Golden Triangle Regional Solid Waste Management Authority

Mississippi’s First Landfill Gas-To-Electricity Project

2 0 1 2Landfill Gas Utilization

Excellence AwardApril 13, 2012

Executive SummaryGolden Triangle Regional Solid Waste Management Authority (Authority) is the only publicly owned and publicly operated regional authority landfill in the State of Mississippi. After self-developing and installing a landfill gas collection system for the generation of carbon credits in 2009, an opportunity arose for the Authority to install Mississippi’s first landfill gas (LFG) to electricity generation facility.

The Authority partnered with the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Generation Partners program to develop a 999 kwh system to supply renewable energy to the TVA grid.

Critical milestones accomplished during this project include:

» Self-development of both the carbon credits and electricity generation projects.

» Authority revenue anticipated to exceed $10 million over the 10 year duration of the TVA contract.

» Reliable “Green Power” provided to TVA for their Green Power Switch program.

» Facility was on-line generating power in less than 12 months from the agreement date.

This project, installed on time and within budget, provides reliable electricity to the local power grid and continues the Authority’s commitment to the community, not only with keeping solid waste disposal costs low, but also by giving back through conservation efforts for minimizing use of the Authority’s limited resources and reduction of greenhouse gases.

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HISTORY AND BACKGROUNDThe Authority located near Starkville, Mississippi, is a political subdivision of the State of Mississippi created pursuant to § 17-17-311, Mississippi Code of 1972 as amended. The Authority is composed of the following units of local government:

» City of Ackerman – Choctaw County » City of Columbus – Lowndes County » City of Eupora – Webster County » City of Macon – Noxubee County » City of Starkville – Oktibbeha County » City of West Point – Clay County

The population, represented by these units of local government, exceeds 155,000 and represents over five percent of the total population of the State of Mississippi. The Authority is governed by a Board of Commissioners each of whom is appointed by their respective local government entity. The Board of Commissioners is currently comprised of thirty 33 members.

The Authority owns and operates a Subtitle D landfill facility for the disposal of non-hazardous commercial, industrial and residential solid waste generated within the region. It is the only publicly owned and publicly operated regional Authority landfill in the state. The facility, opened October 1, 1996, has been very successful and is a tremendous benefit to the region. Currently, the facility has disposed of approximately 2.1 million tons of solid waste. The life expectancy of the facility, as currently permitted, is through the end of 2115. Local government control has ensured that the tipping fee has and will remain reasonable and equable to all parties.

The landfill is situated on 667 acres on the Oktibbeha-Clay County line northeast of Starkville. The landfill gas collection system covers approximately 12 acres of 30 to 100 feet deep garbage covered by 3 feet of compacted earth overburden. As the garbage decomposes, it generates landfill gas, mostly methane and carbon dioxide.

1. Design and ConstructionFull Landfill Campus Diagram

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Electricity Generation Facility

Equipment Delivery

In 2009, the Authority voluntarily (pre-NSPS) installed a landfill gas collection and control system at the landfill. The system includes 12 vertical landfill gas extraction wells and a blower/flare skid with a candlestick flare. The system was installed to reduce landfill gas emissions into the atmosphere, and thereby yield positive environmental attributes through the reduction of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. The very sophisticated system continually measures and records the amount and concentration of landfill gas destroyed providing evidence of the environmental attributes enhanced.

BENEFICIAL GAS USEAGEFor several years, the Authority staff researched landfill gas to energy projects. The landfill is located somewhat remotely, and there are no end users in the vicinity that can utilize even our small volume of landfill gas. The possibility of several end users did not solve the volume issue either. The generation of electricity had been considered several times, but the installation costs and revenue projections did not make such a project economically feasible.

In March 2010, we learned of the TVA Generation Partners Pilot Program. This program promised to pay a premium for the green power generated from several sources including biomass. Now, the

generation of electricity was financially viable. An extensive research effort was launched to review everything that could be studied about generating electricity from landfill gas. In May 2010, the information was presented to the Board of Commissioners for consideration and was approved.

Following the board approval in May 2010, the staff immediately began the actions necessary to design, construct and operate a landfill gas to electricity generation facility. A project team was organized that included several engineering firms, attorneys, contractors, equipment vendors and suppliers. The project was submitted as a participant in the TVA Generation Partners Pilot Program. Project acceptance and contract execution was granted on October 12, 2010. The program guidelines required the project to be operational and producing electricity no later than October 12, 2011.

With limited time and the desire to maintain control over the equipment that would be utilized in the construction of the facility, the Authority chose to provide most of the major pieces of equipment for the project. Procurement documents and specifications had to be developed, bids accepted in accordance with State of Mississippi law for public entities, allowing adequate time for manufacturing and delivery of the equipment.

PERMITTING, DESIGN, AND PURCHASINGA tremendous amount of effort was expended to complete all the necessary tasks in the allotted time frame. The staff of the Authority shouldered the burden in addition to their normal work activities to ensure the project was successful. These actions included, but were not limited to, contracting with design engineers, legal actions including the Public Service Commission and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issues, contracts with TVA and 4 County Electric Power Association, gas testing, permit modifications, site work and road construction, equipment specifications and bidding, preparation of construction contract documents, bidding of construction project, hiring of operations personnel and, of course, actually constructing the facility.

