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RCRA SUBTITLE D (258): SEISMIC DESIGN GUIDANCE FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILL FACILITIES
Citation:
Richardson, G. N., E. Kavazanjian Jr., AND N. Matasoric. RCRA SUBTITLE D (258): SEISMIC DESIGN GUIDANCE FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILL FACILITIES. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/R-95/051 (NTIS 95-217923), 1995.
Impact/Purpose:
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Description:
On October 9, 1993, the new RCRA Subtitle D regulations (40 CFR Part 258) went into effect. These regulations are applicable to landfills receiving municipal solid waste (MSW) and establish minimum Federal criteria for the siting, design, operation, and closure of MSW landfills. These regulations apply to the entire waste containment system, including liners, leachate collection systems, and surface water control systems. This document presents field and design procedures to satisfy the earthquake (or seismic) related criteria contained within these regulations. Sample analyses are provided to evaluate the Subtitle D seismic requirements for a range of site and facility conditions. Section 258.13 of the regulations requires that new or lateral expansions of existing landfills cannot be sited within 200-feet of a fault that has been active during the Holocene Epoch (past 11,000 years) unless it can be demonstrated that a lesser setback is safe. This document presents field identification methods used to identify active faults. Additionally, the document reviews general tectonic and seismological considerations that strongly suggest that movement of faults during the Holocene Epoch is very rare east of the Rocky Mountains. Section 258.14 of the regulations identifies seismic impact zones within the United States based on earthquake probability maps prepared by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Seismic impact zones are defined in the new regulations as those regions having a peak bedrock acceleration exceeding 0.1 g based on a 90% probability of non-exceedance over a 250 year time period. Within seismic impact zones, the regulations require that the waste containment system for new MSW landfills and for lateral expansions of existing MSW landfills be designed to resist the maximum horizontal acceleration in lithified earth material (MHA). The MHA is defined as the maximum expected horizontal acceleration either depicted on a seismic hazard map with a 90 percent probability of non-exceedence in 250 years or based upon a site-specific seismic risk assessment. This document presents analysis procedures to evaluate the ability of the site subgrade to resist liquefaction and of the waste mass/subgrade to resist slope failure where subjected to the MHA. Sample calculations are provided to demonstrate the analysis techniques for liquefaction and slope stability. Additional discussion is provided regarding more sophisticated deformation analysis methods that may be required for MSW landfills in highly seismic regions. This report was submitted in fulfillment of Contract No. 68-C3-0315 WA #05 under the sponsorship of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. This report covers a period from November, 1993 to May, 1994, and work was completed as of May, 1994.