1403_INSP_20190626

FACILITY COMPLIANCE INSPECTION REPORT
Division of Waste Management
Solid Waste Section

Page 1 of 4

UNIT TYPE:
Lined
MSWLF X LCID YW Transfer Compost SLAS COUNTY: Caldwell
Closed
MSWLF HHW White
goods X Incin T&P X FIRM PERMIT NO.: 14-03
CDLF Tire T&P / Collection X Tire Monofill Industrial Landfill DEMO SDTF FILE TYPE: COMPLIANCE

Date of Site Inspection: June 26, 2019 Date of Last Inspection: June 27, 2018

FACILITY NAME AND ADDRESS:
Foothills Regional Landfill
2800 Cheraw Road
Lenoir, North Carolina 28645

GPS COORDINATES: Lat.: 35.91531 Long.: -81.59568

FACILITY CONTACT NAME AND PHONE NUMBER:
Owner: Caldwell County
Contact: Stan Kiser, County Manager
Telephone: [phone]
Email address: [e-mail]

Operator: Republic Services of North Carolina, LLC d.b.a. Foothills Regional Landfill
Contact: Steven Hunter, Operations Manager, Foothills Regional Landfill
Telephone: [phone]
Email Address: [e-mail]

FACILITY CONTACT ADDRESS:
Stan Kiser, Caldwell County Manager
Post Office Box 2200
Lenoir, North Carolina 28645

CT Corporation System, Registered Agent
Republic Services of North Carolina, LLC d.b.a. Foothills Regional Landfill
150 Fayetteville Street, Box 1011
Raleigh, North Carolina 27601

PARTICIPANTS:
Steven Hunter, Operations Manager – Republic Services of NC, LLC
Jason Reynolds, Operations Supervisor – Republic Services of NC, LLC
Derek Bouchard, Environmental Manager – Republic Services of NC, LLC
Charles Gerstell, NCDEQ – Solid Waste Section

STATUS OF PERMIT:
A Permit Approval to Operate the MSW Landfill Phases 1 – 4 was issued to Caldwell County (Owner) and Republic
Services of North Carolina, LLC, (Operator) a wholly owned subsidiary of Republic Services, Inc., d.b.a. Foothills
Regional Landfill on December 7, 2018.

PURPOSE OF SITE VISIT:
Comprehensive Inspection

FACILITY COMPLIANCE INSPECTION REPORT
Division of Waste Management
Solid Waste Section

Page 2 of 4

STATUS OF PAST NOTED VIOLATIONS:
N/A

OBSERVED VIOLATIONS:
None

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

1. The facility consists of a lined MSWLF, Tire Management Area, White Goods Area, and Mulching and Grinding
Area.
2. The facility had proper signage.
3. A gate was located at the entrance to the facility to prevent unauthorized access.
4. As noted above, Mr. Steven Hunter is now Operations Manager for the facility.

Records Review:

5. The facility is permitted to accept up to 1,250-tons of waste per day. Tonnage records for July 2018 through May
2019 were verified. The facility received approximately 1,219-tons of waste each operating day during this time.
6. Water quality monitoring was being performed semiannually as required. Reports for the 2nd semiannual sampling
event for 2018 (performed on July 23, September 11, and October 8, 2018) and the 1st semiannual sampling event
for 2019 (performed on January 28, 2019) were verified.
7. Leachate sampling was being performed semiannually as required and was performed concurrently with water
quality monitoring.
8. Methane monitoring was being performed quarterly as required. Reports for monitoring events performed on
8/16/18, 10/5/18, 2/7/19, and 4/29/19 were verified. Methane was recorded above the lower explosive limit on
multiple occasions at GP-1. GP-1 is located on the east side of the landfill between the landfill and the
maintenance building.
x 8/16/18: 31.3% and 35.3% by volume.
x 10/5/18: 33.5% by volume
x 2/7/19: 38.3% by volume
x 4/29/19: 32.9% by volume
Since the last inspection, a mitigation trench has been installed along the toe of cell 1A that to cut off the potential
for gas migration in the direction of GP-1. Continue efforts to evaluate and address methane levels at GP-1.
9. Random Load Inspection Forms were verified for July 2018 to present. The forms were completed with good
frequency and appeared to be in order.
10. Leachate hauling records were verified for January – June 25, 2019. A total of 5,025,032-gallons of leachate were
hauled from the facility during this time.
11. A random sampling of Scrap Tire Certification Forms was observed and appeared to be properly completed.
12. Asbestos disposal records were observed. The facility maintains a copy of waste manifests for each load of
asbestos waste received at the facility. An aerial image is placed in the record marking the general location of the
disposal location for each load of asbestos, and GPS coordinates are also recorded.