To shorten the construction time, ensure a proper foundation, and provide a cost savings to the Authority for the project, the access road and construction pad for the facility were constructed by Authority personnel utilizing their own equipment. The soil at our facility is excellent for landfills, but its clay composition makes it less desirable for a structural foundation. To solve that issue, the clay was removed and backfilled with another on-site material with less expansiveness. The site work necessary for the carbon credit and electricity generation facility included undercut, backfill and construction of approximately 2000 linear feet of access road, construction of a major ditch crossing, and undercut, backfill

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Construction of the Electricity Generation Facility

and construction of approximately two and one half acres of structural fill. All total, approximately 50,000 cubic yards of soil were moved to complete this effort. All the site work was completed, per the facility’s comprehensive construction and quality control plans, to final engineered grades.

Armed with the knowledge that it would require about eight months to receive a generator unit (genset) after award of a contract, bids for the generating unit were received on October 15, 2010, just three days after acceptance into Generation Partners. On October 19th, the Executive Committee awarded the bid to Geneva Corp, LLC for GE Energy’s Jenbacher JGC 320 containerized genset as the lowest and best bid. In December, 2010 and January, 2011 we bid and rejected all bids as nonresponsive. We then declared the purchase of the conditioning equipment to emergency status in order to negotiate the purchase with a manufacturer. On January 7, 2011 the Executive Committee awarded the conditioning equipment purchase to Shaw/LFG Specialties.

Between mid-October 2010 and late February 2011, the design team expended tremendous effort to complete the project design and technical documents required for the construction phase of the project.

CONSTRUCTIONOn April 7, 2011, the Authority’s Executive Committee awarded the construction portion of the project to SCS Field Services.

A pre-construction conference was held and on May 16th and SCS began moving onto the project site. On June 30th, the Jenbacher unit arrived on site. The gas treatment skid arrived the week of July 22nd, and, finally, the metal clad switch gear arrived on August 5th. That was the last piece of owner furnished equipment.

For the next several weeks, the contractor’s field personnel worked diligently toward project completion. Commissioning of the generator occurred on September 22nd. After some additional tweaking, the unit was restarted and operated over the weekend of September 23rd – 25th and additional work and adjustments completed. On September 30, 2011 we officially became Mississippi’s first landfill gas to electricity generation facility continually operating and placing power onto the grid, twelve days before our contractual deadline!

The Authority is a public entity and political subdivision of the State of Mississippi. We are the only regional Authority Subtitle D landfill in the state that is today, and as has always been the case, both publicly owned and publicly operated. Further, both the landfill gas carbon credits project and the electricity generation facility have been self-developed by our staff and engineers. The services of a “project developer” have not been utilized. Being Mississippi’s first landfill gas to electricity generating facility, we continue our tradition of leading the way in solid waste management in Mississippi.

Access Road

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2. Environmental ControlsDuring the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the Authority was in its embryo stages, one of the main driving factors was compliance with the impending Subtitle D federal regulations. The reasoning behind those regulations was the protection of environmental resources, specifically ground and surface water and the air. The regulations which were implemented in the early 1990s made it virtually impossible for a single small entity to own and operate its own small landfill. These factors led this six county region to develop the Authority and it’s landfill.

GROUNDWATER MONITORINGThe regional landfill currently employs a system of six (and will expand to eight) groundwater monitoring wells to monitor the status of the uppermost aquifer underneath the landfill facility. That aquifer, the Eutaw-McShann, is approximately 300’ beneath the natural ground surface at the landfill facility. The soils at the landfill facility consist of weathered and unweathered Selma Chalk. The chalk generally is classified as a CH or CL material and is considered expansive when exposed to moisture. The top 12 inches or so is weathered chalk mixed with organic materials and resembles fairly plastic topsoil. Beneath that for some 3 to 18 feet is more weathered chalk without organics. This material makes excellent landfill liner and capping materials due to its extremely low permeability. Between the bottom of that material and the unweathered chalk is an approximately 3’ thick layer of material we have named flaky dirt. Flaky dirt does just that, it flakes up and falls to pieces and appears to be nature’s transition between the two soils. The Selma Chalk continues from the bottom of the flaky dirt to the sands holding the Eutaw-McShann aquifer. The chalk, like the overburden soil, has a very low permeability. Experts tell us that the soils are all the same. They are sediments created from dead sea-creatures thousands of years ago when this area was underwater. The only difference is some of it has been exposed to the elements (rain, sun, wind) for thousands of years and has “weathered”.

The presence of this soil and its characteristics of extremely low permeability was the justification used by the design engineers to eliminate the need for a 60 mil HDPE liner in the bottom of the landfill cells. Engineers have proven that six inches of Selma Chalk provides protection for the groundwater equivalent to or in excess of the HDPE material. Even after excavating approximately 50 feet below natural ground surface, the remaining 250 feet of chalk provides an excellent foundation for the landfill and extreme protection for the groundwater.

The groundwater monitoring wells are tested per the Subtitle D requirements utilizing a micro purge procedure twice a year. The micro purge procedure was selected, and subsequently approved by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ),

because the recharge rate of the Eutaw-McShann is extremely slow and to comply with the regulatory requirement to complete sampling all the wells within a twenty-four hour period would be virtually impossible. The initial samples at the facility were taken prior to any disposal of solid waste on the property and subsequent sampling has shown no statistically significant increases in contaminate levels.

