Washington Administrative Code › Title 173 - Ecology, Department of (See also Titles 197, 317, 372, and 508) › Chapter 173-408 - Landfill Methane Emissions › Section 173-408-020 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
When used in this chapter, the following terms have the
				meanings given below. These definitions should not be interpreted to apply to
				any other chapter unless expressly provided for therein.
"Active mining" means actively excavating a landfill or a
				portion thereof using conventional mining technology to recover and reuse
				minerals and/or metals until such a time that the landfill cover is
				replaced.
"Active municipal solid waste (MSW) 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 WAC
				173-351-500 as it existed on
				January 10, 2022.
"Air contaminant" has the same meaning as set forth in WAC
				173-400-030.
"Air pollution" is presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or
				more air contaminants in sufficient quantities and of such characteristics and
				duration as is, or is likely to be, injurious to human health, plant or animal
				life, or property, or which unreasonably interfere with enjoyment of life and
				property. For the purpose of this chapter, air pollution does not include air
				contaminants emitted in compliance with chapter17.21 RCW.
"Ambient air" means the surrounding outside air.
"Authority" or "local authority" means any air pollution
				control agency whose jurisdictional boundaries are coextensive with the
				boundaries of one or more counties.
"CERCLA regulated landfill" means the portion of a municipal
				solid waste landfill that has been designated as on-site for purposes of a
				CERCLA response action(s).
"CERCLA response action" means a removal or remedial action
				conducted pursuant to 42
				U.S.C. Sections 9604,
				9606,
				9620,
				9621, or
				9622.
"Closed municipal solid waste landfill" means a municipal solid
				waste landfill that is no longer accepting solid waste for disposal and has
				been closed in accordance with the requirements set forth in WAC
				173-351-500 as it existed on
				January 10, 2022.
"Component" means any equipment that is part of a gas
				collection and control system and that contains landfill gas including, but not
				limited to, wells, pipes, flanges, fittings, valves, flame arrestors, knock-out
				drums, sampling ports, blowers, compressors, or connectors.
"Component leak" means the concentration of methane measured
				one half of an inch or less from a component source that exceeds 500 parts per
				million by volume (ppmv), other than "nonrepeatable, momentary readings," as
				defined in this section. Measurements from any vault must be taken within three
				inches above the surface of the vault exposed to the ambient air.
"Continuous operation" means that a gas collection and control
				system is operated continuously, the existing gas collection wells are
				operating under vacuum while maintaining landfill gas flow, and the collected
				landfill gas is processed by a gas control system 24 hours per day.
"Department" means the department of ecology.
"Destruction efficiency" means a measure of the ability of a
				gas control device to combust, transform, or otherwise prevent emissions of
				methane into the ambient air.
"Emission" means a release of air contaminants into the ambient
				air.
"Enclosed combustor" means an enclosed firebox which maintains
				a relatively constant limited peak temperature generally using a limited supply
				of combustion air. An enclosed flare is considered an enclosed
				combustor.
"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, gas turbines, internal combustion engines, boilers, and
				boiler-to-steam turbine systems.
"Exceedance" means the concentration of methane measured within
				three inches above the landfill surface that exceeds 500 ppmv, other than
				"nonrepeatable, momentary readings," as defined in this section, as determined
				by instantaneous surface emissions monitoring; or the average methane
				concentration measurements that exceed 25 ppmv, as determined by integrated
				surface emissions monitoring.
"Gas collection system" means any portion of a gas collection
				and control system that employs various gas collection wells and connected
				piping, and mechanical blowers, fans, pumps, or compressors to create a
				pressure gradient, actively extract landfill gas, and convey the gas to the gas
				control system.
"Gas control device" means any device used to dispose of or
				treat collected landfill gas including, but not limited to, enclosed flares,
				internal combustion engines, boilers and boiler-to-steam turbine systems, fuel
				cells, and gas turbines. A gas control device is a component used in a gas
				control system.
"Gas control system" means any portion of a gas collection and
				control system that disposes of or treats collected landfill gas by one or more
				of the following means: Combustion; gas treatment for subsequent sale, or sale
				for processing offsite, including for transportation fuel and injection into a
				natural gas pipeline.
"Hazardous waste" has the same meaning as set forth in
				RCW
				   70A.300.010.
"Heat input capacity (HIC)" means the hourly heat content
				available on a steady state basis in the form of landfill gas generated from a
				landfill's waste source material.
"Hydrocarbon detector" means an instrument used for the
				measurement of methane that meets the calibration, specifications, and
				performance criteria of EPA Reference Method 21, Determination of Volatile
				Organic Compound Leaks,  40 C.F.R. Part 60, Appendix A (in effect on the date in
				WAC 173-400-025).
"Inactive municipal solid waste landfill" means a municipal
				solid waste landfill that is no longer accepting solid waste for disposal and
				has been closed in accordance with the requirements set forth in chapter
				173-304 WAC. For purposes of this rule, an inactive municipal solid waste
				landfill is subject to all requirements applicable to an active municipal solid
				waste landfill unless and until (a) the department or local authority
				determines the landfill is exempt in accordance with WAC 173-408-070
				(4)(b)(ii); or (b) the owner or operator submits a closure notification in
				accordance with WAC 173-408-170(8).
