US EPA Announces New Landfill Emissions Rules

On July 15, 2016 the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new final rule limiting greenhouse gas and other emissions from newly constructed municipal solid waste landfills, together with emissions guidelines for existing landfills. EPA estimates that the new standards, will cover over 1,100 new and existing facilities at a combined compliance cost of approximately $60 million by 2025.

The new standards apply to landfills that have design capacities of 2.5 million metric tons and 2.5 million cubic meters or more of waste, the same applicability threshold as the current rules promulgated in 1996. The limitations for new facilities, under Section 111(b) of the Clean Air Act (New Source Performance Standards or NSPS), cover facilities that were built or modified after July 17, 2014. The emissions guidelines are for existing facilities built before that date. The NSPS apply directly to individual facilities, while the emissions guidelines