LANDFILL GAS MONITORINGSimilar to the groundwater monitoring wells, but much shallower, the landfill site is also ringed with landfill gas migration wells. The system, consisting of nine wells, is utilized to ensure landfill gas is not migrating off the landfill property, or technically, not past the point of compliance. These wells were drilled to the clay/chalk interface, to the top of the flaky dirt seam discussed above. Due to the consistency of the on-site soils, this is the most likely path for any landfill gas escaping from the landfill to travel. This is also an approved variance from the federal requirements that gas wells extend below the bottom of the waste. Again, this variance secured approval due to the unique soil characteristics found at this site. If water cannot travel through the soil due to the permeability, it is very unlikely for gas to travel through it.

These wells and all on-site structures are monitored quarterly for the presence of methane, the main component in landfill gas, as required by federal regulation. To this date, methane has never been detected in any well or on-site structure at the GTR landfill.

LEACHATE MONITORINGDue to the highly impervious soils found at the GTR landfill facility, it is imperative that a highly effective leachate monitoring and extraction system be utilized. Each of the landfill cells is equipped with an automatic pumping system that provides continuous measurement of the leachate level found in the sump. These systems are each unique in their settings and automatically turn on and off and pump out the leachate ensuring that the levels remain below the 30 cm on the liner federal requirement. The systems are checked daily and the leachate levels recorded by hand by the Environmental Technician.

Outfall of Sedimentation Pond Number 3

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Yearly leachate generation rates vary significantly depending on many factors including the amount of rainfall, the life cycle of the cells, the rate of waste acceptance and the effectiveness of operator controls. Early in the life of a cell, any rainfall that lands on the drainage layer will become leachate. This makes operator control extremely important because the faster the bottom of the cell is covered, and the more rainfall that can be diverted away from the working face, the less leachate there is to collect and dispose. Likewise, after some months or years of operation, only the rainfall that actually comes in contact with the garbage is leachate and therefore results in a greatly reduced volume. By example, a total of 2,110,000 gallons of leachate was removed from the site for disposal in 2011.

The leachate at the GTR landfill is pumped from the collection systems into a tank farm and from there it is trucked in loads of 5000 gallons each to a Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) for disposal. In holding with our self-sufficient attitude, the GTR Authority owns the equipment and conducts the hauling operation in-house.

The condensate collected from the landfill gas collection system, both the piping system sumps, watered in wells and the drying system is pumped through its own dedicated piping system to the leachate collection system. It is then mixed with and becomes part of the leachate removed from the site and treated at the POTW.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION MATERIALSThe native on-site clay material discussed above is utilized to construct the landfill liner at the facility. Once a cell is excavated, the clay material is returned to the cell in eight inch loose lifts. These lifts are then compacted to approximately six inches thick and density testing is performed. After adequate lifts are placed and worked to ensure a minimum thickness of 2.1 feet, the testing laboratory pushes sample “tubes” and conducts permeability testing on the soil extracted by the tube. To ensure protection of the environment and liner integrity, the holes are backfilled with bentonite pellets, watered and compacted. The procedure is simple enough, but constant inspection by a third party inspector is performed while liner construction is ongoing. This procedure was developed years ago with the assistance of design engineers, testing laboratory technicians and contractors through the construction of and subsequent testing by the double ring piezometric method of a representative test pad. This test pad was constructed on site utilizing the same on-site materials and the testing resulted in a moisture-density-compaction-permeability relationship still in use today. These extensive efforts ensure a high quality landfill liner for protection of the groundwater.

On top of the clay liner is placed a layer of 12 ounce nonwoven geotextile material that is then covered with an eighteen inch thick layer of granular material to provide a drainage layer for the landfill leachate. The drainage layer is constructed of number 57 river gravel from local sources. This material has been tested numerous times to ensure adequate drainage ability and also to ensure the leachate does not compromise the material. The drainage layer is complete with pipes in which the leachate will seep and then travel down to the collection sump and removal via the leachate pumps. This drainage layer and underlying liner results in a system to contain and remove the leachate before it can create any problems for the environment.

The landfill gas collection and control system, installed prior to being required by any regulation or mandate, results in a significant reduction of air emissions at the landfill. The system covers approximately twelve acres of the facility and annually captures and destroys over 30,000 metric tonnes of Carbon Dioxide equivalent when computed in accordance with the CAR standards, Protocol 3.0. That is the equivalent of the carbon sequestered by over 9,000 acres of pine or fir forest, annual greenhouse gas emission reductions from 8,100 passenger vehicles, or carbon dioxide emissions from about 104,000 barrels of oil, or from approximately 5,000,000 gallons of gasoline consumed, or the burning of 221 railcars of coal. The electricity generation facility provides enough energy to power 600 homes in the area.

The high level of environmental controls, the landfill gas collection and control system and the electricity generation facility have been accomplished while maintaining a very competitive disposal rate for the facility users. When the facility opened in 1996, the gate rate was established at $21 per ton. After one year of operation and with solid cost expense numbers in hand, the gate rate was raised to $24 per ton. Since then, there has not been an increase in the gate rate. In fact, in 1999, we closed our last transfer station and immediately lowered the gate rate to $23.50. It has remained there since. All users of the facility, except those very few with special rates due to state statute or special circumstances pay the same tipping fee. This ensures fairness to all of the customers.

The environmental controls employed at the Golden Triangle Regional Solid Waste Landfill and the extreme nature of the materials and methods utilized in the construction of the facility ensure an excellent landfill facility that creates very little if any impact on human health or environmental quality. Proper operation and management of the facility by trained and competent personnel is employed to achieve the ultimate goal of providing the most cost effective and environmental friendly non-hazardous solid waste disposal available to the citizens, businesses and industries of the six county Golden Triangle Region.

