9701-20141216INSP

FACILITY COMPLIANCE INSPECTION REPORT
Division of Waste Management
Solid Waste Section

UNIT TYPE:
Lined
MSWLF LCID YW Transfer Compost SLAS COUNTY: Wilkes
Closed
MSWLF X HHW White
goods Incin T&P FIRM PERMIT NO.: 97-01
CDLF Tire T&P /
Collection Tire
Monofill Industrial
Landfill DEMO SDTF FILE TYPE: COMPLIANCE

Date of Site Inspection: December 16, 2014 Date of Last Inspection: April 9, 2010

FACILITY NAME AND ADDRESS:
Wilkes County Landfill – Germantown Site
580 Poplar Grove Road
Wilkesboro, North Carolina 28697

GPS COORDINATES: N: 36.1162 W: 81.1985

FACILITY CONTACT NAME AND PHONE NUMBER:
Name: Kent Brandon, Solid Waste Director
Telephone: [phone] (o) or [phone]
Email address: [e-mail]

FACILITY CONTACT ADDRESS:
Post Office Box 389
Roaring River, North Carolina 28669

PARTICIPANTS:
Kent Brandon, Solid Waste Director
David Dillard, Landfill Supervisor
Charles Gerstell, NCDENR – Solid Waste Section

STATUS OF PERMIT:
A Closure Letter for the Wilkes County Landfill – Germantown Site was issued to Wilkes County on December 29,
1995.

PURPOSE OF SITE VISIT:
Comprehensive Inspection

STATUS OF PAST NOTED VIOLATIONS:
N/A

OBSERVED VIOLATIONS

15A North Carolina Administrative Code 13B .0510(c) states: “When a solid waste disposal site has been closed in
accordance with the requirements of the Division, future necessary maintenance and water quality monitoring shall be
the responsibility of the owner and the operator and shall be specified in the closure letter.”
x Post Closure Condition #1 of the Closure Letter dated December 29, 1995 states: “The owner shall take the
measures necessary to ensure that the closed site shall continue to meet the design standards for landfill gas
found in Rule .0503(2)(a).
x 15A North Carolina Administrative Code 13B .0503 (2)(a) states: “A site shall meet the following design
requirements:”
FACILITY COMPLIANCE INSPECTION REPORT
Division of Waste Management
Solid Waste Section
Page 2 of 3

a. The concentration of explosive gases generated by the site shall not exceed:
i. Twenty-five percent of the limit for the gases in site structures (excluding gas controller recover
system components); and
ii. the lower explosive limit for the gases at the property boundary;

Review of methane monitoring records verified that methane gas was recorded above the lower explosive limit for
methane at GP-1, also referred to as BP-1 during the following monitoring events: 4th Quarter 2012 (15.2% Volume),
1st Quarter 2013 (5.4% Volume), 2nd Quarter 2013 (38.0% Volume), 3rd Quarter 2013 (41.0% Volume), 1st Quarter 2014
(42.7% Volume), 3rd Quarter 2014 (31.6% Volume), and 4th Quarter 2014 (56.3% Volume). BP-1 is located adjacent to
the property boundary on the north side of the site.

Section 5.0 of the approved Landfill Gas Monitoring Plan for the facility requires that within 60-days of detection of
methane levels exceeding the LEL, the County will develop and implement a landfill gas remediation plan for the
combustible gas releases and notify the Division that the plan has been implemented. The plan will describe the nature
and extent of the problem and the proposed remedy. No landfill gas remediation plan has been submitted to the
Division of Waste Management.

By exceeding the lower explosive limit for methane at the property boundary and failing to submit a landfill gas
remediation plan to the Division of Waste Management, Wilkes County is in violation of 15A NCAC 13B .0510(c)
and 15A NCAC 13B .0503(2)(a)(ii).

