f Emission Guidelines for municipal solid waste landfill emissions.
40 C.F.R. § 60.33f
in effect(a) Landfills. For approval, a state plan must require each owner or operator of an MSW landfill having a design capacity greater than or equal to 2.5 million megagrams by mass and 2.5 million cubic meters by volume to collect and control MSW landfill emissions at each MSW landfill that meets the following conditions:
(1) The landfill has accepted waste at any time since November 8, 1987, or has additional design capacity available for future waste deposition.
(2) The landfill commenced construction, reconstruction, or modification on or before July 17, 2014.
(3) The landfill has an NMOC emission rate greater than or equal to 34 megagrams per year or Tier 4 surface emissions monitoring shows a surface emission concentration of 500 parts per million methane or greater.
(4) The landfill in the closed landfill subcategory and has an NMOC emission rate greater than or equal to 50 megagrams per year or Tier 4 surface emissions monitoring shows a surface emission concentration of 500 parts per million methane or greater.
(b) Collection system. For approval, a state plan must include provisions for the installation of a gas collection and control system meeting the requirements in paragraphs (b)(1) through (3) and (c) of this section at each MSW landfill meeting the conditions in paragraph (a) of this section.
(1) Collection system. Install and start up a collection and control system that captures the gas generated within the landfill within 30 months after:
(i) The first annual report in which the NMOC emission rate equals or exceeds 34 megagrams per year, unless Tier 2 or Tier 3 sampling demonstrates that the NMOC emission rate is less than 34 megagrams per year, as specified in § 60.38f(d)(4); or
(ii) The first annual NMOC emission rate report for a landfill in the closed landfill subcategory in which the NMOC emission rate equals or exceeds 50 megagrams per year, unless Tier 2 or Tier 3 sampling demonstrates that the NMOC emission rate is less than 50 megagrams per year, as specified in § 60.38f(d)(4); or
(iii) The most recent NMOC emission rate report in which the NMOC emission rate equals or exceeds 34 megagrams per year based on Tier 2, if the Tier 4 surface emissions monitoring shows a surface methane emission concentration of 500 parts per million methane or greater as specified in § 60.38f(d)(4)(iii).
(2) Active. An active collection system must:
(i) Be designed to handle the maximum expected gas flow rate from the entire area of the landfill that warrants control over the intended use period of the gas control system equipment.
(ii) Collect gas from each area, cell, or group of cells in the landfill in which the initial solid waste has been placed for a period of 5 years or more if active; or 2 years or more if closed or at final grade.
(iii) Collect gas at a sufficient extraction rate.
(iv) Be designed to minimize off-site migration of subsurface gas.
(3) Passive. A passive collection system must:
(i) Comply with the provisions specified in paragraphs (b)(2)(i), (ii), and (iv) of this section.
(ii) Be installed with liners on the bottom and all sides in all areas in which gas is to be collected. The liners must be installed as required under § 258.40 of this chapter.
(c) Control system. For approval, a state plan must include provisions for the control of the gas collected from within the landfill through the use of control devices meeting the following requirements, except as provided in § 60.24.
(1) A non-enclosed flare designed and operated in accordance with the parameters established in § 60.18 except as noted in § 60.37f(d); or
(2) A control system designed and operated to reduce NMOC by 98 weight percent; or when an enclosed combustion device is used for control, to either reduce NMOC by 98 weight percent or reduce the outlet NMOC concentration to less than 20 parts per million by volume, dry basis as hexane at 3 percent oxygen or less. The reduction efficiency or concentration in parts per million by volume must be established by an initial performance test to be completed no later than 180 days after the initial startup of the approved control system using the test methods specified in § 60.35f(d). The performance test is not required for boilers and process heaters with design heat input capacities equal to or greater than 44 megawatts that burn landfill gas for compliance with this subpart.
(i) If a boiler or process heater is used as the control device, the landfill gas stream must be introduced into the flame zone.
(ii) The control device must be operated within the parameter ranges established during the initial or most recent performance test. The operating parameters to be monitored are specified in § 60.37f.
(iii) For the closed landfill subcategory, the initial or most recent performance test conducted to comply with subpart WWW of this part; 40 CFR part 62, subpart GGG; or a state plan implementing subpart Cc of this part on or before July 17, 2014 is sufficient for compliance with this subpart.
(3) Route the collected gas to a treatment system that processes the collected gas for subsequent sale or beneficial use such as fuel for combustion, production of vehicle fuel, production of high-Btu gas for pipeline injection, or use as a raw material in a chemical manufacturing process. Venting of treated landfill gas to the ambient air is not allowed. If the treated landfill gas cannot be routed for subsequent sale or beneficial use, then the treated landfill gas must be controlled according to either paragraph (c)(1) or (2) of this section.