"Increased meter reading" means a single or series of meter
				read-ing(s) above 200 ppm of methane.
"Inert waste or nondecomposable waste(s)" has the same meaning
				as "inert waste" in WAC
				173-350-100.
"Landfill" has the same meaning as set forth in
				RCW
				   70A.205.015.
"Landfill gas" means any raw gas derived through a natural
				process from the decomposition of organic waste deposited in a MSW landfill,
				from the evolution of volatile species in the waste, or from chemical reactions
				of substances in the waste.
"Landfill surface" means the area of the landfill under which
				decomposable solid waste has been placed, excluding the working face.
"Limited purpose landfill" has the same meaning as set forth in
				WAC 173-350-100.
"Municipal solid waste (MSW)" means a subset of solid waste
				which includes unsegregated garbage, refuse and similar solid waste material
				discarded from residential, commercial, institutional, and industrial sources
				and community activities, including residue after recyclables have been
				separated. Solid waste that has been segregated by source and characteristic
				may qualify for management as a non-MSW solid waste, at a facility designed and
				operated to address the waste's characteristics and potential environmental
				impacts. The term MSW does not include:
(a) "Dangerous wastes," as defined in
			 RCW
			    70A.300.010, other than wastes expressly
			 excluded from the requirements of chapter 173-303 WAC, Dangerous waste
			 regulations, as set forth in WAC
			 173-303-071, such as household
			 hazardous wastes;
(b) Any solid
			 waste, including contaminated soil and debris, generated by a "CERCLA response
			 action," as defined in this section, or by a remedial action taken under the
			 Model Toxics Control Act, chapters 70A.305 RCW and 173-340 WAC; nor
(c) Mixed or segregated recyclable material
			 that has been source-separated from garbage, refuse and similar solid waste.
			 However, the residual from source separated recyclables is MSW.
"Municipal solid waste landfill" means a discrete area of land
				or an excavation that receives municipal solid waste, including household
				waste, and that is not a land application site, surface impoundment, injection
				well, or pile.
"Nonrepeatable, momentary readings" means indications of the
				presence of methane, which persist for less than five seconds and do not recur
				when the sampling probe of a portable gas detector is placed in the same
				location.
"Nozzle offset distance" means the horizontal distance between
				the "unmanned aerial system," as defined in this section, and the distal end of
				the nozzle when flown as a fixed above ground level (AGL) and a known nozzle
				tube length.
"On-site" has the same meaning as set forth in
				40 C.F.R.
				300.400(e)(1) (in effect on
				the date in WAC
				173-400-025).
"Operator" means any "person," as defined in this section,
				that:
(a) Operates a MSW
			 landfill;
(b) Is responsible for
			 complying with any federal, state, or local requirements relating to methane
			 emissions from a source located on real property used for MSW landfill purposes
			 and subject to this chapter; or
(c)
			 Operates any stationary equipment for the collection of landfill gas from a MSW
			 landfill subject to this chapter.
"Owner" means any "person," as defined in this section,
				that:
(a) Holds title to any
			 portion of the real property on which a MSW landfill subject to this chapter is
			 located including, but not limited to, title held by joint tenancy, tenancy in
			 common, community property, life estate, estate for years, lease, sublease, or
			 assignment, except title held solely as security for a debt such as
			 mortgage;
(b) Is responsible for
			 complying with any federal, state, or local requirements relating to methane
			 emissions from a source located on real property used for MSW landfill purposes
			 and subject to this chapter; or
(c)
			 Owns any stationary equipment for the collection of landfill gas from a MSW
			 landfill subject to this chapter.
"Person" means an individual, firm, public or private
				corporation, association, partnership, political subdivision of the state,
				municipality, or governmental agency.
"Professional engineer" means an individual who is registered
				in Washington and holds a valid certificate to practice engineering in
				Washington as provided under chapter 18.43 RCW.
"Putrescible waste" means solid waste which contains material
				capable of being readily decomposed by microorganisms and which is likely to
				produce offensive odors.
"Solid waste" means all putrescible and nonputrescible solid
				and semisolid wastes including, but not limited to, garbage, rubbish, ashes,
				industrial wastes, commercial waste, swill, sewage sludge, demolition, and
				construction wastes, abandoned vehicles or parts thereof, discarded commodities
				and recyclable materials.
"Third-party owner or operator" means any "person," as defined
				in this section, that:
(a) Owns any
			 stationary equipment for the collection of landfill gas from a MSW landfill
			 subject to this chapter; or
(b)
			 Purchases or otherwise obtains untreated landfill gas from an owner or operator
			 of a MSW landfill subject to this chapter and owns any stationary equipment for
			 the treatment and/or combustion of the landfill gas.
"Unmanned aerial system (UAS)," commonly known as a drone,
				means an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. In
				this context, a UAS includes multiple rotors such that the minimum speed is not
				limited by stall and can be reduced all the way to zero (hover).
"Waste in place" means the total amount of solid waste placed
				in the MSW landfill estimated in tons. The solid waste density is assumed to be
				1,300 pounds per cubic yard, and the decomposable fraction is assumed to be 70
				percent by weight, unless the department or local authority approves
				alternative values.
"Working face" means the open area of a MSW landfill where
				solid waste is deposited daily and compacted with landfill
				equipment.