EPA Burdens Landfills With New Methane Emissions Cuts
EPA Burdens Landfills With New Methane Emissions Cuts
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced on August 14, 2015, two proposals that, if adopted, would place significant new burdens on new and existing landfills. The proposals are aimed at curbing methane emissions, which occur as a natural byproduct during the decomposition of waste. The proposed rules would require municipal solid waste landfills to reduce their methane emissions by a third from their current levels. These proposals have further expanded upon the EPA’s proposals in 2014, which required 13 percent of methane emissions from landfills to be captured and controlled. The EPA’s move to strengthen regulations over landfills are a component of President Obama’s broad effort to constrain greenhouse gas emissions across numerous industries, which was unveiled in March of 2014.
These regulations, if enacted, are expected to cost landfill operators nationwide approximately $55 million in compliance efforts. The EPA claims that these costs will be offset via indirect environmental benefits by up to $750 million. The Solid Waste Association of North America, the main industry group for landfill operators, has yet to respond to these proposals, but is expected to weigh in against the regulations during the 60-day comment period that will commence once the proposals are published in the Federal Register.
For the EPA’s press release on these proposals, please see here.
For further reading on the EPA’s technical analysis of the proposals, please see here.
Mitchell Chadwick attorney Daniel Ashby contributed to this article.