Solid Waste Permit SW-629-001

General information

Public comment period begins: October 30, 2018

Public comment period ends: November 30, 2018 (4:30 p.m.)

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Commissioner has made a preliminary determination to modify this permit.

A draft permit is available for review on the MPCA Public Notices webpage at http://www.pca.state.mn.us/publicnotices or at the MPCA office address listed under the MPCA contact person. The MPCA will mail or email a copy of the draft permit upon request. Comments, petitions, and other requests must be received at the MPCA in writing on or before the public comment period end date and time identified above.

Watershed: North Fork Crow River

Description of [permitted facility/activity or name of project]

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) originally issued a 5-year permit (SW-629) to JMBI Landfill Inc. to construct and operate a Lined Class I Demolition Debris Land Disposal Facility on April 10, 2009. The permit application proposed a demolition/construction debris landfill in approximately 41 acres within a 154-acre parcel. The 41-acre construction and demolition landfill site is part of an active sand and gravel mining operation. Sand and gravel mining and processing will progress from west to east as the landfill is constructed and operated. The facility as proposed in the permit application will be developed in phases (10 Phases) in accordance with the Phase Development Plan beginning with Phase I and ending with Phase X. Each Phase will provide for filling in a manner to achieve final waste elevations as rapidly as possible. The design capacity of Phases 1 through X is approximately three (3) million cubic yards including construction/demolition waste, intermediate, intermittent, and final cover material. Each phase is designed with a three (3) to five (5) years of capacity such that the 10 phases would have 40 years life span.

The MPCA modified the permit (minor modification) on December 21, 2010, to change the facility's name from its original name (JMBI Demolition Landfill) to C&D Landfill Inc., and on August 11, 2011, to add boron to the analytical requirements for the leachate storage tank and lysimeters. Also, a major modification to the permit was issued on January 13, 2012, to change the facility's classification from a Class I to a Class II Demolition Debris Disposal Facility. The 5-year permit expired on April 10, 2014, and was re-issued on November 4, 2014, for a 10-year term that will expire on November 3, 2024.

The currently permitted area includes Phase 1 (approximately 4.1 acres) located in the northwest corner of the landfill property and Phases II, III and IV (approximately 12.4 acres). Phase 1A liner was constructed in 2009 and Phase 1B liner was constructed in 2012. The 2014 reissued permit authorizes the permittee to continue operation and disposal of approximately 800,000 cubic yards of waste and cover material. This capacity represent approximately 15 years of capacity in Phases II, III and IV. The Phase II disposal liner was constructed in 2014. Phase III liner construction document has been approved for construction in 2018. Phase III cell will not be used for disposal of Class III type wastes until after the approval of the Construction Certification Report and the permit modification request has been finalized at the end of the permit public notice period.

In a notification received by the MPCA on June 28, 2018, Dem-Con Landfill Hawick LLC acquired C&D Landfill Inc. through Asset Purchase Agreement dated May 31, 2018. The permit is being modified to remove C&D Landfill Inc. as the Activity Owner, Landowner and Operator and transfer the Activity Owner, Landowner and Operator of the facility to Dem-Con Landfill Hawick. In addition, the following changes were made to the permit: reclassification of the facility from a Class II to a Class III construction/demolition debris disposal facility; approval of an updated and revised Industrial Solid Waste Management Plan; shredding of select waste material to improve compaction and maximize landfill capacity; use of landfill leachate for dust suppression on access roads within the lined boundaries of the landfill; and updated Phase III Construction drawings.

The preliminary determination to modify this Solid Waste permit is tentative.

Procedure for public participation

As stated in Minn. R. chs. 7000 and 7001, there are three formal procedures for public participation in the MPCA's consideration of this matter. Interested persons may:

    (1) Submit written comments on the draft permit.

    (2) Petition the MPCA to hold a public informational meeting.

    (3) Petition the MPCA to hold a contested case hearing.

Submitting written comments

To submit comments or petitions to the MPCA through the mail or email, you must state:

    (1) Your interest in the permit application or the draft permit.

    (2) The action you wish the MPCA to take, including specific references to the section of the draft       permit you believe should be changed.

    (3) The reasons supporting your position, stated with sufficient specificity as to allow the MPCA to investigate the merits of the position.

Public informational meeting

A public informational meeting is an informal meeting during which interested persons can ask questions concerning the proposed facility. MPCA staff will be present to provide information. If an interested person would like the MPCA to hold a public informational meeting, the person should include all information identified above and in addition include a statement of the reasons the person desires the MPCA to hold a public informational meeting and the issues that the person would like the agency to address at the public informational meeting.

Contested Case Hearing

A contested case hearing is a formal proceeding before an administrative law judge empowered to advise the MPCA regarding issues of fact. As described in Minn. R. 7000.1800, persons who submit petitions for a contested case hearing must also state the issues they propose to address in a contested case hearing, the specific relief requested or resolution of the matter, and the reasons (which may be in the form of proposed findings) supporting an MPCA decision to hold a contested case hearing. Failure to comply with these rules exactly may result in a denial of the request. To the extent known, the petitioner may also submit a list of prospective witnesses to be called at a hearing, a proposed list of publications, references, or studies to be introduced at a hearing and the approximate time required for the petitioner to present the matter at a hearing. The decision whether to hold a contested case hearing will be made under Minn. R. 7000.1900.