RATIONALE FOR REISSUANCE & MODIFICATION
Waste Management of Mississippi Inc, Pecan Grove Landfill and Recycling Center
Harrison County
Solid Waste SW02401A0400

I.	FACILITY INFORMATION

Facility Name:  	Waste Management of Mississippi, Inc.
Pecan Grove Landfill and Recycling Center
Facility Address:	9685 Firetower Road, Pass Christian, MS
Permit No.:		SW02401A0400
SIC Code:		4953
Permit Writer:		Michelle Vinson 
EPD Branch:		Mining and Solid Waste Management Branch

II.	NATURE OF BUSINESS AND CURRENT CONDITIONS

The facility is an existing municipal solid waste landfill permitted for approximately 176 acres of disposal area.  A Class I rubbish site is also located within the total property boundaries.  The facility is located approximately 6 miles north of Pass Christian, Mississippi.  There are no current enforcement actions pending with the Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Division.  Currently the facility accepts between 1,200 and 1,700 tons of wastes per day.  The waste acceptance rate is not limited to these amounts and will vary based on waste generation rates within the approved service area.  The facility has a total of 21.76 million cubic yards of airspace for disposal operations.

III.	PROPOSED PERMITTING ACTION(S)

The facility proposes the re-issuance of the existing solid waste management plan and a re-configuration of the previously permitted disposal area to tie in with previously constructed disposal cells while complying with all geological design and construction requirements. 

IV.	LOCATION AND TOTAL PROPERTY AREA

The facility is located at 9685 Firetower Road, Pass Christian in Sections 21, 22 and 23, Township 7 South, Range 13 West, Harrison County.  The total property consists of 1,213 acres.

V.	SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN INFORMATION

The facility is consistent with the Harrison County Solid Waste Management Plan.  There is no proposed lateral expansion of the facility and therefore, no plan amendment is required for the proposed renewal and/or modification.  Order number 4148 00 was issued in September 2000 which approved the total disposal area of 176 acres and the approved service area.

VI.	SERVICE AREA

The approved service area is limited to a 100 mile radius from the northeastern and northwestern corners of Harrison County, excluding the corporate boundaries of the City of New Orleans, Louisiana.

VII.	DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

An updated disclosure statement was submitted on June 26, 2012.  The MDEQ Legal division accepted the disclosure statement and notified EPD staff on July 3, 2012.

VIII.	SITING CRITERIA

Airport:  The facility is located more than 10,000 feet from any airport runway used by turbojet aircraft and 5,000 feet from an airport runway end used by only piston type aircraft.

Floodplains:  The facility is not located within the 100 year floodplain based on the 2009 Firm for the area. 

Wetlands:  According to the US Army Corps of Engineers permit MS01-02770-M, Waste Management is authorized to place fill in 4.04 acres of wetlands and re-route the approximately 1,100 linear feet of upland intermittent streams in conjunction with the 2001 expansion of the Pecan Grove landfill.  Waste Management has purchased approximately 8.08 mitigation credits from Wetlands Solutions Mitigation Bank (Permit MS99-02703-E) as required by the Corps of Engineers permit.

The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources provided correspondence dated October 20, 1994, indicating that the facility was not located within coastal wetlands.

Fault Areas:  There are no faults which has had displacement in the Holocene age.

Seismic Impact Zones:  The facility is located in an area designated as having a 6% probability of having an earthquake with a magnitude in excess of 0.10g in 250 years.  Since the probability is less than 10% seismic demonstrations are not required.

Unstable Areas:  There are no unstable areas within the permitted areas.

Hydrocarbon and Water Wells:  There are no hydrocarbon or water wells located within the permitted disposal boundaries according to documentation dated October 25, 1994, provided by the State Oil and Gas Board.  

Public Water Supplies:  No public water supply wells are located within 0.5 mile radius of the facility.

Surface Water:  The facility is not located within any of the buffer distances as defined by the Mississippi Nonhazardous Solid Waste Regulations (Regulations) for any listed surface water body.

Surface Water Drainage:  The facility is not located in an area which may result in a recurring washout of wastes.  Surface water drainage is controlled by on-site drainage systems.

Endangered or Threatened Species:  There are no endangered, threatened or proposed species or their designated habitats within the permitted area as confirmed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service correspondence dated June 4, 1999.

Historical and Archaeological Areas:  The Mississippi Department of Archives and History determined that no properties listed in or eligible for listed in the national Register of Historic Places in the area of potential effect through correspondence dated June 3, 1999.

Parks and Recreational Areas:  The facility is not located within 0.5 mile radius of any designated area as established by the Regulations.

Forest, Wilderness Areas, Wildlife Management Areas and Natural Areas:  The facility is not located within any identified area established by the Regulations.  Nor is the facility located within 0.5 mile of any designated area.

Structures:  The facility is not located within 0.5 mile of any licensed school, licensed day care center, licensed hospital or licensed nursing home or within 1000 feet of any church.

Residential Areas:  The facility is not located within one mile of a defined residential area as established by the Regulations.

Property Line Setbacks:  The facility maintains a minimum buffer distance of 500 feet from the property line in all directions.

Aesthetics and Visibility:  The facility is at least 2,000 feet from the edge of the right-of-way of any interstate or primary highway as designated by the Mississippi State Highway Commission.

Transportation Factors:  An expansion of the facility or the service area is not proposed.  Therefore, the traffic along the primary routes is not anticipated to increase.

