Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 26 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT › Part 2 - SUBTITLES 08-12 › Subtitle 11 - AIR QUALITY › Chapter 26.11.42 - Control of Methane Emissions from Municipal Solid Waste Landfills › Section 26.11.42.03 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. In this
				  chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Active MSW landfill" means a MSW
				  landfill in which solid waste is being placed or a MSW landfill that has been
				  constructed at least in part and that is planned to accept waste in the
				  future.
(2) "Bioreactor" means a
				  landfill or portion of a landfill where any liquid other than leachate
				  (leachate includes landfill gas condensate) is added in a controlled fashion
				  into the waste mass (often in combination with recirculating leachate) to reach
				  a minimum average moisture content of at least 40 percent by weight to
				  accelerate or enhance the anaerobic (without oxygen) biodegradation of the
				  waste.
(3) "Closed MSW landfill"
				  means a MSW landfill that is no longer accepting solid waste for disposal and
				  has documentation that the closure was conducted in accordance with the
				  applicable statutes, regulations, and local ordinances in effect at the time of
				  closure.
(4) "Component" means any
				  equipment that is part of the gas collection and control system and that
				  contains landfill gas including, but not limited to:
(a) Wells;
(b) Pipes;
(c) Flanges;
(d) Fittings;
(e) Flame arrestors;
(f) Knock-out drums;
(g) Sampling ports;
(h) Blowers;
(i) Compressors; and
(j) Connectors.
(5) Component Leak.
(a) "Component leak" means the concentration
				  of methane measured one half an inch or less from a component source that
				  equals or exceeds 500 parts per million by volume (ppmv), other than
				  non-repeatable, momentary readings.
(b) "Component leak" includes measurements
				  from any vault taken within 3 inches above the surface of the vault exposed to
				  the atmosphere.
(6)
				  "Construction and demolition waste" means waste building materials, packing,
				  and rubble resulting from construction, remodeling, repair, and demolition
				  operations on pavements, houses, commercial buildings, and other
				  structures.
(7) "Continuous
				  operation" means a gas collection and gas control system that is operated
				  continuously, with the gas collection wells operating under vacuum while
				  maintaining landfill gas flow and the collected landfill gas is processed by a
				  gas control system 24 hours per day.
(8) "Corrective action analysis" means a
				  description of all reasonable interim and long-term measures, if any, that are
				  available, and an explanation of why the selected corrective action(s) is/are
				  the best alternative(s), including, but not limited to consideration of:
(a) Cost effectiveness;
(b) Technical feasibility;
(c) Safety; and
(d) Secondary impacts.
(9) "Destruction efficiency" means a measure
				  of the ability of a gas control device to combust, transform, or otherwise
				  prevent emissions of methane from entering the atmosphere.
(10) "Disposal facility" means all contiguous
				  land and structures, appurtenances, and other improvements used for the
				  disposal of solid waste.
(11)
				  "Enclosed combustor" means an enclosed flare, steam generating boiler, internal
				  combustion engine, or gas turbine.
(12) "Energy recovery device" means any
				  combustion device that uses landfill gas to recover energy in the form of steam
				  or electricity, including, but not limited to:
(a) Gas turbines;
(b) Internal combustion engines;
(c) Boilers; and
(d) Boiler-to-steam turbine
				  systems.
(13) "Gas
				  collection system" means any system that employs various gas collection wells
				  and connected piping and gas mover equipment, or any system that is a passive
				  collection system.
(14) "Gas
				  collection and control system" means any system consisting of a gas collection
				  system and a gas control system.
(15) "Gas control device" means any device
				  used to dispose of or treat collected landfill gas, including, but not limited
				  to:
(a) Enclosed flares;
(b) Internal combustion engines;
(c) Boilers and boiler-to-steam turbine
				  systems;
(d) Fuel cells;
				  and
(e) Gas turbines.
(16) "Gas control system" means
				  any system that disposes of or treats collected landfill gas by one or more of
				  the following methods:
(a)
				  Combustion;
(b) Gas treatment for
				  subsequent sale; or
(c) Sale for
				  processing offsite, including for transportation fuel and injection into the
				  natural gas pipeline.
(17) "Gas mover equipment" means the
				  equipment (e.g., fan, blower, compressor) used to transport landfill gas
				  through the header system.
(18)
				  "Inactive area" means a separate area of a MSW landfill in which solid waste is
				  no longer being placed.
(19)
				  "Inactive MSW landfill" means a MSW landfill that is no longer accepting solid
				  waste for disposal and can subsequently document that solid waste is no longer
				  being placed at the landfill.
