EGLE hosts meeting on liner at toxic landfill

Updated 07-15-21
Twenty-two people were logged on at the beginning of the 46-minute zoom public meeting hosted by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy (EGLE) on June 29 to get more information and to ask questions about the new liner proposed for a Wayne Disposal cell.
This is considered a major modification of the Hazard Waste Management Facility Operating License with the state. The meeting was recorded and is posted on the EGLE web site.
Wayne Disposal, a toxic landfill located at 49350 N. I-94 Service Dr. in Van Buren Township, is owned and operated by US Ecology and regulated by the state of Michigan and the federal government.
Christina Matlock, of EGLE’s Material Management Division and permit environmental engineer for the Wayne Disposal site, said the liner proposed for master cell 6-G is the same type of liner approved in 2018 for two other cells.
She said it changes from a compacted clay liner to a geosynthetic liner and it has superior properties. Matlock said for the change to be approved they have to prove it’s as protective or more so.
She said later this fall there will be a 60-day public comment period and a public hearing. She said EGLE is still evaluating the proposal and people should let them know if they have concerns. Write to michigan.gov/EGLEConnect or write or call Matlock at [email protected] or (517) 290-4612.
Additional site information and the application for the change is available for study at Michigan.gov/USEcologyWDI .
Besides Matlock, those from EGLE taking part in the virtual meeting were Supervisor Kimberly Tyson; Joe Rogers, geologist for the Wayne Disposal operation; Shaun Shields, environmental quality analyst; and Mike Busse, inspector, from the Southeast Michigan Warren office.
When the introductions and basic information were complete, people were able to ask questions virtually.
Winston Koo of Van Buren Township asked how the evaluating testing is done. Do they use a lab or what? He also asked if all the recent rain would affect its use.
Matlock said they do equivalency testing. She said Dr. Xuede Qian, PhD, has evaluated this and he’s written the book on landfills. She said the liner is at the bottom of the landfill and the rain wouldn’t affect the liner.
Koo asked if they take away the three-foot liner they are using and replace it with this thin sheet, could they dump more stuff in the landfill?
Matlock said the volume is not being changed and EGLE has no request for that at this time.
Koo said he lives not far from the site and noted the ultimate height of the landfill would decrease somewhat. He said those living around the lake see “the black thing sticking up.” He asked if the cell that would use the new liner is west of the “existing monstrosity” and Matlock said it was northwest.
Another person asked who Dr.Qian was and was told Xuede Qian is a geological engineer in the EGLE program. He designs landfills and is doing all the calculations.
The questioner asked how do residents know the toxic chemicals are not leaching into the water and soil and reaching homes?
Geologist Rogers said there is a lot of monitoring of the site to make sure everything is staying where it’s supposed to be. He named the kinds of monitors and the frequencies, including groundwater, surface water, air, sediment, soil, and leachate.
Matlock said what’s needed to make the geosynthetic liner is easier to get than clay. She said she didn’t know if it was cheaper.
Another questioner asked why the toxic landfill accepts waste from out of state and inspector Busse said US Ecology is a nationwide company. He said the waste can come from anywhere, even Mexico and Canada. He said there are very few licenses in the country and they are hard to get and maintain. He said Dr. Qian wrote the textbook on landfills and he was a professor in China.
Tyson read a written question which noted landfills are located in low-income areas and will they spread into suburban areas?
Tyson said landfills aren’t going to be dug up and moved and so they have to make sure they are operating under the rules.
Another written question asked about what would happen if the loading changes because it’s thinner and Matlock said that has been taken into consideration.
Another question asked what is unprotected underneath the new cell.
Rod Hill said there was a five-page list of questions attached to the information he got for this meeting, but he has to find it.
EGLE representatives were unsure of what questions he was talking about and then the virtual connection cut out and then went on again as they continued to talk.
Anthony Gibson, a member of the Van Buren Township Environmental Commission, asked what is the long-term durability of this liner?
“We have to live with this landfill for a long time, even after it’s closed,” Commissioner Gibson said.
Matlock said this has been evaluated and Gibson pushed to get the number of years. Matlock said it was at the industry standard at this point.
Hill came back on and said he can’t find the five pages to which he referred but asked if there are any current consent judgments on the site and he was told there weren’t.
It was noted the new liner being considered has been used for decades, especially in solid waste landfills.
Koo asked if this landfill is built over an old landfill and what is the state policy on this.
Matlock said this is a hazardous waste landfill and in Michigan they allow new cells to be built over old, making sure it’s safe and protected.
Hill found his questions from April 13, 2018 and asked the EGLE representatives to look half way down page one. He said he was not aware this had been a Type 1 landfill.
Matlock said she doesn’t know if it was ever labeled that way, but it had been a landfill.
Geologist Rogers said that there are older cells and this landfill has been in operation for quite a long time. He said this area had very thick clay and that’s why the landfill was there.
Hill asked if leachate monitoring reaches down to the legacy cells.
Rogers replied he believes they are pumping leachate from those legacy cells. Hill asked if they are sampled and Matlock said they are pumped and treated.
There being no more questions, the meeting closed.