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Pennsylvania State Senate
04/20/2024 11:58 AM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20150&cosponId=16561
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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2015 - 2016 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: January 12, 2015 01:59 PM
From: Senator Thomas J. McGarrigle
To: All Senate members
Subject: Transportation of Residual Waste
 
In the near future, I plan to reintroduce former SB 1481, legislation that would allow the vehicular transportation of leachate discharged from a municipal or private landfill's collection and handling system. Last year, this legislation passed the Senate by a vote of 49-1.

Currently, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) allows new landfills during the first three years in operation, to either treat leachate onsite or truck leachate. Thereafter DEP requires that leachate be treated via an onsite wastewater treatment plant with National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitted stream discharge, or by direct discharge to a Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW).

There are many instances where trucking leachate is necessary or preferred. For example, vehicular transport of leachate may serve as a short term remedy during unanticipated plant upsets such as a pump failure, excessive rainfall, or to reduce existing volumes in storage tanks. Additionally, allowing trucking of leachate provides operational flexibility to avoid costs of oversized treatment plants. Finally, as landfills near the end of active life, trucking of leachate will alleviate excessive capital replacement costs for mature treatment plant systems. These issues face most Pennsylvania landfills, whether municipally or a privately owned, without distinction based on size, geographic location, or daily capacity.

This legislation allows municipal waste landfills to truck leachate, but does not change any of the requirements for treating leachate.

I believe that it is important to provide our municipal and private landfill operators the flexibility to treat leachate in the most cost effective and practical manner.

Please join me in co-sponsoring this important piece of legislation.


Introduced as SB513