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3. Regulatory ComplianceIn January 1992, the MDEQ issued its first guidelines for preparation of a Solid Waste Management Plan. Continuing the tradition of leadership in the solid waste field, the Authority had been preparing for this date since its incorporation a short six months earlier. Understanding this day was inevitable and all geographic areas of the state would be required to have an approved solid waste management plan, the Authority had secured the services of, among others, Neel-Schaffer Engineers and David M. Griffin and Associates, conducted numerous studies and prepared a regional solid waste management plan encompassing the six county regional area. This region of approximately 3,000 square miles is home to approximately 155,000 people. The Authority’s Solid Waste Management Plan, the first official plan submitted in the state, was submitted on the same day MDEQ issued their guidelines.

The first version of the regional solid waste management plan stated that one regional landfill site would be selected to serve the entire region. During the process of approving the plan, MDEQ required the specific site to be named in the document. Engineering evaluations for siting of the facility had already begun, and after securing an option to purchase suitable property, the plan submission was modified to include the “preferred” site for the regional landfill.

The regional plan was approved by the Commission on Environmental Quality on August 26, 1993. Some 15 months later, the permit for the Regional Landfill was issued on November 22, 1994. The Golden Triangle Regional Landfill is THE permitted Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle D landfill for all nonhazardous municipal solid waste generated in the six county region.

The Golden Triangle Regional Landfill operates under four separate permits issued by the Mississippi Commission of Environmental Quality (MCEQ) as follows:

» Solid Waste Management – Permit No. SW0130010432 » Water Pollution Control (NPDES) – Permit No. MSS049735 » Water Pollution Control (Leachate) – Permit No. MSP091136 » Air Pollution Control Title V – Permit No. 2060-00046

The staff and engineers knew from the initial conception of both the carbon credits and the electricity generation projects that permit modifications to at least two of the permits would be required. The MDEQ had never permitted a landfill gas carbon credit or electricity generation project prior to those by the Golden Triangle. Likewise, GTR was the first LFG electricity generation project in Mississippi to seek and secure approval by the Mississippi Public Service Commission (MPC).

To ensure facilities are in compliance with their permit requirements, the MDEQ personnel conducts surprise inspections on a routine basis of all landfills in the state. Generally speaking, the Golden Triangle Regional Landfill is inspected every two to three months by Ms. Nancy Moore of the North Region office. Ms. Moore conducts a thorough inspection of the facility including its grounds, access roads, site screening and records.

Likewise, MDEQ personnel from the Jackson office conduct annual multimedia inspections. Mr. Jason Bridges, P.E. of the Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Branch, has conducted these inspections for the last few years. All of these inspection reports show, as stated in Mr. Bridges’ cover letter, “…no problems were noted at the facility.”

The Golden Triangle Regional Solid Waste Management Authority Landfill Electricity Generation project was the recipient of the prestigious Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) Project of the Year award for 2011. EPA performed a thorough review of the facility compliance status during review of the applications and prior to selection of the recipients.

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4. Planning, Operations & Financial ManagementThe mission statement of the Authority is very simple. It is “To provide the most cost effective and environmentally friendly non-hazardous solid waste disposal available to the citizens, businesses and industries of the six county Golden Triangle Region.” However, to accomplish that, there are a variety of actions that must occur. These range from the most basic of weighing the trucks both in and out and recording all the pertinent data and working face operations, to the much more complex of future construction schedules, permit renewal and soliciting for and constructing new facilities including cells, access roads, sedimentation ponds, monitoring wells and other necessary environmental structures.

Daily operations of fuel and oil supplies necessary for the heavy equipment, coordinating testing, hauling and disposal of landfill leachate, equipment maintenance and repairs, and managing personnel are enough to keep several people busy. That is however, the easy part of the job. For example, estimating the life of a landfill cell – and getting it at least close enough to correct so the next one will be constructed just in time is always a challenge.

To accomplish these objectives, daily and usually continuous, open communications are required between all site personnel. It is critical that the field supervisors and foreman, the environmental compliance staff (environmental technician and landfill gas technician), generator technician and administration personnel all are working off the same sheet of the music.

Each employee of the Authority has many specific duties they are required to perform, and usually with very little supervision. Each position has a specific job description outlining these duties. All personnel have a copy of their respective job description and annual performance evaluations provide feedback on the performance of their duties.

The Authority has an overall annual budget of approximately $4.6 million. This encompasses everything the Authority does during the year. A portion of the overall budget is cash set aside for future expenses including equipment replacement, gas collection and control system expansion, future construction, closure and post closure expenses. Establishing and properly funding these specific funds ensures the future cost of the facility will not be a burden on the citizens or local governments of the region. Unlike many governmental entities, the Authority has no taxing authority, meaning all of the funding used for operations is generated

through tipping fees charged for the disposal of solid waste and other innovative revenue sources. The sale of carbon credits and electricity are two examples of these innovative revenue sources.

The overall cost of the landfill gas collection and control system, flare and generator facility was approximately $3 million. The opportunity to complete the projects and generate increased revenue for the Authority crashed the implementation schedule by several years. Some of the necessary funds to complete the projects had been collected, but to secure adequate funding for what is a large scale specialized project to us; we secured loans through local banking establishments. Keeping these loans local also assists our local economy by generating “turn over” revenue for the local area.

During the course of planning for and constructing the electricity generation facility, the staff spent numerous hours searching for and seeking any available funding grants. An EPA grant was sought

for up to $500,000 for a Community Showcase to be a pattern for other communities to copy in their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We believe our generator project was very well qualified but we were unsuccessful in that endeavor.

