Dive Brief:
- The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced on Wednesday a new Landfill Methane Mitigation Grant Program. The program is set to disburse $14 million through 2029 to help operators meet the state's recently enacted landfill gas regulation.
- In December, the state enacted rules on landfill gas emissions that went beyond federal requirements for the first time, joining states like California, Maryland, Oregon and Washington.
- The new program is funded through the federal Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program created by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Despite some conflict between the federal government and states over fund disbursement for certain IRA programs, Colorado secured its funding for this landfill program before the Trump administration instituted pauses, according to a spokesperson for CDPHE.
Dive Insight:
Colorado Regulation 31 created a methane-based landfill gas threshold past which operators must install landfill gas collection and control systems. It also instituted enhanced monitoring requirements and implemented other changes that go beyond federal requirements. The regulation is expected to affect 32 landfills in the state. Operators were required to submit initial waste-in-place reports on June 30.
The regulation was hailed by its proponents for its greenhouse gas emissions reductions. An estimated 12.53 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent could be avoided by 2050 as a result of the changes, CDPHE estimated. But smaller landfill operators in Colorado objected to the tighter regulation, arguing they faced a funding gap to meet its requirements.
Staff in CDPHE's Air Pollution Control Division tweaked Regulation 31’s final language in part to meet those concerns. Landfills owned by local governments that have less than 8 million tons of waste in place were given an extra three years to comply with the rule.
The APCD oversees the new grant program. The division plans to prioritize projects at landfills owned by smaller local governments or nonprofits, though private companies are also eligible. Eligible projects include a new gas collection and control system, enhancing or optimizing gas collection of an existing system, replacing an open flare with an enclosed flare, completing necessary design plans and obtaining air quality permits, according to the agency.
“We sought out and created this funding opportunity to help landfill operators manage costs while supporting a healthier, cleaner future for Coloradans,” Michael Ogletree, the senior director of the state’s air quality programs, said in a statement. “Addressing climate change requires serious planning and commitment. We deeply value the collaborative effort it takes to do so.”
Colorado SB 101, which was signed into law in May, also allowed CDPHE to award funds from its Community Impact Cash Fund to landfill operators that needed assistance to complete landfill methane emission reduction projects.
SB 101 also directed state officials to prioritize projects at landfills owned by local governments rather than private operators. Other provisions that would have altered compliance aspects of Regulation 31 were reportedly stripped from the final bill.
The state's new Landfill Methane Mitigation Grant Program is unrelated to that legislation, a spokesperson for CDPHE confirmed in an email.
