Environmental groups are pushing the California Air Resources Board to begin the process of updating its landfill gas emissions rule at a meeting later this week. They say the state, which led the country with its Landfill Methane Regulation 15 years ago, now lags behind on a critical climate lever.
"Their rules have not kept pace with technological advances, nor with our understanding of landfill management best practices," said Katherine Blauvelt, circular economy campaign director at industrial climate solutions group Industrious Labs. "This is fruit falling from the proverbial tree in terms of where California can really make fast and easier mitigation of that potent greenhouse gas, methane.”
California was the first state to enact its own landfill methane regulations in 2010, but in the years since states like Oregon, Washington and Maryland have passed more restrictive rules incorporating the latest research and technology addressing methane emissions. The 2010 rule was one of the first actions taken by CARB after California enacted SB 32. That law charged the agency with creating regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40% below 1990 emission levels by 2030.
The state has since taken further action to address methane pollution from waste. SB 1383, the state’s short-lived climate pollutants law passed in 2016, set a goal to reduce organic waste sent to landfills by 75% by 2025, since the material is a key contributor to methane emissions.
The state’s 300 active and closed landfills emit more than 7.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, roughly equal to the emissions from 1.7 million passenger cars driven for a year, per Industrious.
The group, which has weighed in on similar rulemaking processes in Colorado and at the federal level, provided a series of recommendations for the next Landfill Methane Regulation in a report released last week. They include the use of newer advanced monitoring technologies such as drones, planes and satellites; minimizing the size of the working face of the landfill; requiring earlier installation of gas wells and requiring horizontal wells in the working face.
Kim Finlay, senior campaign analyst at Industrious, said the state will need both SB 1383 and an update to its landfill emissions rules to see the kinds of improvements in methane emissions it’s targeting.
The group modeled several regulatory scenarios to examine emissions reductions, including a 75% reduction in organics sent to landfills by 2030. It found that combining that reduction with an updated landfill rule could achieve a 23% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from waste by 2030, with compounding results through 2099.
“We really need both of those solutions to work at the same time,” Finlay said. “What we're seeing from the data right now is that we're not getting to that [emissions] target fast enough, and we need to increase the pace.”
Any new regulation will be subject to input from the waste industry as well. Veronica Pardo, executive director of the waste industry group Resource Recovery Coalition of California, said the state should focus on diverting organic waste away from landfills toward beneficial uses.
“We also support the use of landfill technology solutions that are cost-effective, scalable, and help identify and mitigate sources of methane emissions. These tools should be appropriately matched for each use case and strengthen the state’s broader climate and waste diversion goals,” Pardo said in an emailed statement.
Regulators have already signaled a willingness to update the rule. It was a topic of discussion when the state's Low Carbon Fuel Standard was finalized last year. In January, Steven Cliff, executive officer of CARB, threw his support behind an update as well.
Despite California's requirements lagging behind other states, some landfill operators have forged ahead with new technology. That includes both major landfill operators like WM and Republic Services and smaller public entities.
Orange County Waste & Recycling launched a landfill improvement program shortly after the passage of SB 1383. At the county’s Frank R. Bowerman Landfill, OCWR has piloted technology like monthly drone flyovers and automated wellhead tuning from Loci Controls to better monitor and capture methane emissions and produce electricity.
The landfill accepts MSW from commercial haulers and is funded entirely by a gate fee. David Tieu, deputy director for OCWR's central region, said the financial health of the facility allows it to be a testing ground for new technologies that he says could be adopted more widely.
“It’s one of those things where either you’re on the table or you’re on the menu. If you want to control your own destiny, it’s good not to ignore the opportunities,” Tieu said.
CARB is scheduled to hold its regular meeting on March 27, during which members of the public are expected to speak in favor of an updated landfill methane regulation.
