Committee backs leachate treatment study and major MRF upgrade in recycling CIP

The Transportation and Environment Committee on March 17 supported the County Executive’s recommended capital improvements that add planning and design funding for PFAS treatment at the Oaks Landfill leachate plant and for a full upgrade of the county’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).

The amendments matter because they fund regulatory compliance work and work to expand recycling processing capacity as county solid-waste tonnage rises. Committee members and staff said the changes are covered by the solid waste disposal fund, current revenues and revenue bonds and that rate decisions tied to the operating budget will be considered later in the spring.

Jamie Foster, section chief in the Resource and Recycling Management Division, said the Oaks Landfill Leachate Retreatment Plant will be retrofitted to address PFAS and similar “forever chemicals.” Foster said department staff have been testing treatment options and that an early granular activated carbon pilot did not achieve the county’s treatment goal. “We started with a granular activated carbon system, and we did benchmark sampling ... but based on the testing, we realized that we would not meet the 4 parts petroleum treatment goal, so we're moving on to other treatment technologies to try to address this situation,” Foster said. The amendment adds funding to continue evaluating and developing an appropriate treatment technology to avoid PFAS discharge to WSSC's sanitary sewer system.

Amy Stevens and DEP staff described the proposed MRF upgrades as both equipment/process and building modifications. Committee discussion clarified current throughput and the upgrade target: DEP staff said the facility’s existing processing equipment, installed in the early 1990s and upgraded in 2001, presently handles about 8 tons per hour, while the planned upgrade is being sized for roughly 22 to 25 tons per hour. “So the facility that we are looking for right now as an upgrade will be processing about 22 to 25 tons an hour, which is, yes, three times almost what the current one can process,” DEP staff said. The MRF design is at roughly 30 percent; staff expect more specific equipment specs at 60 percent design and said they recently completed a facility conditions assessment and a source study to inform equipment choices.

Committee members pressed staff on how the Executive’s proposed increase in the solid-waste management fee relates to the CIP changes. Committee staff said the Executive’s proposed rates incorporate the CIP and operating recommendations transmitted in the Executive’s budget, but the Council must still decide final rates later in the spring. Committee members asked DEP and OMB to provide a project-level breakdown showing how different CIP items and alternate scenarios would affect fees so the Council can evaluate prioritization before finalizing rates.

The committee voiced support, by consensus, for the Executive’s recommended amendments for the Oaks leachate project and the MRF upgrades while reserving additional rate and prioritization decisions for the operating-budget cycle.

Looking ahead, committee members said they will revisit the broader solid-waste management plan and operating budget discussions later in April and May, when fee decisions and the full set of CIP amendments will be considered.