Project XL Site-Specific Rulemaking for Implementing Waste Treatment Systems at Two Virginia Landfills

Today EPA is promulgating a site-specific rule proposed on December 28, 2001, to implement a project under the EPA's Project eXcellence and Leadership Program (Project XL). The rule provides site- specific regulatory flexibility under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for two Virginia landfills ( referred to collectively as the "Virginia Project XL Landfills"): The Maplewood Recycling and Waste Disposal Facility, located in Amelia County, Virginia (Maplewood Landfill); and the King George County Landfill and Recycling Facility, located in King George County, Virginia (King George Landfill). On September 29, 2000, EPA, USA Waste of Virginia, Inc., and King George Landfills, Inc., signed the Final Project Agreement (FPA) for this project, which would allow for the addition of liquids to these landfills. The addition of liquids to landfills accelerates the biodegradation of landfill waste and is allowed for certain prescribed liner designs under current RCRA municipal solid waste landfill (MSWLF) regulations. The principal objectives of this XL project are two-fold: To demonstrate that the alternative liner designs at the Virginia Project XL Landfills will also safely accelerate the biodegradation of landfill waste and thereby decrease the time it takes for the waste to reach stabilization in the landfill, facilitate the management of leachate and other liquid wastes, and promote recovery of landfill gas; and to assess the effects of applying differing amounts of liquids to landfills. The Virginia Project XL Landfills comprise two of several landfills, located in different geographic and climactic regions across the country, that under Project XL are testing this bioreactor technology over alternative liner designs. In order to carry out this project, the Virginia Project XL Landfills need relief from certain requirements in EPA regulations which set forth design and operating criteria for MSWLFs, requirements which would otherwise preclude the addition