However, our efforts were rewarded when we were selected to receive a $310,000 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant through the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) to be utilized toward a renewable energy project. This grant assisted in the purchase of some of the equipment utilized at the electricity generation facility.

Financially, the projects have resulted in the generation of approximately twenty five construction jobs and one permanent job. The preliminary estimates show the project will inject $1 million of incremental revenue into the local economy annually. As a result, the Authority will not have to succumb to the pressure of raising its disposal fee, saving local citizens, businesses and industries money and financially empowering the community.

The payback period on the capital investment is estimated to be less than four years. The Authority expects to retire the $3 million in loans used to build the facility by 2015.

This facility empowers the six-county community by helping businesses remain competitive, and having a direct impact upon the costs borne by businesses, industries, and citizens of the six-county region of 155,000 citizens.

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The Authority owns 667 acres of land at the regional landfill facility. Currently, the facility has 284 acres permitted for disposal of trash. The remaining 383 acres contain access roads, facilities (office, maintenance shop, scale house, storage buildings, fueling facilities, etc.), sedimentation ponds, buffers and areas not designated for development. The facility has opened its fifth 10 acre cell for disposal of waste and has 21 more cells in the overall plan to be constructed as needed. With a life expectancy at current disposal rates until sometime early in the 22nd century, it is obvious that long range planning is typical within the Authority’s board and management staff.

Phase I of the landfill gas collection and control system was installation of the well field and flare as a carbon reduction credit project (developed to comply with CAR Landfill Protocol 2.0 and later updated to 3.0). During the design of the piping system, the staff directed the design engineer to install two additional 24” HDPE tees in the main header just prior to the flare station and cap off the extra legs. These tees were included for future use; one for the attachment of the east side of the overall collection system piping and the other for the redirection of the landfill gas to a potential future beneficial use project.

When modifying the Solid Waste and Title V permits for inclusion of the generation facility, the staff directed the design engineer to compute the air emissions utilizing the largest number and worst emissions Genset units in our size range available and still have the facility remain within the applicable regulatory limits. Those calculations resulted in our facility being permitted to install and operate up to four Gensets. Currently, our gas generation will only operate one 999kWh unit, the level of generation we are restricted to by our Generation Partners contract.

When developing the electric generation facility site, future expansion was considered from the outset. The site selected for the generation facility is an area that was not designated for landfill development. The regulatory requirement in Mississippi restricts landfill cell development within 1500 feet of a residence unless considerable sound attenuation testing is performed. During the permitting of Phase II of the facility, the generator

site was found to be within the regulatory range and therefore, the cells were redesigned to eliminate this issue. The three acre site inside the buffer was undeveloped, providing an excellent location for the generation facility.

For security and safety reasons, a chain link fence surrounds the generation operations and maintenance building, landfill gas treatment skid, generator, and other structures. The fence encloses approximately one and a half acres. There is adequate space within the fenced area to add at least one additional Genset container. About half of the site is fenced, and expansion of the fenced area would allow for the placement of at least six Gensets, and still have adequate space around and between them for maintenance access, including access by service trucks and cranes if needed. The overall facility conceptual layout can be seen on Page 13 in the GTR Landfill Project System Diagram.

Security Fencing

Landfill Gas Flare

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Once gas generation and recovery is adequate and if a satisfactory contract can be reached, additional Gensets will be installed. In fact, the gas treatment skid was designed with expansion in mind. It was sized to be able to provide 800 scfm of treated landfill gas at 5.5 psig – enough to operate at least two Gensets.

Employee health and safety is of the utmost importance to the board and management of the Authority. All accidents are taken very seriously and appropriate medical attention provided as needed. The Authority has not suffered a lost time accident in over seven years, a remarkable feat in a very dangerous environment. Much of the reason for the excellent accident record is that safety is an attitude of all the Authority’s employees.

To reinforce the safety attitude, staff personnel conduct weekly “toolbox” safety training for all field personnel. Monthly, the Authority’s safety consultant visits the site and conducts a safety inspection and a more formal safety instruction meeting. Any item found to be deficient during the safety inspection is immediately corrected or removed from service until corrections can be made.

The Authority provides all necessary personal protection equipment for the employees. This includes gloves, steel toed boots, rubber boots, tyvek coveralls, dust and fume mask, and safety glasses/shields. All personnel are empowered to select the appropriate equipment, and they are expected to properly utilize it. Additional safety items are provided for specific jobs such as a Hydrogen Sulfide detection badge for the landfill gas technician and hearing protection for the generator technician.

Each piece of equipment is equipped with fire extinguishers and all personnel have been properly trained in their operation. Fires are serious business in the landfill world and all employees are expected to drop everything and immediately report to a fire’s location and assist in extinguishing it. Fires are taken so seriously that even the zero turn lawn mower has a fire extinguisher mounted on it!

The Authority has three national Solid Waste Association of North American (SWANA) and State of Mississippi certified municipal solid waste landfill managers/operators on the staff. These persons are trained at the highest level in landfill operations. We have also found a very simple procedure for completing the RCRA required waste screening and training of our site personnel. The working face equipment operators are required to perform between two and five random load inspections daily. Based on our volume of waste acceptance, this ensures the facility remains within the regulatory requirements. To provide regular training for our personnel in the proper procedures for conducting waste screening, the Authority purchases the necessary materials provided by SWANA approximately every two years, and conducts training for every employee, new and old. Every employee participates including the scale operators, laborers and secretaries. The information is submitted to SWANA and each person receives an individual certificate of training. Our experience indicates this process works well and ensures regulatory compliance.