(4) All emissions from any atmospheric vent from the gas treatment system are subject to the requirements of paragraph (b) or (c) of this section. For purposes of this subpart, atmospheric vents located on the condensate storage tank are not part of the treatment system and are exempt from the requirements of paragraph (b) or (c) of this section.
(d) Design capacity. For approval, a state plan must require each owner or operator of an MSW landfill having a design capacity less than 2.5 million megagrams by mass or 2.5 million cubic meters by volume to submit an initial design capacity report to the Administrator as provided in § 60.38f(a). The landfill may calculate design capacity in either megagrams or cubic meters for comparison with the exemption values. Any density conversions must be documented and submitted with the report. Submittal of the initial design capacity report fulfills the requirements of this subpart except as provided in paragraphs (d)(1) and (2) of this section.
(1) The owner or operator must submit an amended design capacity report as provided in § 60.38f(b).
(2) When an increase in the maximum design capacity of a landfill with an initial design capacity less than 2.5 million megagrams or 2.5 million cubic meters results in a revised maximum design capacity equal to or greater than 2.5 million megagrams and 2.5 million cubic meters, the owner or operator must comply with paragraph (e) of this section.
(e) Emissions. For approval, a state plan must require each owner or operator of an MSW landfill having a design capacity equal to or greater than 2.5 million megagrams and 2.5 million cubic meters to either install a collection and control system as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section or calculate an initial NMOC emission rate for the landfill using the procedures specified in § 60.35f(a). The NMOC emission rate must be recalculated annually, except as provided in § 60.38f(c)(3).
(1) If the calculated NMOC emission rate is less than 34 megagrams per year, the owner or operator must:
(i) Submit an annual NMOC emission rate report according to § 60.38f(c), except as provided in § 60.38f(c)(3); and
(ii) Recalculate the NMOC emission rate annually using the procedures specified in § 60.35f(a) until such time as the calculated NMOC emission rate is equal to or greater than 34 megagrams per year, or the landfill is closed.
(A) If the calculated NMOC emission rate, upon initial calculation or annual recalculation required in paragraph (e)(1)(ii) of this section, is equal to or greater than 34 megagrams per year, the owner or operator must either: Comply with paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section; calculate NMOC emissions using the next higher tier in § 60.35f; or conduct a surface emission monitoring demonstration using the procedures specified in § 60.35f(a)(6).
(B) If the landfill is permanently closed, a closure report must be submitted to the Administrator as provided in § 60.38f(f), except for exemption allowed under § 60.31f(e)(4).
(C) For the closed landfill subcategory, if the most recently calculated NMOC emission rate is equal to or greater than 50 megagrams per year, the owner or operator must either: Submit a gas collection and control system design plan as specified in § 60.38f(d), except for exemptions allowed under § 60.31f(e)(3), and install a collection and control system as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section; calculate NMOC emissions using the next higher tier in § 60.35f; or conduct a surface emission monitoring demonstration using the procedures specified in § 60.35f(a)(6).
(2) If the calculated NMOC emission rate is equal to or greater than 34 megagrams per year using Tier 1, 2, or 3 procedures, the owner or operator must either: submit a collection and control system design plan prepared by a professional engineer to the Administrator within 1 year as specified in § 60.38f(d), except for exemptions allowed under § 60.31f(e)(3); calculate NMOC emissions using a higher tier in § 60.35f; or conduct a surface emission monitoring demonstration using the procedures specified in § 60.35f(a)(6).
(3) For the closed landfill subcategory, if the calculated NMOC emission rate is equal to or greater than 50 megagrams per year using Tier 1, 2, or 3 procedures, the owner or operator must either: Submit a collection and control system design plan as specified in § 60.38f(d), except for exemptions allowed under § 60.31f(e)(3); calculate NMOC emissions using a higher tier in § 60.35f; or conduct a surface emission monitoring demonstration using the procedures specified in § 60.35f(a)(6).
(f) Removal criteria. The collection and control system may be capped, removed, or decommissioned if the following criteria are met:
(1) The landfill is a closed landfill (as defined in § 60.41f). A closure report must be submitted to the Administrator as provided in § 60.38f(f).
(2) The collection and control system has been in operation a minimum of 15 years or the landfill owner or operator demonstrates that the GCCS will be unable to operate for 15 years due to declining gas flow.
(3) Following the procedures specified in § 60.35f(b), the calculated NMOC emission rate at the landfill is less than 34 megagrams per year on three successive test dates. The test dates must be no less than 90 days apart, and no more than 180 days apart.
(4) For the closed landfill subcategory (as defined in § 60.41), following the procedures specified in § 60.35f(b), the calculated NMOC emission rate at the landfill is less than 50 megagrams per year on three successive test dates. The test dates must be no less than 90 days apart, and no more than 180 days apart.
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Source: eCFR APIURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-40.xml?part=60Fetched: 5/31/2026