Landfill Activities
This page last reviewed January 23, 2018
Background:

What's New
Try CARB's new interative LMR questionaire below to determine your rule applicability.
The State of California has submitted the 111(d) Final Compliance Plan for Subpart Cf. The new documents are available here.
- April 24, 2017: CA State Plan for U.S. EPA's Emissions Guidelines
- March 23, 2017: Final SLCP Strategy Approved
- January 10, 2017: Public Meeting to Discuss Federal MSW Landfill Compliance
Environmental Justice Advisory Committee (EJAC) Considerations:
U.S. EPA's Updated Rules to Regulate Municipal Solid Waste Landfills:
On March 12, 1996, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) promulgated a regulation requiring emission controls for large municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills (61 Fed. Reg. 9905). The regulation is entitled “Standards of Performance for Stationary Sources and Guidelines for Control of Existing Sources: MSW Landfills.” It includes both New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) that regulate emissions from new landfills and Emission Guidelines that regulate emissions from existing landfills. See the U.S. EPA webpage (http://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/municipal-solid-waste-landfills-new-source-performance-standards) for more information.

The NSPS was implemented by the districts, who have primary authority to regulate stationary sources such as landfills in California. For existing landfills, the regulation required each state to submit a plan to U.S. EPA which identified how the State intended to meet the federal requirements contained in these guidelines. California air districts with affected landfills (in conjunction with CARB) adopted rules to implement the Emission Guidelines. These rules were forwarded to CARB and compiled for inclusion in the State plan. In September 1997, California submitted its State Plan to implement the guidelines.
NSPS
On August 29, 2016, U.S. EPA finalized a new subpart under section
111(b) of the Clean Air Act for new, modified and reconstructed
municipal solid waste landfills under 40 CFR Part 60, Subpart XXX
(81 FR 59332) effective October 28, 2016. These
New Source Performance
Standards apply to landfills that commenced construction,
reconstruction or modification after July 17, 2014. The districts will
implement the new NSPS provisions under their stationary
source authority. The existing NSPS (40 CFR part WWW) for MSWs remains
in effect concurrently with the new NSPS.
Emission Guidelines
In a separate, but related action, U.S. EPA also issued updated
emission guidelines for reducing emissions from existing MSW landfills
under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. The “Emission Guidelines and
Compliance Timelines for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills” (Emission
Guidelines) (81 FR 59275) (40 CFR Part 60, Subpart Cf), is also
effective October 28, 2016. A link to U.S. EPA's NSPS and
Emission
Guidelines, as well as the EPA database of the existing MSW landfills
can be found below:
CARB's Responsibilities in Response to the Updated Emission Guidelines
As before, the Emission Guidelines require each state to submit a compliance plan to U.S. EPA, which was due by May 30, 2017. On May 25, 2017, the California Air Resources Board (CARB or Board) adopted California’s State Plan (see below) to comply with the updated federal Emissions Guidelines and the plan was subsequently sent to U.S. EPA on May 30, 2017.
Federal Reconsideration of Emission Guidelines and 90-day Stay
In response to a petition filed by industry, U.S. EPA announced the convening of a proceeding for reconsideration of the final rule. U.S. EPA indicated as part of the reconsideration it would prepare a notice of proposed rulemaking. Subsequently on May 31, 2017, U.S. EPA published notice of a 90-day stay of the Guidelines until August 29, 2017. The Federal Register notice of U.S. EPA’s 90-day stay of the Emissions Guidelines is available at:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/05/31/2017-10752/stay-of-standards-of-performance-for-municipal-solid-waste-landfills-and-emission-guidelines-andCARB commits to working with U.S. EPA during the stay to ensure the Emission Guidelines remain protective of environmental and public health to the maximum extent feasible.
