Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Landfill Rule 31 topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Montezuma County landfill faces higher monitoring costs under new Rule 31; methane testing could raise expenses
Summary
Landfill staff told commissioners Rule 31 will reduce testing intervals to three years and impose tighter monitoring spacing; preliminary engineering estimates suggest recurring tier‑2 methane testing could cost about $5.06 million per cycle, raising concerns about potential tipping‑fee impacts if thresholds are triggered.
Mel (speaker 2), the county landfill presenter, updated commissioners on implementation steps for Colorado's Rule 31 and the site’s recent monitoring work, saying the new rule reduces some testing intervals to three years and alters monitoring spacing that could increase recurring costs for the county.
Mel said his team completed tier‑2 testing (a multi‑year test suite) and is awaiting results from engineers and the state. Under Rule 31 the default monitoring spacing will be 100 feet unless a trigger forces 25‑foot spacing; Mel said the county has three years to bring design and monitoring into compliance. He estimated the cost of the referenced repeated test cycles at about $5,060,000 each time and warned the shorter three‑year cycle (down from five years) will at minimum nearly double testing cost over time. Mel said he does not anticipate an immediate large increase in landfill tipping fees unless methane thresholds are triggered that require a higher monitoring standard.
Mel described mitigation tactics — additional soil cover and more diversion of organic material (including a potential local food‑collection business for compost) — intended to avoid triggering methane thresholds. He also recommended further engineering work to model compliance costs and said the department will report back when engineers provide a detailed plan and cost estimate.
Why it matters: Rule 31 compliance could substantially raise ongoing operations and monitoring costs for the county’s small, dry landfill. If methane thresholds are exceeded, the county may need more intensive monitoring and potentially pass costs to users via tipping‑fee increases; staff emphasized avoidance measures and further modeling before any fee adjustments.
Next steps: Mel will get an engineering plan to refine cost estimates; commissioners asked staff to return with a clearer projection of how compliance activities could affect tipping fees and the county budget.
