California’s landfills remain under strict scrutiny as regulators weigh tweaks to the state’s landmark Landfill Methane Regulation. Through enforcement actions and public comments, regulators and residents alike are urging operators to prevent adverse impacts like increased truck traffic and uncontrolled emissions.
Landfill expansion proposals continue to pop up in other states as disposal capacity remains a challenge, including in Hawai’i and Arizona. Below is a selection of highlights from the last month:
EPA announces two landfill enforcement settlements
The U.S. EPA announced last week it had reached settlements with the operators of two California landfills. Both settlements stemmed from federal scrutiny over alleged violations of Clean Air Act rules for landfill gas.
In Alameda County, WM agreed to pay a $215,000 settlement to resolve what the EPA described as illegal venting and mismanagement of treated landfill gas. Between 2019 and 2023, a subsidiary of WM operating the Altamont Landfill allegedly released more than 340,000 pounds of treated landfill gas from on-site storage tanks.
The issues occurred at a liquefied natural gas production facility operated by a third party at the landfill, according a spokesperson for WM. The LNG facility stopped operating and was demolished in 2023.
The gas contributed to smog formation and impacted air quality in the Bay Area and San Joaquin Valley, according to EPA. The agency said the gas is now being properly flared at Altamont Landfill, and WM said the settlement required no additional operational changes.
The publicly operated Kiefer Landfill in Sacramento County also drew scrutiny from the EPA for failing to maintain gas collection systems during construction on the landfill cover. The agency said excess emissions included the release of benzen, toluene, ethyl benzene and vinyl chloride, which are considered hazardous air pollutants.
The county agreed to the settlement, which includes a penalty of $196,936, in 2025, Sacramento County spokesperson Brenda Bongiorno said in an emailed statement. She added the county disagrees with the EPA’s interpretation of regulations. Per the EPA, the landfill has restored gas collection operations and “committed to minimizing the gas collection system downtime during future construction activities.”
The Sacramento County Department of Waste Management & Recycling “remains committed to maintaining high air quality standards in all operations,” Bongiorno wrote.
Orange County faces tough choices amid landfill closure
Orange County Waste & Recycling in California is planning to wind down operations at its Olinda Alpha landfill, diverting more trash to the Prima Deshecha and the Frank R. Bowerman landfills which it also owns and operates. The change has led to controversies over rising tipping fees and a proposal to increase daily throughput at Prima Deshecha.
OCWR is raising tipping fees considerably as its capacity decreases. Beginning on July 1, those rates are set to jump 52% to $67 per ton, with further increases planned through 2029. The county is also proposing to double the amount of waste it collects daily at the Prima Deshecha Landfill from 4,000 tpd to 8,000 tpd, prompting pushback from residents and some officials.
Local sanitation districts and towns have begun to pass on increased costs to residents, Voice of OC reported. The Midway City Sanitary District, for instance, which provides curbside services in the city of Westminster and an unincorporated area of Orange County, reached an agreement with OCWR incorporating the higher tipping fees in January. The district projected that the new tipping fee rates would add $566,654 in additional annual costs within the first year of the contract. To recover those costs, it’s proposing an annual increase in residents’ solid waste collection fees — within the first year, the change would add about $27 annually to residents’ bills.
Meanwhile, residents have also come out against the proposed expansion of the Prima Deshecha Landfill. One particular sticking point has been the impact of truck traffic. Both the California Department of Transportation and the South Coast Air Quality Management District have weighed in and urged OCWR to take a closer look at possible impacts on residents.
Daily tonnage rates would rise gradually at the landfill if OCWR was granted its expanded permit, Tom Koutroulis, the agency’s director, said in an emailed statement. He also said the 8,000-ton limit is purposefully higher than expected normal operations to allow for “variations in disposal that occur due to economic changes, population increases, weather, and seasonal variation.”
“This is simply an effort to prepare for the future disposal needs of the region,” he wrote.
OCWR most recently circulated an environmental review draft with a comment period that closed on March 19. The agency is now looking through the comments it received and preparing a Final Subsequent Environmental Impact Review, after which the proposal would go to the board of supervisors for approval or disapproval.
Other landfill news:
- Colorado legislators are considering a bill that would allow some landfill owners to tap a cash fund run by the state to help pay for landfill gas collection and monitoring. The bill is meant to provide aid as operators prepare to meet enhanced landfill gas rules approved by Colorado regulators in December. (Sky-Hi News)
- The city of Honolulu is proposing to build a new 150-acre landfill site adjacent to the existing Waimanalo Gulch Landfill, which is scheduled to close in 2028. The city has struggled to find a place for new landfill capacity, and faces opposition from the landowner of the proposed site. (Hawai’i News Now)
- The Bureau of Land Management is seeking comment on a proposal to convey 280 acres of public land to Safford, Arizona, to expand a municipal solid waste landfill. The city indicated it would use the land to build a drop-off area with designated dumpsters for recycling, household waste and green waste. (BLM)
- River Birch is proposing to take over an adjacent unlined landfill to add to its existing facility in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. As part of the expansion, the company is requesting the Department of Environmental Quality allow it to accept C&D debris, line the old Greater New Orleans Landfill and expand its gas collection system into the site. (4WWL)
- Firefighters quelled a blaze at WM’s Northwest Regional Landfill in Surprise, Arizona, on April 26. The facility continued smoldering for several days as management of hot spots reverted to WM personnel. (Arizona’s Family and 12 News)