Cover Soil Loading

Valued Employees

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There are numerous items utilized in any landfill gas collection and control system to include piping, wells, wellheads, and related components. Besides these typical items there are in GTR’s system, three main components utilized to collect, condition and destroy the landfill gas. They are the blower/flare skid, landfill gas conditioning skid and the Genset.

Shaw/LFG Specialties in Findlay, Ohio manufactured the blower/flare skid. When the landfill gas collection and control system was designed, it was done so for the entire landfill facility. Taking that approach, we designed a system that could be expanded in the future as needed while the landfill grew. This should eliminate the need to remove and replace or rearrange/revise the system, as well as provide cost savings over the life of the facility. During this process, the blower flare skid was designed large enough to destroy the maximum amount of landfill gas that would be produced by the facility. Currently it is considerably oversized. The unit, per CAR protocol 3.0 has a gas destruction efficiency of 96%. This unit has two blower fans that create a vacuum on the well field when the skid is in use and draws the gas from the landfill. It is then burned to destroy it.

The two main equipment components of the electric generation facility are the gas treatment skid and the Genset. The gas treatment skid serves two functions. First, it has two compressor blowers that serve the same function as the fans on the flare skid, and also compress the landfill gas to provide the pressure the Genset needs to function properly. The other purpose of the skid is to remove the moisture from the landfill gas. Landfill gas is typically saturated making it very corrosive and unable to burn in an engine. The components on the skid lower the gas to around 40° F (generally the dew point of landfill gas) utilizing a chilled glycol system causing the moisture to drop out of the gas. Then the gas is reheated by use of a shell and tube heat exchanger utilizing the heat from the raw gas before being burned in the engine. This reheated gas burns in the engine much better than the cold gas. The treatment skid was also purchased from Shaw/

LFG Specialties and was manufactured in the same facility as the flare. The treatment skid has the capacity to treat 800 SCFM of landfill gas. Currently the Genset at maximum output consumes approximately 300–350 SCFM. The skid has the capacity to operate an additional Genset, if gas is available.

The Genset is a Jenbacher J320 and was manufactured by GE/Jenbacher in Austria. It consists of a landfill gas driven engine coupled to a generator, and many computerized control systems. The Jenbacher engine has approximately 1050 horsepower and the combined unit has an electricity output capacity of 1050 kWh. The Genset has a gas destruction efficiency of 93.6% in accordance with CAR protocol 3.0.

There are two employees whose main responsibility is the landfill gas system and electricity generation facility. The Landfill gas technician’s main focus is operation and maintenance of the gas collection system and flare skid. He also works closely with and assists the generator technician when needed. The gas technician regularly checks each landfill gas well and tweaks the system to ensure proper and safe operation of the facility and to ensure adequate volume of gas to the Genset. The flare system has a detailed monitoring plan developed in accordance with CAR standard 3.0 and it is followed closely. The gas technician has been trained on site and at their Findley, Ohio facility by LFG Specialties in the operation of the flare and on site by the design engineer for operation of the collection and control system. He is also a qualified equipment operator, a Class A commercial driver and has received cross training with the Generator Technician in operating the Genset. The gas technician also performs the same duties at the Three Rivers Regional Authority Landfill, approximately 60 miles from the GTR Landfill.

The Generator Technician’s main focus is keeping the Genset maintained and operational. His duties are too numerous to note, but include daily inspection of all the equipment and components, regular oil sampling and all routine and reactionary maintenance. The Genset also has a detailed monitoring plan

5. Utilizaton Of Equipment/Systems & Technologies

Jenbacher J320

LFG Conditioning Skid

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developed in accordance with CAR protocol 3.0 that is closely followed. The technician has been trained on site by Jenbacher and Nixon Power Systems personnel in operation of the Genset, by LFG Specialties on site for operation of the condition skid and has received cross training with the gas technician in operating the landfill gas collection and control system and flare. The generator technician has previously completed diesel mechanics school and completed over twenty years of service with a major equipment dealership. Both of the technicians are on call 24/365 and both systems have the capability of calling both if a problem arises.

Environmentally, the project captures and destroys annually over 30,000 metric tonnes of Carbon Dioxide equivalent when computed in accordance with the CAR standards, Protocol 3.0. That is the equivalent of the carbon sequestered by over

9,000 acres of pine or fir forest, annual greenhouse gas emission reductions from 8,100 passenger vehicles, or carbon dioxide emissions from about 104,000 barrels of oil, or from approximately 5,000,000 gallons of gasoline consumed, or the burning of 221 railcars of coal. Annual energy generated equate to powering 600 homes. The electricity generation phase of the project provides 1 MW of clean reliable power to TVA through the local power grid.

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First impressions are critical in life. They are even more important at a publicly owned and publicly operated landfill. The general public’s stereotype is “it’s a dump”. Transition to the belief that a landfill is an asset to the community is difficult at best.

The first step is to make sure it does not look like a dump. The Authority has spent untold man hours and funds to ensure the facility is aesthetically pleasing to view. The facility has a 250 feet buffer of native cedar, ash and pine trees completely surrounding the site. This buffer is virtually undisturbed except where crossing it is a necessity such as the facility entrance. Many of the trees in the buffer were planted to supplement the native growth. Early in the life of the facility, the buffer along the eastern access road to the facility was too thin to provide adequate screening for the facility. The staff constructed a 1,500 linear feet raised earthen berm along the property line, and set out over 1,000 Wax Ligustrum and Elaeagnus shrubs along the berm and its approaches. These evergreen shrubs quickly filled in the rows and grew to heights exceeding eight feet. Today, they provide not only additional screening, even though the buffer has filled in completely, but a beautiful hedge row along the access road. They also provide excellent nesting and protection for native birds of many kinds and the Elaeagnus fruit is wonderful food for them as well.

