Top: Methane plume observed by Carbon Mapper during aerial monitoring at a landfill in Georgia. Image by Carbon Mapper, courtesy Industrious Labs

Industrious Labs, an advocacy organization focused on reducing GHG emissions through circular economy solutions, reported that the U.S. EPA publicly committed to updating Clean Air Act regulations for how landfills monitor, capture, and control methane emissions, by putting plans to update the federal Clean Air Act air emissions standards for municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills on the Spring 2024 regulatory agenda’s “long-term actions” list.  Stated EPA: “The Agency is in the process of collecting information about new technologies and approaches that could be implemented in the upcoming revision and update to the Standards of Performance for MSW Landfills (NSPS) and its companion rule, Emission Guidelines and Compliance Times for MSW Landfills (EG) that were finalized on August 29, 2016. The Agency aims to understand how these new technologies and approaches could be incorporated into updated NSPS/EG rules in an innovative and thoughtful manner to reduce emissions from MSW landfills and to protect the environment and the health of people that live nearby.” Industrious Labs learned that the agency is working on a series of white papers to inform the eventual proposed updated regulations. Topics include assessment of impacts from installing gas capture and control systems sooner and changing the threshold to require landfills to install gas collection and capture systems; aerial monitoring for methane; automated surface emissions monitoring/using sensors to detect emissions; incentivizing organics diversion; minimizing the active face of the landfill; and landfill cover improvements. The white papers are expected to be released in the next several months, notes Industrious Labs. A draft of the new rules is anticipated to be issued in 2025.