Noise Factors:  Noise studies were conducted in 1998 to identify noise levels to the nearest single family dwelling unit.  The results indicated that noise levels the normal operation of the facility would not exceed the established limits set by Regulations and allowed for a 750 foot setback distance to the nearest single family dwelling unit.

IX.	OPERATING CONSIDERATIONS

The operating hours are generally 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday, and 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM, Saturday.  The facility is generally closed on Sundays and some holidays.

The waste acceptance rate is 1,200 to 1,700 tons per day of waste.  The upper value is not intended as a limit on the amount of waste which can be accepted.

The facility is authorized to accept asbestos wastes and asbestos containing materials for disposal in accordance with the approved asbestos management plan and the application National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) 40 CFR Part 61.

Nonhazardous liquid wastes may be accepted by the facility.  Prior to disposal within the permitted area, nonhazardous liquid wastes must be solidified in accordance with the solidification plan originally approved on July 21, 1993.

The facility is authorized to re-circulate leachate, generated by the Pecan Grove landfill, back into the permitted disposal area.  Re-circulation is limited to areas with a composite liner system and a method for gas collection and control.  The facility may use waste tire chips as a drainage media for the re-circulation system.

X.	FINAL HEIGHT 

The final maximum height of the permitted disposal area is 85 feet above natural grade or 175 feet mean sea level.  Previously applications have provided a slope stability study for this height and resulted in an acceptable factor of safety.  The facility does not have a history of waste slides in areas attaining the final approved height.  

XI.	COVER SCHEDULE

The active disposal area is covered daily with 6 inches of soils.

XII.	GEOLOGICAL INFORMATION

The landfill is situated in the Citronelle Formation and the underlying Pliocene sediments of the Graham Ferry Formation.  Sediments of the Citronelle Formation consist of varying amounts of sand, silt, clay, gravel and varying combinations thereof.  The sediments of the Graham Ferry Formation generally consist of silts, clays and varying combinations thereof.  Isolated sand lenses may be found at depth in the Graham Ferry Formation.  An erosion based unconformity separates these geologic formations and may not be distinctive in some locations.  The Citronelle Formation has been subdivided into three units for classification: surficial clay, upper sand and middle sand.  The thickness of the surficial clay may vary from 5 to 20 feet.  The thickness of the upper sand is approximately 5 to 50 feet and consists of silty or clayey fine grained sand.  The middle sand consists of fine to coarse grained silty or clayey sand with a thickness ranging from 30 to 40 feet.  The Graham Ferry Formation underlies the Citronelle Formation.  The Graham Ferry consists of silty clay and clay with clayey silt lenses.  The upper silts and clays of the Graham Ferry Formation are not distinugishable from the surficial clays of the Citronelle Formation.  The thickness of the Graham Ferry Formation appears to be greater than 70 feet.  Borings advanced at the site did not fully penetrate this Formation.  Perched groundwater conditions appear to exist in the upper sands of the Citronelle Formation in areas where laterally extensive lenses of clay may be present.  The middle sands of the Citronelle contain unconfined groundwater.  This water bearing unit is discontinuous over the site.  There are two water-bearing units present in the Graham Ferry Formation.  The uppermost zone, referred to as the A Zone may be in hydraulic communication with the upper sands of the Citronelle formation.  The lower B Zone is a confined water bearing unit and represents the point of compliance aquifer at this facility.

Review of the current application by the staff geologist indicated that the required buffer distance of five feet between the uppermost aquifer and the base of the liner will be maintained.  Areas within the permitted disposal area may require liner construction.

XIII.	FACILITY CONTACT INFORMATION

Mr. Paul Bergeron
Waste Management
PO Box 99
Walker, LA 70785

XIV.	OPERATOR CERTIFICATION

Sam Williams
LF-08-04-072
Expires: August 1, 2013

XV.	FINANCIAL ASSURANCE (CLOSURE/POST-CLOSURE CARE)

Waste Management calculated a closure cost for an 86 acre area of $1,669,257.00.  Surety Bond 850420 was issued by Evergreen National Indemnity Company for this amount for the closure of the facility.

Waste Management calculated a post-closure care cost for the facility of $2,047,860.00.  Surety Bond 850421 was issued by Evergreen National Indemnity Company for this amount for the post-closure care of the facility.

XVI.	
GROUNDWATER MONITORING PLAN

There are two water bearing zones to be monitored, the Point of Compliance for groundwater is the lower Graham Ferry, B Zone.  

The monitoring wells located in the upper water bearing A Zone are:

Upgradient wells:		2	MW-28A & MW-30A
Downgradient wells:	3	MW-29A, MW-31A & MW-32A

The monitoring wells located in the point of compliance B Zone aquifer are:

Upgradient wells:		2	MW-07 & MW-25
Downgradient wells:	5	MW-05A, MW-14, MW-23, MW-27, & MW-33A

Direction of groundwater flow is to the southwest.

XVII.	OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

The Pecan Grove Landfill has previously been approved for the following solid waste management activities:
1.	Solidification of non-hazardous liquid wastes.
2.	Stock pile of earthen cover materials within the disposal area.
3.	Leachate recirculation.

Waste Management submitted applications for the modification and re-issuance of the following environmental permits in association with the general operations and regulatory requirements of the facility:
	Air Title V Operating Permit 1020-00048
	NPDES non-contact Stormwater Discharge Permit MSS057843
	State Pretreatment Permit MSP090940