Freeholder Director Thomas A. Arnone's update regarding Well Field Drilling PlanPRINT THIS PAGE March 7, 2019
Dear Resident,
As promised, this week’s update will focus on the Well Field Drilling
Plan, which commenced yesterday and will take place over the next several
weeks.
Before I get into the details of the plan, I would like to point out
that the drilling of wells will enable the collection of gas that has not been
collected for the past several months due to the inoperability of the existing
gas collection system. The drilling will allow us to remove leachate from the
landfill through the combination pumps and pipes that will be put in place in
the wells.
When
finished, it is expected that the amount of gas that will be collected will
double that which is currently being removed; and that we will be removing more
than 35,000 gallons per day of leachate which will be pumped to storage tanks
and hauled off-site. This should make a noticeable difference in the reduction
of odors.
The County will be spending approximately $2.6 million to
drill more than 3,500 feet of wells, which will then be tied into a Landfill
Gas Collection System (LGCS) and is expected to result in the collection of
twice as much methane gas from the landfill compared to the amount that is
currently collected. In addition, the LGCS will be equipped with pipes and
pumps that will be used to drain liquid (leachate) from the landfill.
It is anticipated that with the installation of the pumps
for the leachate, that the equipment will extract approximately 35-40,000
gallons of liquid per day and that liquid will be stored in new storage tanks
placed on site during the project. Those tanks will be emptied into tanker
trucks and hauled off-site to wastewater treatment plants.
During the drilling of the wells, anticipated to be between
30 and 50 wells depending on the depth of drilling that is necessary to reach
gas and leachate, an odor control plan has been established. It is considered
to be a three point defense against the spread of odors into the neighborhoods,
east and northeast of the landfill.
The first point of defense will be the use of Neutralene in
a pelletized form that is directly applied to the material that is being
drilled and removed.
The second point of defense against the odors will be the
use of a fogging system, directly next to the material that is being drilled
and removed, in order to break down the odor at the source.
The third point of defense will be to continue the perimeter
vapor system, which has been working over the past two weeks. With the five
working stations on the perimeter, combined with the direct application and the
fogging system, we believe that this will give us the best results that can be
expected.
The drilling will take place probably through the month of
April due to the number of wells that will be drilled. During this period of
time, it should be understood that when a well is drilled, it will be closed
within a day containing the leachate pipe, the gas pipe and the equipment to
seal the well and enable it to be connected to the overall LGCS.
As the
drilling progresses, the odors will continuously be monitored. I will continue
to send you updates directly and the County website will be
updated as well.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not
hesitate to send them to me directly.
Sincerely,
Tom Arnone
Freeholder Director