- Submittal Cover Letter to EPA Region 9 Administrator
- California State Plan for Compliance with U.S. EPA's Emissions Guidelines
- Appendix A - Landfill Methane Regulation
- Appendix B - 1993 and 1997 Attorney General's Certification of Legal Authority
- Appendix C - Municipal Solid Waste Landfills Affected by the Emission Guidelines
- Appendix D - Public Meeting Notices and Other Related Information
- Appendix E - Comparison of the Major Provisions of the EG and LMR
- Appendix F - Emissions Reductions from CA's LMR Beyond EG
- Appendix G - Memoranda of Understanding Between ARB and Districts Regarding Implementation and Enforcement of Regulation to Reduce Methane Emissions from Municipal Solid Waste Landfills
- MOU ARB Antelope Valley AQMD
- MOU ARB Bay Area AQMD
- MOU ARB Eastern Kern County APCD
- MOU ARB Feather River AQMD
- MOU ARB Imperial County APCD
- MOU ARB Lake County AQMD
- MOU ARB Lassen County APCD
- MOU ARB Mendocino AQMD
- MOU ARB Mojave Desert AQMD
- MOU ARB Monterey Bay Air Resources District
- MOU ARB North Coast Unified AQMD
- MOU ARB Northern Sierra AQMD
- MOU ARB Northern Sonoma County APCD
- MOU ARB Placer County APCD
- MOU ARB Sacramento Metro AQMD
- MOU ARB San Diego APCD
- MOU ARB San Joaquin Valley APCD
- MOU ARB Santa Barbara County APCD
- MOU ARB South Coast AQMD
- MOU ARB San Luis Obispo County APCD
- MOU ARB Ventura County APCD
- MOU ARB Tehama County APCD
- MOU ARB Yolo-Solano AQMD
- Appendix H - Relevant Legal Authorities
- Appendix I - Resolution 17-16
- May 25, 2017: Board Hearing
- Public Meeting Notice
- View Comments (comment period closed on May 24, 2017)
- January 10, 2017: Public Meeting to Discuss California’s Strategy for Compliance with New Federal Requirements for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills
Landfill Methane Control Measure:
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved a landfill
regulation which
became effective June 17, 2010 that
reduces emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas, from municipal solid
waste (MSW) landfills. The regulation is a discrete early
action greenhouse gas emission
reduction
measure, as described in the California Global Warming Solutions Act
(“AB 32”). The regulation primarily requires owners and operators of
certain
uncontrolled
MSW landfills to install gas collection and control systems, and
requires existing
and newly installed gas and control systems to operate in an optimal
manner. The regulation allows local air districts to voluntarily enter
into memoranda
of understanding (MOU) with CARB to implement and enforce the
regulation
and to
assess fees to cover costs. This webpage follows the
development, implementation and enforcement of the control measure.
- Status of Districts Signing the California Air Resources Board’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to Implement the Regulation to Reduce Methane Emissions from Municipal Solid Waste Landfills - (Revised April 19, 2017)
- Final Landfill Methane Control Measure
- Implementation
Guidance Document - (Revised
February 21, 2014)
- The landfill implementation guidance document assists owners and operators in complying with the regulation by providing an overview of regulatory requirements and discusses various topics related to implementation and enforcement. This document is subject to periodic revision, as necessary.
-
Determine Your Rule Applicability and Requirements for
Compliance
(PDF & Interactive Questionaire)
- Landfill Methane Control Measure Regulatory Activities
- Landfill Gas Tool
- CARB
staff has developed a Landfill Gas Tool to assist owners and operators
in complying with the landfill regulation. The tool is based
on
the mathematically exact first-order decay model from the 2006 IPCC
guidelines and is designed to estimate the fugitive emissions from a
landfill that does not have a landfill gas collection
system. It
uses the Second Assessment Report (SAR) Global Warming Potential (GWP)
of 21 for methane. It
also includes an estimate of the landfill’s captured gas heating value
(in MMBtu/hr). If you have comments or questions about this
tool
please contact Larry Hunsaker,
Staff Air Pollution Specialist.
Landfill Emissions Tool Version 1.3 [Excel-523 KB]
- CARB
staff has developed a Landfill Gas Tool to assist owners and operators
in complying with the landfill regulation. The tool is based
on
the mathematically exact first-order decay model from the 2006 IPCC
guidelines and is designed to estimate the fugitive emissions from a
landfill that does not have a landfill gas collection
system. It
uses the Second Assessment Report (SAR) Global Warming Potential (GWP)
of 21 for methane. It
also includes an estimate of the landfill’s captured gas heating value
(in MMBtu/hr). If you have comments or questions about this
tool
please contact Larry Hunsaker,
Staff Air Pollution Specialist.