The access road to the facility is a major thoroughfare for traffic. Daily, Authority personnel walk the one mile frontage on the road and the additional one quarter mile to the main US Highway and pick up all litter and debris on the road right-of-way. Also, extra care is taken during wet or very dry conditions to ensure tracking of soil and hanging debris is kept off the road. The Authority utilizes a tractor mounted power broom and other equipment, as needed, to sweep the road to remove any mud or excessive dust. Several times, the on-site fire truck has been used to wash the road to ensure the public’s safety while traveling past our facility.

This attitude does not stop at the landfill entrance. The on-site roads are also walked and picked up routinely, although not daily. The roads are routinely graded and almost one third of the Authority’s property is kept bush hogged. Most of the Authority’s employees are conservationists. We care about the environment and nature’s creatures. Anytime land clearing is required for a project, if possible, the trees and shrubs are pushed to the edge and wind rowed. This provides excellent cover and nesting

habitat for many native species found on the site including cotton tail rabbits, bob white quail, turkey and white tail deer. Likewise, while bush hogging the facility, wind rows are left periodically to provide habitat and food stock. Planting grass is a way of life

at a landfill. Anytime we plant grass, consideration is given to the type, and what food it will provide for the wildlife. Several plots on the property are planted yearly to provide suitable food for the wildlife. These plots contain the likes

of sunflowers, corn, wheat, summer and winner grasses and summer and winter peas.

Authority personnel maintain the grounds surrounding the facilities to ensure the “dump” does not look like one.

The Authority provides community education opportunities every chance available. Many of these activities are centered on the youth of the area. One activity held for several years is the annual Earth Day celebration at the Columbus Air Force Base. At this event, there are numerous stations set up for small youth groups to rotate between. The Authority displays it’s landfill model and explains how a landfill works. This always seems to be a big hit with the kids. This model has also been presented at numerous area schools.

Many school groups tour the landfill throughout the year. Approximately 2,500 students, ranging from 3rd, 4th and 5th graders from various city and county schools to university students studying engineering, veterinary medicine and even art have visited the landfill. Several tours have been provided to high school students including science related classes from the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science.

6. Public Acceptance, Appearance & Aesthetics

“The Fraser Institute, in Canada, in July said Mississippi was the number one jurisdiction in the world for energy projects. Not in the United States, in the world, for energy projects, and it’s because we

have embraced all of the above,” says Barbour.– Haley Barbour, Governor

– WCBI News

“We’re not as big as solar or wind; we never will be. But everybody has a landfIll in their town. So it can he a source of energy ... as long as people keep producing

garbage, as I think we’ve seen in the United States, we will have gas,”– Victoria Ludwig, a Program Manager for the EPA’s LMOP

– Waste & Recycling News

Center: Haley Barbour, Governor

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The Authority operates seven collection sites in the region for the disposal of scrap tires by small quantity generators and governmental entities. These facilities recycle about 80,000 tires every year. The tires are hauled to a vendor who shreds them so they can be used for new purposes.

The landfill constructed a convenience center near our scale house so small trucks and automobiles do not have to travel to the working face for disposal of their waste. This facility has been greatly appreciated by the occasional customer to the facility and has provided increased safety for all involved.

Annually, the Authority hosts a Household Hazardous Waste Disposal (HHW) event at the landfill. This event has been highly accepted and has properly disposed of thousands of pounds of hazardous waste of every sort imaginable. The staff and crew are always amazed at some new item that seems to be received every year. The event also provides an opportunity for several hundred of the area residents to see the landfill facility and interact with the staff every year. The guidance given to the grounds crew during the preparation for the HHW every year is the same; there had better not be a single blade of grass out of place when the event starts!

The landfill gas to electric generation project has been warmly welcomed by the public all around the region. Most of the comments we have received have been something to the effect of you’re doing WHAT?? I did not know you could do that!! The “Flip the Switch” ceremony, officially activating the facility was attended by several hundred citizens including university dignitaries, numerous elected public officials and local residences. state agencies, such as the MDEQ and the MDA, have touted the innovation of the project. The EPA recognized the GTR landfill gas to electricity project as one of three projects in the nation that creatively uses LFG “in a range of applications and capacities and overcame barriers and applied innovative technologies to create a new source of renewable energy to benefit local communities” with a 2011 LMOP Project of the Year award.

As the project neared completion, Gov. Haley Barbour toured the facility and said of the project: “Mississippi’s energy policy is simple: Produce more affordable, abundant American energy. This project fits in well with our state’s strategy to have diverse energy resources to support our long-term economic growth.”

The Authority has all of the necessary facilities located at the landfill location. The property was once a working farm and when it was purchased, it came with two houses and three barns located along the frontage road. These facilities were immediately put to use. One small house was converted into an office and the other was and continues to be utilized as a residence. Keeping someone living on the property, as well as the perimeter fencing, has resulted in minimum of problems after the facility closes daily. Two of the barns are used for storage of materials and small equipment used at the landfill. The other barn was eventually torn down and replaced with a nice maintenance facility including restrooms and break room for the crew.

