3402_Forsyth_HanesMillRoad_MSWLF_LFGNotification_FID1756735_20230104

6Winston-Salem / Forsyth County
I tifflities
Water • Wastewater • Solid Waste
Hanes Mill Road Solid Waste Facility, 325 W. Hanes Mill Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27105
O: 336-727-8000, F: 336-661-4905, wsfcutilities.org
January 4, 2023
Robert Pike
NC DDEQ, Winston-Salem Regional Office
450 W Hanes Mill Rd
Winston-Salem, NC 27105
RE: Hanes Mill Road Perimeter Gas Probe Exceedance, Permit # 34-02
Dear Robert,
To comply with State Rule 15A NCAC 1313.1626, Operational Requirements for MSWLF Facilities, I am
submitting this letter to you documenting a landfill gas (LFG) monitoring exceedance for methane
content in Probe C (located between the scale access road after the scalehouse and US HWY 52) at the
Hanes Mill Road Landfill (Hanes). A copy will also be entered into the operation record at the landfill.
On December 29, 2022, during routine quarterly LFG perimeter probe monitoring, Probe C tested high
for methane concentration, 6%. Staff with the WSFC Utilities Department (City) have been monitoring
the probe everyday since to determine the gas levels and to see which way it is trending. See the table
below for the results for the subsequent daily monitoring.
An initial assessment was done to determine if there was apparent risk to the health and safety of the
staff and customers of the landfill as well as any habitable structures or environmental impacts. Due to
the location of the well and the isolated occurrence at that one well, it is believed that there is not
immediate threat.
There is a vacuum system that was installed immediately adjacent to Probe C to intercept gas from the
old, unlined, closed portion of the landfill prior to the facility boundary and to vent it to the atmosphere.
The initial concern was that the blower was not working properly so the City contacted a licensed
electrician to inspect the blower. The blower was in good operating condition. The second thought was
that that the cold weather the prior week (below freezing for multiple days) may have frozen water in
the system, thereby clogging some of the vacuum lines and preventing the gas from being extracted.
Subsequent warmer weather should have melted any water in the system and allowed the gas to be
extracted again. I think that the data may lend some credence to this thought.
City staff will continue to monitor the gas levels and will act accordingly. I have had this occur in other
landfills where gas levels go up due to a lack of vacuum on a control system and it takes a little while for
the gas in the ground to be pulled back to the extraction points.
City Council: Mayor Allen Joines; Denise D. Adams, Mayor Pro Tern pore, North Ward; Barbara Hanes Burke, Northeast Ward; Robert C. Clark, West Ward;
John C. Larson, South Ward; Jeff Macintosh, Northwest Ward; Kevin Mundy, Southwest Ward; Annette Scippio, East Ward; James Taylor, Jr., Southeast Ward;
City Manager: Lee D. Garrity
County Commissioners: David R. Plyler, Chair; Don Martin, Vice Chair; Fleming EI-Amin; Ted Kaplan; Richard V. Linville; Tonya McDaniel; Gloria D. Whisenhunt;
Call 311 or 336-727-8000 County Manager: Dudley Watts, Jr.
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utility Commission: L. Wesley Curtis, Jr., Chair; Chris Parker, Vice Chair; Simpson O. Brown, Jr.; Harold Eustache; Tom Griffin;
[e-mail] Yvonne H. Hines; Hugh W. Jernigan; Duane Long; Charles Wilson; Allan Younger

DATE
% CH4
12/29/2022
6
12/30/2022
23.4
12/31/2022
25.8
1/1/2023
10
1/2/2023
8.7
1/3/2023
16.7
1/4/2023
18.4
I will continue to monitor the situation and will keep you informed in any developments. If you have any
questions or concerns, please contact me at [e-mail] or 336-734-1502.
Sincerely,
C. Gordon Dively, PE
Solid Waste Operations Manager
Cc: Jan McHargue
Jaclynne Drummond
File