Landfill Methane Control Measure
This page last reviewed April 21, 2016
Background:
The Air Resources Board (ARB) approved a new regulation that
reduces emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas, from municipal solid
waste (MSW) landfills. The regulation, which became effective
June 17, 2010, 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 a
memorandum
of understanding (MOU) with ARB 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 Air Resources Board’s Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) to Implement the Regulation to Reduce Methane
Emissions from Municipal Solid Waste Landfills
- 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.
- Landfill Methane Control Measure Regulatory Activities
- Landfill Gas Tool
- ARB
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]
- ARB
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.