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Landfill manager warns of new monitoring costs under CDPHE rule 31; commissioners asked for cost estimates
Summary
The landfill manager told commissioners Montezuma County must complete methane testing by March 31, 2026, and warned that a proposed state rule (Rule 31) could substantially raise monitoring frequency, equipment and staffing costs for small landfills.
The county landfill manager told the Board of County Commissioners that mandatory methane testing is due by March 31, 2026, and that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s evolving Rule 31 could require more frequent monitoring, new equipment and additional staff if the county is placed in a higher monitoring tier.
He said current monitoring uses a handheld instrument and quarterly checks performed by engineers, but that proposals in Rule 31 could require dividing the site into 25-foot grids with daily monitoring and specialized instruments priced at more than $20,000. “This tier 2 testing… the instrument to do this is over $20,000. We'll have to divide that landfill up into 25 foot grids and do a daily monitoring on it,” he said.
The manager said the county is working to keep methane levels low by adding extra intermediate cover and engineering fixes to delay a gas-collection system, which would impose large costs the manager said small rural landfills struggle to absorb. He said counties have raised concerns with state officials and urged the board to collect a specific cost estimate to present to the county’s legislative contacts.
Ending: Commissioners requested staff pull together cost estimates and past meeting materials about Rule 31 so they can provide legislators with a clear fiscal impact number; the state’s final Rule 31 decision is expected in December.