To achieve compliance, a landfill gas remediation plan must be submitted to the Division Waste Management, Solid
Waste Section within 30-days of receipt of this report and accompanying the Notice of Violation describing the nature
and extent of the methane gas releases and a proposed remedy. The plan must be implemented within 60-days of
receipt of this report and accompanying Notice of Violation. The Division of Waste Management, Solid Waste Section,
must be notified immediately afterward, in writing, that the plan has been implemented. Additional measures may be
required by the Division. The landfill gas remediation plan must be submitted to:

Ervin Lane, Hydrogeologist
Division of Waste Management – Solid Waste Section
1646 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, North Carolina 27699

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

1. The facility ceased operations on October 7, 1993.
2. A gate was located at the entrance to the site to prevent unauthorized access.
3. The landfill was stabilized with native vegetation which was well maintained. Mr. Brandon confirmed that the
landfill is mowed twice per year.
4. Edge of waste markers consisting of white, PVC poles were in place at the time of inspection. The location of
the edge of waste marker located on the far north side of the site did not appear to be consistent with the
approximate limits of waste shown on the site map included with the document entitled Wilkes County
Germantown Landfill LFG Beneficial Use Project issued by Joyce Engineering on December 16, 2011. Please
ensure that all edge of waste markers accurately delineate the edge of waste for the facility.

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 3

5. Semi-annual groundwater monitoring was being performed. Records for 1st and 2nd semi-annual sampling events
for 2012 and 2013 along with the 1st semi-annual sampling event for 2014 were verified.
6. A Landfill Gas Monitoring Plan was submitted to the Solid Waste Section and approved on July 18, 2012. This
plan proposed the installation of four (4) landfill gas monitoring wells (GW-1, GW-2, GW-3 and GW-4). A
document entitled Installation of Landfill Gas Monitoring Probes was submitted to the Solid Waste Section by
Joyce Engineering on November 8, 2012. This document verified the installation of methane monitoring probes
GP-1, GP-2, and GP-4. GP-3 was not installed as proposed. However, methane monitoring records do not
accurately reflect the proper designation for all methane probes detailed in the aforementioned document.
x Records from 2013 referenced exceedences at GP-1 while the summary chart referenced BP-1, BP-2,
and BP-4.
x Monitoring records for 2014 referenced exceedences at BP-1 and the summary chart referenced BP-1,
BP-2, and BP-4. However, a site map included with the monitoring results designated the monitoring
probes as GW-1, GW-2, and GW-4. Also, GW-1 is shown as a “Proposed Landfill Gas Monitoring
Well”. The map also shows GW-3 which was not installed in 2012 as originally proposed.
x All future methane monitoring reports must provide the proper designation and label for all
methane probes monitored during each event. Labels must be consistent with the descriptions
detailed in the document entitled Installation of Landfill Gas Monitoring Probes submitted by
Joyce Engineering and dated November 8, 2012.
7. An area of slight erosion was observed at the northeast corner of the landfill near the edge of waste marker. This
erosion should be repaired and stabilized with a groundcover sufficient to restrain erosion.
8. It appeared that water had been ponding in the past on the southeast portion of the landfill as evidenced by dark
soils and vegetation. It is recommended that this area be evaluated to ensure positive drainage is maintained to
the rip rap channel located at the southwest corner of the landfill.
9. No areas of significant settling were observed.
10. A document entitled Wilkes County Germantown Landfill LFG Beneficial Use Project was approved by the
Solid Waste Section on December 16, 2011. This project proposed connecting the LFG collection piping to a
vacuum blower that would actively extract the gas from the existing wells and piping, and deliver the gas to one
of two combustion devices – a utility flare or an engine generator. A greenhouse was to be installed adjacent to
the combustion equipment. The proposed greenhouse would utilize heat recovered from the engine-generator.
x Inspection of the facility on December 16, 2014 found that the LFG Beneficial Use Project had been
completed and was operational.

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: 1/20/15 Email Hand delivery US Mail X Certified No. [7011 3500 0000
4267 1535] Kent Brandon

Copies: Jason Watkins, Field Operations Branch Head
Deb Aja, Western District Supervisor
Sarah M. Rice, Compliance Officer

John Yates, County Manager Certified Number: 7011 3500 0000 4267 1528
110 North Street
Wilkesboro, North Carolina 28697
Digitally signed by Charles Gerstell
DN: cn=Charles Gerstell, o=DENR,
ou=Solid Waste Section,
email=[e-mail]
v, c=US
Date: 2015.01.20 10:19:49 -05'00'