(20)
				  "Landfill gas" means the gases generated by a MSW landfill through the natural
				  process of decomposing organic material or through the chemical reaction of
				  other substances in the municipal solid waste.
(21) "Landfill surface" means the area of the
				  landfill under which decomposable solid waste has been placed, excluding the
				  working face.
(22) "Leachate
				  recirculation" means the practice of taking the leachate collected from the
				  landfill and reapplying it to the landfill by any of one of a variety of
				  methods, including:
(a) Pre-wetting of the
				  waste;
(b) Direct discharge into
				  the working face;
(c)
				  Spraying;
(d) Infiltration
				  ponds;
(e) Vertical injection
				  wells;
(f) Horizontal gravity
				  distribution systems; and
(g)
				  Pressure distribution systems.
(23) "Municipal solid waste (MSW)" means
				  household waste, commercial solid waste, and industrial solid waste, as defined
				  in 40 CFR §
												60.751.
(24) Municipal Solid Waste Landfill (MSW
				  Landfill).
(a) "Municipal solid waste
				  landfill" means an entire disposal facility in a contiguous geographical space
				  where household waste is placed in or on land, portions of which may be
				  separated by access roads.
(b)
				  "Municipal solid waste landfill" includes landfills that also receive other
				  types of federal (40 CFR §
													257.2) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
				  (RCRA) Subtitle D defined wastes such as commercial solid waste, nonhazardous
				  sludge, conditionally exempt small quantity generator waste, and industrial
				  solid waste.
(25)
				  Non-Decomposable Solid Waste.
(a)
				  "Non-decomposable solid waste" means materials that do not degrade biologically
				  to form landfill gas.
(b)
				  "Non-decomposable solid waste" includes but is not limited to:
(i) Earth;
(ii) Rock;
(iii) Concrete asphalt paving
				  fragments;
(iv) Uncontaminated
				  concrete (including fiberglass or steel reinforcing rods embedded in the
				  concrete);
(v) Brick;
(vi) Glass;
(vii) Ceramics;
(viii) Clay products;
(ix) Inert slag;
(x) Asbestos-containing waste;
(xi) Demolition materials containing minor
				  amounts (less than 10 percent by volume) of wood and metals; and
(xii) Coal combustion byproducts (CCBs) and
				  incinerator ash.
(26) "Non-repeatable momentary readings"
				  means indications of the presence of methane, total organic compounds, or toxic
				  air contaminants, which persist for less than 5 seconds and do not recur when
				  the sampling probe of a portable gas detector is placed in the same
				  location.
(27) "Open flare" means
				  an open combustor without enclosure or shroud.
(28) "Owner or Operator" means a person who
				  owns or operates a MSW landfill.
(29) "Passive gas collection system" means a
				  gas collection system that solely uses positive pressure within the MSW
				  landfill to move gas rather than using gas mover equipment.
(30) "Root cause analysis" means an
				  assessment conducted through a process of investigation to determine the
				  primary cause, and any other contributing causes, of positive pressure at a
				  wellhead.
(31) "Solar array" means
				  multiple solar panels used in conjunction to produce electricity.
(32) Solar Panel.
(a) "Solar panel" means any photovoltaic
				  energy system designed for the generation of electrical power from the
				  collection of sunlight.
(b) "Solar
				  panel" includes without limitation:
(i)
				  Photovoltaic panels;
(ii)
				  Foundations;
(iii) Support
				  structures;
(iv) Braces;
				  and
(v) Related
				  equipment.
(33)
				  "Total waste landfilled" means the same as waste-in-place.
(34) "Treatment system" means a system that
				  filters, de-waters, and compresses landfill gas for sale or subsequent
				  use.
(35) Waste-In-Place.
(a) "Waste-in-place" means the total amount
				  of solid waste placed in the MSW landfill estimated in tons and is also
				  referred to as "total waste landfilled."
(b) "Waste-in-place" assumes both the refuse
				  density to be 1,300 pounds per cubic yard and the decomposable fraction to be
				  70 percent by weight.
(36) Well Raising.
(a) "Well raising" means a MSW landfill
				  activity where an existing gas collection well is temporarily disconnected from
				  a vacuum source, and the non-perforated pipe attached to the well is extended
				  vertically to allow the addition of a new layer of solid waste or the final
				  cover; or is extended horizontally to allow the horizontal extension of an
				  existing layer of solid waste or cover material.
(b) "Well raising" includes re-connecting the
				  extended pipe (well extension) to continue collecting gas from that
				  well.
(37) "Working face"
				  means the open area where solid waste is deposited daily and compacted with
				  landfill equipment.