Conceptual Leachate Treatment Scoping Study for New England Waste Services of Vermont (NEWSVT) Landfill Prepared for Casella Waste Systems, Inc., Hyde Park, Vermont October 11, 2019 Conceptual Leachate Treatment Scoping Study for New England Waste Services of Vermont (NEWSVT) Landfill Prepared for Casella Waste Systems, Inc. 1855 Vermont Route 100 Hyde Park, Vermont 05655 October 11, 2019 Project Number: 152990.008 Stephen J. McGuire, P.E. VT PE #018.0134331 P.E.’s Clarification: Cost estimates provided in Section 6 are provided for Casella’s use but are not engineering instruments of service and are therefore excluded from my responsible charge. 500 North Franklin Turnpike, Suite 306 Ramsey, New Jersey 07446 Table of Contents Appendices ................................................................................................................................................... ii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................................. iii List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................... iv Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................... ES-1 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................1-1 1.1 Report Organization ................................................................................................................1-2 2. Emerging Contaminants ...................................................................................................................2-1 3. Applicable Treatment Technologies .................................................................................................3-1 3.1 Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) .................................................................................................3-1 3.2 Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) ...........................................................................................3-1 3.3 Ion Exchange (IX) Resins ........................................................................................................3-2 3.4 Ultrafiltration (UF) ...................................................................................................................3-2 3.5 Reverse Osmosis (RO) ............................................................................................................3-2 3.6 Electrochemical Oxidation (EO) ..............................................................................................3-3 3.7 Electrocoagulation (EC) ..........................................................................................................3-4 3.8 Concentrator ...........................................................................................................................3-4 4. Technology Application for Disposal Options ..................................................................................4-1 4.1 Scenario 1 – Discharge to Surface Water .............................................................................4-1 4.2 Scenario 2 – Pretreatment for POTW Disposal .....................................................................4-5 4.3 Scenario 3 – Zero Liquid Discharge ......................................................................................4-7 4.4 Scenario 4 – POTW Enhancements .......................................................................................4-9 5. Leachate Concentrate ......................................................................................................................5-1 5.1 Sequestration/Solidification ..................................................................................................5-1 5.1.1 Classification of Final Concentrate Product ...........................................................5-2 5.1.2 Potential Regulatory Requirements ........................................................................5-2 6. Class 5 Opinion of Probable Capital Cost and O&M Cost Comparison ..........................................6-1 7. Evaluation Results ............................................................................................................................7-1 8. References ........................................................................................................................................8-1 i P:\Casella_Waste\152990_NEWSVT_Leachate_Evaluation\008 Final VTANR Report\Consolidated\Final 101119\CLT101119(conc_leach_trtmnt_stdy).docx Casella NEWSVT Landfill – Conceptual Leachate Treatment Scoping Study Table of Contents Appendices Appendix A Data Review Technical Memorandum Appendix B Regulatory Review Technical Memorandum Appendix C Leachate Management Strategy Review Technical Memorandum Appendix D GAC and IX Resin Isotherm Testing of POTW Effluents Appendix E Capacity Evaluation for Leachate Treatment of Montpelier POTW Technical Memorandum Appendix F Capacity Evaluation for Leachate Treatment of Newport POTW Technical Memorandum ii P:\Casella_Waste\152990_NEWSVT_Leachate_Evaluation\008 Final VTANR Report\Consolidated\Final 101119\CLT101119(conc_leach_trtmnt_stdy).docx Casella NEWSVT Landfill – Conceptual Leachate Treatment Scoping Study Table of Contents List of Tables Table ES-1. Treatment Options Comparison Table 1. Class 5 Opinion of Probable Cost and Annual O&M Cost Comparison Table 2. Leachate Technology Comparison Table 3. Key Technology Summary Table 4. Treatment Options Comparison List of Figures Figure 1. Block Flow Diagram for Option 1a Figure 2. Block Flow Diagram for Option 1b Figure 3. Block Flow Diagram for Option 1c Figure 4. Block Flow Diagram for Option 2a Figure 5. Block Flow Diagram for Option 2b Figure 6. Block Flow Diagram for Option 2c Figure 7. Block Flow Diagram for Option 3a Figure 8. Block Flow Diagram for Options 4a and 4b iii P:\Casella_Waste\152990_NEWSVT_Leachate_Evaluation\008 Final VTANR Report\Consolidated\Final 101119\CLT101119(conc_leach_trtmnt_stdy).docx Casella NEWSVT Landfill – Conceptual Leachate Treatment Scoping Study Table of Contents List of Abbreviations AACE Association for the Advancement of Cost PPCP Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Engineering Products AOP Advanced Oxidation Processes ppt Parts Per Trillion BDD Boron-Doped Diamond RL Regulatory Limit BC Brown and Caldwell RO Reverse Osmosis BOD Biochemical Oxygen Demand SBR Sequencing Batch Reactor CapEx Capital Expenditure SCFM Standard Cubic Feet Per Minute CIP Clean-In-Place SPLP Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure COD Chemical Oxidation Demand SVOC Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds DSW Discharge to Surface Water T&D Transportation and Disposal EC Electrocoagulation TCLP Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure EO Electrochemical oxidation UF Ultrafiltration EDR Electrodialysis Reversal VFD Variable Frequency Drive EQ Equalization VOC Volatile Organic Compound EREF Environmental Research and Education Foundation VTDEC Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation GAC Granular Activated Carbon WET Whole Effluent Toxicity gpd Gallons Per Day WRRF Water Resource Recovery Facility HA Health Advisory WWTP Wastewater Treatment Plant IX Ion Exchange ZLD Zero Liquid Discharge LFG Landfill Gas LTP Leachate Treatment Plant µm Micron MBBR Moving Bed Bioreactors MBR Membrane Bioreactors mg/L Milligrams Per Liter MGD Million Gallons Per Day NEWSVT New England Waste Services of Vermont NF Nanofiltration ng/L Nanograms Per Liter OpEx Operational Expenditure PAL Preventive Action Levels PFAS Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances PFHpA Perfluoroheptanoic Acid PFHxS Perfluorohexane Sulfonate PFNA Perfluorononanoic Acid PFOA Perfluorooctanoic Acid PFOS Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid POTW Publicly Owned Treatment Works iv P:\Casella_Waste\152990_NEWSVT_Leachate_Evaluation\008 Final VTANR Report\Consolidated\Final 101119\CLT101119(conc_leach_trtmnt_stdy).docx Executive Summary This report summarizes and presents the findings of the evaluation prepared by Brown and Caldwell (BC) to evaluate, at a conceptual level, two on-site and two off-site treatment and pretreatment technologies for removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compounds at New England Waste Services of Vermont’s (NEWSVT) landfill in Coventry, Vermont. This evaluation was conducted as requested and described in the Responsiveness Summary prepared by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Department of Environmental Conservation (VTDEC) dated October 12, 2018 and the Facility Certification dated October 12, 2018, specific condition #86. In addition to an evaluation of benefits and limitations associated with particular disposal and technology alternatives, the results of a preliminary economic analysis of the on-site and off-site treatment and disposal options are included. The various technologies discussed were evaluated and selected based on commercial availability, proven treatment of leachate and effectiveness at PFAS removal for application in each of the associated disposal options as part of conceptual integrated treatment systems. This evaluation considered only those that are currently proven with leachate, can remove PFAS and are commercially available. Given