_Hlk146284674 Created new definitions for: bedrock and competent bedrock (and repealed related terms to reduce confusion), expand an existing landfill, gas monitoring well, leachate head, leachate seep, limits of disturbance, nurse crop, registered professional surveyor, underdrain system, and vertical-only expansion. • Replaced the term “ultra low-level radioactive waste” with “Technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material waste” or “TENORM waste.” TENORM is a more common term used nationally and means waste containing naturally occurring radioactive materials. The definition corresponds to changes at ch. NR 506.12, Wis. Adm. Code, that standardize protective placement requirements for landfills accepting TENORM waste materials. • Clarified that submittal requirements are not complete until the appropriate fee is paid and that paper copies of submittals are only required upon request. • Required that surveying of landfill boundaries and environmental monitoring devices, annual topographic surveys, or other activities as requested by the department must be conducted by a licensed professional land surveyor or by a qualified technician who is directly supervised by a licensed professional land surveyor. NR 502 and 503 – Changes are made to match amendments in other chapters of code or make simple corrections.
NR 504 - Landfill Location, Performance, Design and Construction Criteria
• Allowed reduced separation distance between the seasonal high groundwater table and the bottom of the clay component of a landfill liner if the design includes an underdrain system. The underdrain system shall be designed to maintain the projected seasonal high groundwater table below the top of the clay component of the liner in the sump areas and below the leachate line undercuts under gravity drained conditions. • Allowed a reduced separation distance between the top of the competent bedrock surface and the bottom of the clay component if approved by the department in writing. • Specified that geotextiles, which are permeable fabrics used as a layer to separate, filter, and protect, that are used to line leachate collection trenches and on top of landfill liners must be at least 16 ounces/yard2 rather than the current 12 ounces, unless otherwise approved by the department in writing. • Allowed a specific alternative landfill liner design than what is currently required in code for composite lined landfills (composite liners consisting of a 60-mil HDPE geomembrane and four foot thick clay liner are currently required for all municipal solid waste landfills). This is an option, not a requirement, for design of a landfill in areas that may have limitations on obtaining the current minimum four foot clay component for a landfill liner. It is expected that if a landfill chooses this option that uses a compacted sub-base and only three feet of clay in the liner design, it would be a large economic benefit because of the cost savings from not needing to purchase, transport, and place as much clay soil. The optional alternative design specifies: •o a minimum thickness of one foot prepared soil sub-base •o a minimum thickness of at least 3 feet for the clay component at the base of the landfill, except under the leachate collection sumps •o a minimum thickness of at least 2 feet for the clay component of the 3:1 horizontal to vertical interior sidewalls of the landfill •o a minimum thickness of at least 4 feet for the clay component of the leachate collection sump at the bottom and all sides of the sump, and up to the top of the sump •o a slope of at least 2% for the liner surface toward the leachate collection lines •o an additional minimum 6-inch inside diameter perforated leachate collection pipe shall be placed at the toe of the 3:1 horizontal to vertical interior sidewalls of the landfill, with cleanout access • Specified that the minimum inside diameter of all leachate collection or transfer pipes shall be 6 inches, rather than the current 6-inch outside diameter requirement. This allows for better movement of leachate and easier cleaning of leachate collection pipes. • Allowed alternative final cover design proposals for municipal solid waste landfills. The design must meet certain performance-based criteria and adequately protect public health, welfare, and the environment, but is otherwise open to new design proposals. This is an option, not a requirement, for landfill owners. • Codified a currently allowed practice to allow native seed mixes to be used on the final cover of closed landfill areas. • Specified that when excavating soil designated to be used for a liner or final cover for the landfill, which has to meet certain performance criteria, an initial site inspection is not required at the soil borrow sources if a storm water discharge permit was previously issued. This is because the department’s Storm Water Program has previously reviewed the site for the same elements in the initial site inspection. • Clarified that all landfills must be designed to have a minimum separation distance of 50 feet between the limits of disturbance and a delineated wetland boundary, unless otherwise approved by the department in writing. NR 506 - Landfill Operational Criteria
• Clarified in code existing expectations for how daily covers and intermediate covers are applied to the open areas of a landfill. • Clarified that effective means of preventing the migration of explosive gases generated by waste in a landfill must be implemented “as the gas is produced.” The department may also require that gas be extracted from a landfill earlier than what is currently required to meet air quality regulations if there are persistent odor issues, leachate seeps caused by gas pressure, reoccurring surface emissions greater than 500 ppm methane above background or areas with stressed vegetation or other physical signs of landfill gas emergence. • Codified performance requirements and corrective action expectations for gas extraction systems. • Added language to describe current expectations for leachate collection system performance, and also to allow reduced frequency of leachate collection line cleaning for high-volume industrial waste landfills if there is no historic record of blockages or other issues with the performance of the lines. • Codified existing long-term care requirements after closure of a landfill that are currently specified in each landfill’s plan of operation, including: maintaining signs and restricted access, removing vegetation that would impact the cover, preventing erosion or ponding of water, continued control and collection of gas and leachate, and continued monitoring of groundwater. • Established notification deadlines for landfills to send certain information to the department, such as notification of a landfill surface fire, subsurface fire or elevated temperatures, or a leachate seep or leachate spill outside the limits of waste. • Codified existing annual report requirements that are currently specified in each landfill’s plan of operation. NR 507 - Environmental Monitoring for Landfills