The item(s) listed above were observed by Section staff and require action on behalf of the facility in order to come into or maintain compliance
with the Statutes, Rules, and/or other regulatory requirements applicable to this facility. Be advised that pursuant to N.C.G.S. 130A-22, an
administrative penalty of up to $15,000 per day may be assessed for each violation of the Solid Waste Laws, Regulations, Conditions of a Permit,
or Order under Article 9 of Chapter 130A of the N.C. General Statutes. Further, the facility and/or all responsible parties may also be subject to
enforcement actions including penalties, injunction from operation of a solid waste management facility or a solid waste collection service and any
such further relief as may be necessary to achieve compliance with the North Carolina Solid Waste Management Act and Rules.
FACILITY COMPLIANCE INSPECTION REPORT
Division of Waste Management
Solid Waste Section

Page 3 of 4

13. Manager of Landfill Operations:
x Stephen Hunter (expires 5/6/20)
x Jason Reynolds (expires 6/6/20)
14. Certified Landfill operation Specialist Certifications:
x Justin Haas (expires 11/16/21)
x Dustin Hurt (expires 11/16/21)
x Andrew Keen (expires 11/6/21)
x Mitcheal Ogle (expires 9/8/20)
x Matthew Pritchard (expires 3/3/22)
x Mark L. Spencer (expires 4/15/20)
x Richard Wilson (expires 9/8/20)

Operations Inspection of the MSWLF Unit:

15. Waste was being placed in Cell 5B at the time of inspection.
16. The working face was well controlled and was much smaller than what has been observed during previous
inspections.
17. Posi-Shell was being reapplied to a portion of the working face just south of the active area.
18. The facility was using a separate, small working face west of the main active area for disposal of small residential
loads. Use of this smaller area is a safety measure to keep residential users out of the working area designated for
large commercial loads.
19. Two tippers were being utilized at the time of inspection within the working face designated for commercial waste
loads.
20. No unacceptable waste streams were observed.
21. Windblown waste was well controlled.
22. Multiple slope repairs were observed on the southern facing slopes of Cell 5A. Multiple repair areas were also
observed on the western facing slopes of cells 1B, 2A, 3A, 4, and 8A. Multiple diversion swales and slope drains
had also been provided.
x Please ensure that all repaired areas are stabilized with a groundcover sufficient to restrain erosion. Mr.
Hunter explained that the facility was currently working to hire a seeding contractor and hoped to have
repaired areas seeded within the next two weeks.
x The facility’s efforts to make repairs when needed is appreciated.
23. Edge-of-liner markers were in place around the landfill. However, many markers on the west side of the landfill
were in need of adjustment and repainting due to work to install diversion swales and make slope repairs. Please
ensure that markers are replaced, reset, or repainted as soon as possible.

Inspection of the Tire Collection Area:

24. Tires were being collected into multiple covered trailers located west of the scale house, and adjacent to the
methane flare.
25. All tires were located within the designated trailers at the time of inspection.
26. This area was well managed.

Inspection of the White Goods Collection Area:

27. White goods containing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are collected on a concrete pad west of the scale house
adjacent to the scrap metal collection area.
28. CFCs are removed by a contractor when metal is removed from the facility.
29. Please ensure that all white goods are stored in an upright condition to maintain the integrity of the device prior to
removal of CFCs.

FACILITY COMPLIANCE INSPECTION REPORT
Division of Waste Management
Solid Waste Section

Page 4 of 4

Inspection of the Grinding Area:

30. The collection area for land clearing debris and pallets has been relocated to a new area on the south side of the
landfill and adjacent to the leachate collection tanks.
31. The collection area was bordered by a gravel berm.
32. Mr. Hunter and Mr. Reynolds explained that plans are to take the material to a separate location on the landfill
where it will be ground and mixed with spoils generated from cleanout of the sediment basins and then used as a
soil amendment.
33. A small amount of plastics was observed within the waste material. Please ensure that any waste that does not
consist to land clearing debris and pallets is removed prior to grinding of the material.
34. The new collection area and proposed grinding/mixing area should be reflected on a revised site map for the
facility. The collection and grinding/mixing process should be clearly detailed in the revised Operations
Plan for Phase 5. Any revisions should be submitted to Allen Gaither, Permitting Engineer.

Supporting Comments:

35. Leachate tanks were observed.
x At the time of inspection, the tanks read 5-feet and 6-feet.
x The interior of both tanks was cleaned in the Spring of 2019.
x A concrete containment area is provided adjacent to the tanks for use during pumping operations. The
containment area contains a sump located in the center with no outlet. The containment area has an
approximate capacity of 5,500-gallons of liquid.
x The tanks and secondary containment area surrounding the tanks appeared to be well managed.
36. All roads within the facility were off all-weather construction and well maintained.
37. All sediment basins appeared to be maintained.
38. The Solid Waste Section was notified on July 1, 2019 that a fire was actively occurring at the facility. Mr.
Reynolds stated by phone on the morning of July 1st that the facility was dealing with a few remaining smoldering
areas. During a phone conversation on July 2, 2019, Derek Bouchard confirmed that the fire had been completely
extinguished and the facility was operational. Please be sure to submit the Fire Occurrence Report within 15-days
of the incident.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns regarding this inspection report.

________________________________________ Phone: [phone]
Charles T. Gerstell
Environmental Senior Specialist
Regional Representative

Sent on: 7/2/19 X Email Hand delivery US Mail Certified No. [ _]

Copies: Deb Aja, Western District Supervisor - Solid Waste Section
Digitally signed by Charles T. Gerstell
DN: cn=Charles T. Gerstell, o=Divsion of
Waste Management, ou=Solid Waste
Section, email=[e-mail],
c=US
Date: 2019.07.02 15:30:38 -04'00'