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Alternative Landfill Cover

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TTP#: AL2-8-C221; Tech ID: 10
Project Overview
 The Alternative Landfill Cover Demonstration (ALCD) is a large-scale field test at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), located on Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Construction and instrumentation is complete and the ALCD is now in the performance-monitoring phase.

The stated objectives of the ALCD are to:

  • demonstrate the construction and cost of cover design alternatives;

  • measure the performance of the design alternatives for a minimum five-year post-construction period using water balance and ancillary data as the primary evaluation method;

  • validate predictive models for evaluating long-term performance of the cover designs; and

  • document the results through presentations, reports, and peer-reviewed publications.

The test covers are constructed side-by-side for comparison based on their performance, cost, and ease of construction. The focus of this project is to provide the necessary tools; i.e., cost, construction and performance data, to the public and regulatory agencies so that design engineers will have better regulatory acceptable alternatives to the conventional cover designs.

Continuous water balance and meteorological data is currently being obtained. It will be actively collected for a minimum five-year post-construction period. In addition, periodic measurements of vegetation cover, biomass, leaf area index, and species composition are being taken.

Technology Description
 The Alternative Landfill Cover Demonstration (ALCD) is testing innovative landfill covers using currently accepted U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cover designs as baselines. These covers are installed and instrumented in a side-by-side demonstration. The covers built include two baseline covers: (1) a conventional Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle D Soil Cover and (2) a conventional RCRA Subtitle C compacted clay cover. There are also four alternative covers utilizing, respectively, a geosynthetic clay liner, a capillary barrier, an anisotropic barrier, and a design using evapotranspiration. One half of each test plot will be evaluated under ambient conditions and the other side will be evaluated under "stressed" conditions controlled by a rain simulation system. The demonstration is intended to evaluate the various cover designs based on their respective water balance performance, ease of construction (including the use of local materials), and cost.

The key to gaining general acceptance of any new environmental technology is obtaining regulatory acceptance. The ALCD is addressing this issue by involving environmental divisions from the western states and the EPA in the project. This involvement is key for obtaining acceptance of the new technologies and is encouraging interstate cooperation. The Western Governors' Association (WGA) through its Committee to Develop On-Site Innovative Technologies (DOIT) has worked with Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) to promote interstate cooperation.

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