it routes the collected gas to an energy recovery device or devices, the owner or operator of the energy recovery device or devices must comply with the following requirements:

(A) the device must achieve a methane destruction efficiency of at least 97% by weight, except for lean-burn internal combustion engines that were installed and operating before January 1, 2022, which must reduce the outlet methane concentration to less than 3,000 parts per million by volume, dry basis corrected to 15% oxygen; and

(B) if a boiler or a process heater is used as the gas control device, the landfill gas stream must be introduced into the flame zone, except that, where the landfill gas is not the primary fuel for the boiler or process heater, introduction of the landfill gas stream into the flame zone is not required;

(6) if it routes the collected gas to a treatment system that processes the collected gas for subsequent sale or use, achieve a methane leak rate of 3% or less by weight; venting processed landfill gas to the ambient air is not allowed; and

(7) if the processed landfill gas cannot be routed for subsequent sale or use, then the treated landfill gas must be controlled according to paragraph (3).

An owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill must conduct a source test for any gas control device subject to this Section using the relevant test methods identified in this Section. If a gas control device was in compliance with relevant source testing requirements on June 9, 2022, the owner or operator must conduct the source test no less frequently than once every 5 years. If a gas control device was not in compliance with source testing requirements on June 9, 2022, or if a subsequent source test shows the gas control device is out of compliance, the owner or operator must conduct the source test no less frequently than once each year until 2 subsequent consecutive tests both show compliance. Upon completion of the 2 subsequent consecutive compliant tests, the owner or operator may return to conducting the source test no less frequently than once every 5 years.

(g) Except as provided in subsection (e), beginning January 1 of the year following the year in which the Board adopts rules to implement this Section, or upon commencing operation of a newly installed gas collection and control system or modification of an existing gas collection and control system, whichever is later, and except as provided by the Board to accommodate significant technological improvements, which may include, but are not limited to, the installation of an energy recovery device, not to exceed 24 months after the Board adopts rules to implement this Section, no location on a municipal solid waste landfill surface may exceed the following methane concentration limits, dependent upon whether the owner or operator of the municipal solid waste landfills conducts instantaneous surface emissions monitoring or integrated surface emissions monitoring:

(1) 500 parts per million by volume, other than nonrepeatable momentary readings, as determined by instantaneous surface emissions monitoring; or

(2) an average methane concentration limit of 25 parts per million by volume as determined by integrated surface emissions monitoring.

Any reading exceeding the limits set forth in paragraph (1) must be recorded as an exceedance and the owner or operator must: (i) record the date, location, and value of each exceedance, along with retest dates and results and the location of each exceedance must be clearly marked and identified on a topographic map of the municipal solid waste landfill, drawn to scale, with the location of both the monitoring grids and the gas collection system clearly identified; and (ii) take corrective action, which may include, but is not limited to, maintenance or repair of the cover, or well vacuum adjustments; the location or locations of any exceedance must be remonitored within 10 calendar days after a measured exceedance.

The requirements of this subsection do not apply to:

(A) the working face of a landfill;

(B) areas of a landfill surface where the landfill cover material has been removed for the purpose of installing, expanding, replacing, or repairing components of the landfill cover system, the landfill gas collection and control system, the leachate collection and removal system, or a landfill gas condensate collection and removal system;

(C) areas of a landfill surface where the landfill cover material has been removed for law enforcement activities requiring excavation; or

(D) areas of the landfill in which the landfill owner or operator, or a designee of the owner or operator, is engaged in active mining for minerals or metals.

(h) An owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill with a gas collection and control system must:

(1) conduct instantaneous or integrated surface monitoring of the landfill surface according to rules adopted by the Board;

(2) monitor the gas control system according to the requirements specified in rules adopted by the Board; and

(3) monitor each individual wellhead to determine the gauge pressure according to the requirements specified in rules adopted by the Board.