• Proposed several minor edits to clarify proper operation, maintenance, reporting of sampling results, and labeling of monitoring devices relating to leachate and gas production or the effect on the quality of the air, groundwater, surface water, or soils. These edits reflect current practices by landfill owners and operators and best management practices in the solid waste management industry. • Updated the submittal deadline of certain well sampling and analytical data to the department from 60 days from completing sampling and analysis (undefined, variable date) to 90 days from the end of the sampling period (a solid date). This provides more clarity and extended time for landfill operators. • Clarified and updated the requirements for landfill owners or operators to calculate and propose preventive action limits and alternative concentration limits for parameters by using baseline sample concentration data. • Updated monitoring tables for landfills to improve the description of some parameters and reduce confusion. Removed chemical oxygen demand (COD) and replaced it with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) for papermill sludge landfills because the analytical process for COD generates a hazardous waste. • Added a separate leachate recirculation monitoring table and a separate gas monitoring table for municipal solid waste landfills. NR 508 - Responses When a Groundwater Standard Is Attained or Exceeded
• Clarified that responses are required when a groundwater standard is attained or exceeded at any groundwater monitoring well or water supply well. • Linked ch. NR 508, Wis. Adm. Code, with other chapters of the Administrative Code that list existing response requirements. NR 509 - Initial Site Reports for Landfills
• As noted earlier under ch. NR 504, Wis. Adm. Code, related to landfill design, specified that when excavating soil designated to be used for a liner or final cover for the landfill, which has to meet certain performance criteria, an initial site inspection is not required at the soil borrow sources if a storm water discharge permit was previously issued. • Updated language to clarify what is meant when the department issues an initial site report opinion on a proposed property for a landfill. The department’s opinion will reflect whether the proposed property has potential for development as a landfill. If there is potential, it will identify any constraints on development and possible ways constraints could be addressed, such as removing impacts to wetlands or applying for a wetlands permit. NR 510 - Pre-feasibility Reports for Landfills
• Repealed ch. NR 510, Wis. Adm. Code, related to optional pre-feasibility reports for proposed new landfills or expansions of existing landfills. This option has not been used by a landfill applicant since the code language became effective in 1996. NR 512 - Feasibility Reports for Landfills
• Reduced requirements for locational criteria (listed in ch. NR 504, Wis. Adm. Code) and information submittals for vertical-only expansions of an existing landfill. For example, information from soil borings, new well installations, or bedrock descriptions would not need to be evaluated or submitted to the department because no additional land area will be impacted. • Clarified that the department may ask for explanatory information in addition to that required in ch. NR 512, Wis. Adm. Code, prior to determining if a submitted feasibility report is complete or to determine feasibility. • Updated language regarding geotechnical information required in a feasibility report, including establishing minimum site-specific information that a geotechnical investigation must obtain. The code retains the prescribed number of soil borings, monitoring wells, and piezometers that are required, depending on the proposed acreage of landfill development and soil type. The code also retains the minimum soil and rock tests that are required. The overall intent remains the same as current code, but some minimum qualitative standards are established and the rule codifies site-specific geotechnical information department review staff routinely request, if it is not already provided in the feasibility report. This information defines the physical characteristics of the proposed landfill's location that are needed to determine feasibility. • Clarified what should be described in a feasibility report as possible constraints on landfill development, such as meeting distances between proposed limits of waste and water supply wells and discussing the significance of any groundwater standard exceedances. NR 514 - Plan of Operation and Closure Plans for Landfills