The first new building constructed was a scale house. After all, it is where the central activity of a landfill happens. The last new general building built was a new office building. We operated out of the 960 square foot converted house for 12 years and finally could not squeeze anything else in. A new brick veneer office for the Authority, concrete parking lot and driveways were constructed across the landfill entrance road from the old office and has provided nicely for the operation. With construction of the new electricity generation facility, a maintenance facility was co-located for the generator technician. This facility houses spare parts, a work shop area, electrical control room, rest room and office for the generator technician. The entire generator facility is enclosed within a six feet high chain link fence for safety reasons.

Pleasing aesthetics, caring staff, public ownership and operation, prize winning engineering design, superb environmental controls and regulatory compliance, designed for over 100 years of life, excellent safety record, wonderful wildlife habitat, solid financial foundation, innovative designs and thinking, and a get-her-done attitude: What else could anyone want from their regional solid waste landfill and staff? How’s this: In this blue collar community, the financial returns and environmental benefits from local power generation from landfill gas will be transformative.

Left to Right: Tom Barham (SCS Engineers), John Cunningham (Neel-Schaffer), David Sparks (TVA), Jimmy Sloan (GTRSWMA),

Jennifer Milner (MDEQ) and Darrin Dillah (SCS Engineers)

“Golden Triangle is taking a leading role in showing how municipalities can capture a landfill’s waste gas that would have created more

environmental impact and instead recycle it into valuable fuel for renewable energy. This not only results in a cleaner environment but

also offers clear economic benefits for surrounding communities.”– Roger George, North Am. Reg. Sales Leader

Gas Engines for GE Energy

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There are numerous things that make this facility different from all the others. First, the landfill sits on a geologic formation known as Selma Chalk. The chalk is a dense formation formed by cretaceous sediments when this area was submerged under the ocean. That unique feature has allowed a subtitle D facility to be constructed without the use of a plastic liner. The chalk averages 300 feet deep at the facility.

The Golden Triangle Regional Solid Waste Authority Landfill is one of several regional authority landfills in the State of Mississippi. We are, however, the only one that is now and always has been publicly owned and publicly operated. That gives us a unique view of the facility and control of the cost of operations and therefore the cost of disposal for the region. Usually the facility operates as a well-oiled machine with everyone knowing their job and being expected to perform it with minimum supervision.

One aspect that makes the electricity generation facility unique is, the facility was completely self-developed by the Authority. Some private developers consulted saw our small size as a detriment, while others wanted the gas rights signed over to them. Subsequent to a great deal of deliberation, we determined the best approach was self-development of the projects. We felt that this method would allow us to maintain control of our assets

locally. Phase I of the project was development of the landfill gas collection and control system and the flare for the generation of carbon credits. During that phase, we worked with and assisted the Three Rivers Solid Waste Authority with the development of their similar facility. When considering the electric generation facility, we determined that it was too complicated to work with them on this phase. The Authority has a small staff and developing the facility required everyone to shoulder additional

responsibilities. During the development phase, we utilized local engineers working with the Authority

personnel to design and develop the facility. Another aspect that is unique is the facility layout.

Many facilities we have seen are squeezed in and

7. Innovation & Creativity

Selma Chalk Rich Earth Construction of Generator Facility by Contractor

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access to the equipment is limited if not almost unavailable. This causes many hardships for the maintenance personnel. Careful consideration was given to the location and layout of the facility to ensure adequate and even excessive access was provided.

During the development of Phase I of the project, Authority personnel constructed approximately one quarter mile of access road and the site for the flare skid. The road is a permanent road designed for landfill access in the future and was constructed using proper engineering, techniques and testing. In-house

personnel constructed a major ditch crossing approximately one half mile of access road and the generation facility site/pad during Phase II. Like the phase I work, great attention to detail was given to ensure everything was constructed properly. The Authority personnel completed this work utilizing our on-site equipment and resulted in considerable savings to the Authority. Every employee has contributed and played an important role in the development of the facility and therefore each feels some ownership in the facility.

The facility has been fast tracked as it has evolved. Completion times for the projects were very condensed for a political entity self-developing. Phase I (Carbon Credits) went from initial consideration in the summer of 2008 to completion in December 2009 (~19 months) and Phase II (Power Generation) went from initial consideration in March 2010 to completion in September 2011(~19 months). The complete project went from initial consideration to full operation in approximately 40 months.

As this is the first landfill gas-to-electricity generation facility in the state of Mississippi, it is serving as a prototype for similar projects in other parts of the state.

Site Work Construction by the Authority

Left to Right: Jimmy Sloan (GTRSWMA), Phil Bryant (Lt. Governor), Deborah Bryant and Haley Barbour (Governor)

“The Mississippi Development Authority is proud to have been associated with the Golden Triangle landfill gas-to-electricity project. The professionalism and dedication of the project team, including Golden Triangle Regional Solid Waste Management Authority Executive Director Jimmy Sloan, Neel-Schaffer Engineer John Cunningham, and everyone else involved, contributed to the project ’s success and helped earn the project much-deserved recognition by the Environmental Protection Agency as one of the Landfill Methane Outreach Program Projects of the Year. MDA will apply lessons learned from this project to continue our advocacy of renewable energy projects well into the future.”

– Karen Bishop Energy and Natural Resources Division

Mississippi Development Authority Office: 601-359-2517

kbishop@mississippi.org

Jimmy SloanExecutive Director

9778 Old West Point RoadStarkville, Mississippiphone: 662-324-7566jsloan@gtrswma.com