(i) An owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill must:

(1) maintain records and prepare reports in accordance with this Section and any rules adopted under this Section;

(2) maintain records related to monitoring, testing, landfill operations, and the operation of a gas control device, gas collection system, and gas control system; the records must be provided by the owner or operator to the Board or local authority within 5 business days after a request from the Board or local authority;

(3) if the landfill ceases to accept waste, submit a closure notification to the Board or local authority within 30 days after ceasing to accept waste; and

(4) submit a gas collection and control system equipment removal report to the Board or local authority within 30 days after well capping or the removal or cessation of operation of the gas collection, treatment, or control system equipment.

An owner or operator of either an active municipal solid waste landfill with 450,000 or more tons of waste in place or a closed municipal solid waste landfill with 750,000 or more tons of waste in place must prepare an annual report for the period of January 1 through December 31 of each year. The annual report must include a calculation of landfill gas heat input capacity. Each annual report must be submitted to the Board and local authority during the subsequent calendar year, with the date of submission to be established through rules adopted by the Board.

(j) Except as provided under paragraph (8), the following methods must be used for measurements and tests conducted under this Section:

(1) any instrument used for the measurement of methane must be a hydrocarbon detector or other equivalent instrument approved by the Board or local authority based on standards adopted by the Board that address calibration, specifications, and performance criteria;

(2) the determination of landfill gas heat input capacity must be calculated consistent with the Board's rules adopted under this Section;

(3) an owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill must measure the landfill surface concentration of methane using a hydrocarbon detector meeting the requirements of this Section and the Board's rules adopted under this Section;

(4) an owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill must measure leaks using a hydrocarbon detector meeting the requirements of this Section and the Board's rules adopted under this Section;

(5) the expected gas generation flow rate must be determined according to the Board's rules adopted under this Section;

(6) the control device destruction efficiency must be determined according to the Board's rules adopted under this Section;

(7) gauge pressure must be determined using a handheld manometer, magnehelic gauge, or other pressure measuring device approved by the Board or local authority; and

(8) alternative test methods may be used if they are approved in writing by the Board or local authority.

(k) The Board or local authority must allow the capping or removal of the gas collection and control system at a closed municipal solid waste landfill, provided that:

(1) the gas collection and control system has been in operation for at least 15 years, unless the owner or operator demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Board or local authority that due to declining methane rates the municipal solid waste landfill will be unable to operate the gas collection and control system for a 15-year period;

(2) surface methane concentration measurements do not exceed the limits specified in this Section; and

(3) the owner or operator submits an equipment removal report to the Board or local authority in accordance with this Section and any rules adopted by the Board under this Section.

Nothing in this Section may be interpreted to modify or supersede requirements related to the capping or removal of gas collection and control systems that may exist under this Act, the federal Clean Air Act, or rules adopted under either of those Acts.

(l) An owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill may request alternatives to the compliance measures, monitoring requirements, and test methods and procedures set forth in this Section and the Board's rules adopted under this Section. Any alternatives requested by the owner or operator must be submitted in writing to the Board. The criteria that the Board may use to evaluate alternative compliance option requests include, but are not limited to:

(1) compliance history;

(2) documentation containing the landfill gas flow rate and measured methane concentrations for individual gas collection wells or components;

(3) permits;

(4) component testing and surface monitoring results;

(5) gas collection and control system operation, maintenance, and inspection records; and

(6) historical meteorological data.

The Board must review and either approve or disapprove the requested alternatives within 120 days. The Board may request that additional information be submitted as part of the review of the requested alternatives. If a request for an alternative compliance option is denied, the Board must provide written reasons for the denial. The Board must deny a request for alternative compliance measures if the request does not provide levels of enforceability or methane emissions control that are equivalent to those set forth in this Section or in rules adopted by the Board under this Section.

(m) The Board or a local authority may request that any owner or operator of a municipal solid waste landfill demonstrate that a landfill does not meet the applicability criteria required under this Section. The demonstration must be submitted to the Board or local authority within 90 days of a written request received from the Board or local authority.

(n) Any person who violates this Section or any rules adopted under this Section may incur a civil penalty. The Board shall waive penalties if the owner or operator of the landfill is actively taking corrective actions to control any methane exceedances. Penalties collected under this Section shall be deposited into the Environmental Protection Trust Fund.

(o) The Board and local authorities may assess and collect such fees as may be necessary to recover the direct and indirect costs associated with the implementation of this Section.