• Codified current practice that the department may issue an initial site construction approval that allows initiation of construction prior to issuing the plan of operation approval. • Codified several elements of a plan of operation submittal that the department has been regularly requesting of applicants, such as engineering design features, dust and odor control plans, and a table of phased construction events. • Codified current practice that the department may approve delaying final cover placement for up to two years after a municipal solid waste landfill attains either final waste grades or maximum interim waste grades. This allows time for potential settling of the waste and adding new waste to the existing landfill footprint. • Clarified that a plan of operation for a contiguous landfill expansion must include evaluations of the existing leachate collection system, gas extraction system, litter control plan, odor control plan, leachate recirculation plan, organic stability plan, and revised storm water pollution prevention plan. • Allowed a municipal solid waste landfill to have waste placed temporarily up to 10 percent higher than the approved final waste grades when compared to the depth of waste at that location, which assumes that settling will occur before final closure and placement of a final cover. This would allow a landfill to accept additional waste and delay the need for an expansion or a new landfill. If more than 5 percent of the approved final waste grade is requested, the landfill owner or operator must establish financial responsibility for closure of the additional waste amount. • Specified that the plan of operation for a proposed landfill property that includes private water supply wells or groundwater monitoring wells must include methods for abandonment of water supply wells located within the proposed limits of waste of the landfill. • Codified that a plan of operation for any proposed landfill or expansion of an existing landfill that has wetlands or navigable waterways within the proposed limits of waste or in other areas proposed to be directly filled or excavated must include waterway and wetland permits or avoidance of wetlands. NR 516 - Landfill Construction Documentation
• Clarified that the construction documentation report must include elements of the construction relating to preparation of sub-base for an alternative liner design or in areas of unsuitable soil removal. • Required that testing be performed when constructing the sub-base of an alternative landfill liner that includes determining dry density and as-placed moisture content of the soil and the required samples per acre. • Removed the option for expedited construction documentation approvals. This is no longer needed in code because it was requested very infrequently, and it was difficult with available staffing resources to meet deadlines when it was requested, which will continue to be the case. NR 520 - Solid Waste Management Fees and Financial Responsibility Requirements
• Clarified that an applicant for initial licensing of a facility must pay the full annual license fee even if the license is applied for mid-year during the license period. • Adjusted the license fee surcharge paid to the department based upon the number of tons or equivalent volume of solid waste disposed of at each landfill during each quarterly reporting period (currently 15.0 cents/ton): 25.0 cents/ton effective January 1, 2026, 27.0 cents/ton effective January 1, 2031, and 30.0 cents/ton effective January 1, 2036. • Codified that the license fee surcharge does not apply to waste that was previously disposed of in a licensed landfill and is excavated and disposed of in another licensed landfill, waste generated as a result of a natural disaster that meets statutorily designated criteria, and waste created as a direct result of a one-time project paid for with state funds. • Specified that a landfill owner or operator shall maintain an active operating license until all closure activities are complete and a long-term care license is issued, if applicable, by the department. • Increased limit from $100,000 to $250,000, or the standard Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance limit, for the amount of cash or certificates of deposit allowed for certain methods used for providing proof of financial responsibility. • Clarified that facilities located outside of Wisconsin must be included when determining the total cost of compliance under the net worth to closure, long-term care and remedial action cost ratio. • Clarified language related to costs that must be included when estimating long-term care costs. • Created language to allow closed landfills already in a long-term care period to adjust owner financial responsibility costs for leachate collection and management after assessing a minimum 10-year period of leachate generation rates. • Amended language to apply a five-year average inflation factor to future owner financial responsibility calculations, and to use a discount rate equal to the projected rate of inflation plus 1.5 percent for long-term care and remedial action owner financial responsibility estimates brought to a present value. All currently active and many closed landfills are required to designate a funding mechanism that the state can access to properly close a landfill or provide long-term care. The primary change proposed for OFR requirements in this rule is to apply a five-year average inflation factor to future OFR calculation rather than a single most recent year factor. The five-year average would effectively smooth the fluctuation of year-to-year increase or decrease when conducting annual calculations. Another proposed change is to use a discount rate equal to the projected rate of inflation plus 1.5% for long-term care and remedial action and estimate OFR to a present value. Reducing the discount rate from 2% to 1.5% would have minimal to no economic effect over time on overall OFR costs. It would likely increase the amount required for a landfill owner to set aside when newly calculated, but decreases the amount needed in future years. • Updated language related to certification reporting and payment of fees. • Replaced two fee tables with one consolidated table and moved some footnotes to code text. The new Table 3 includes updated plan review fees, most of which had not been changed since 2006, for municipal solid waste landfills and industrial solid waste landfills based on current assigned hydrogeologist and engineer plan review costs. NR 524 - Training and Certification Requirements for Solid Waste Disposal Facility Operators
• Clarified that certified managers and operators are not required at solid waste disposal facilities that have completed closure activities.
