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Friday, March 28, 2008

Surface-Water Quality At The Newland Park Landfill Site


In response to recent public inquiries into the County’s surface-water management practices at the Newland Park Landfill on Brick Kiln Road, the County asked Geosyntec Consultants (Geosyntec) to perform an audit of the surface-water quality monitoring program at the landfill site. Geosyntec, located in Columbia, Maryland, is an earth sciences consulting firm that specializes in landfill engineering and environmental quality assessments. Geosyntec has provided such services at over 20 different landfills in Maryland over the past 18 years, including the Newland Park Landfill, where Geosyntec has been implementing groundwater and landfill gas monitoring programs at the landfill for many years.

Surface-water quality at the landfill site is being monitored by the County in accordance with the requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, which is administered under the Federal Clean Water Act. The Newland Park Landfill currently holds two separate NPDES permits. One addresses surface-water quality in relation to landfill activities and the other addresses surface-water quality in relation to the landfill’s on-site borrow source. As required by these permits, water discharged from the landfill and the borrow source to surface-water features is sampled monthly by landfill employees for the parameters defined in the State-issued NPDES Permit. Geosyntec reviewed the laboratory test results of surface-water samples collected by landfill personnel dating back to 2003 and evaluated the results for compliance with the requirements of the NPDES permits. The data show that surface water leaving the landfill site has a nearly neutral pH, is free of suspended soils, and has a temperature similar to that of the water in the receiving stream. These sample results indicate that the facility is currently in compliance with the requirements of the NPDES permit, although over the years a few results have been slightly outside of the required range (but within about one percent of the normal value). Geosyntec’s finding is consistent with the findings of the Maryland Department of the Environment’s (MDE’s) surface-water evaluation of the site in March 2008, which confirmed that the site is in compliance with the requirements of the permit.

Based on the review of the surface-water quality data that Geosyntec was provided, Geosyntec concludes that surface-water quality complies with the requirements of the NPDES permits.

14 comments:

Unknown said...

Fox testing the water in the hen house? Was the water testing Mr Townsend's responsibility? These records that were kept had oversight personnel double checking the samples once a quarter because Kenny was a thorough and honest 18 year thief,I mean employee of the county! Give me a break this bunch of yaaahhhhooossss! wouldn't know the truth if the judge told them so at the sentencing hearing!The next time it rains Rick take a glass and give the old ditch/runoff water a taste.After all it's not polluted right?

Anonymous said...

After running thru several ponds n streams I quess it would lose some of its poisen. Kinda makes ya wonder what "an acceptable level" is? Wonder if those MDE n EPA folks would let their children play in those streams?

Tim Chaney said...

This kind of reminds me that there is an acceptable amount of rodent feces in food by the FDA. Yup....it's not a lot but there is an acceptable level.

Anonymous said...

The water that is being pumped to the river is in a sand quarry . That is where they get the dirt from to cover the trash, and this must be done on a daily basis. The state requires it. If it was not pumped off it would flood the pit.
It is not run off from the dump. under the trash there are pipes that catch the run off from rain and then it is transferred to 1 million gallon storage tanks, this is called leachate, hope i spelled that right. Then the leachate is hauled out by trucks to the city waste treatment plant and supposedly pure enough to put in the river.
The water that is being pumped to the river or might is say from the sand hole , believe it or not i have seen 5 to 6 pound bass in it. So think what you want , you really dont know what your talking about.

Anonymous said...

One other thing i forgot to mention.
The city of salisbury and the flunkys at the waste water treatment plant who dont have a clue to what they are doing are the people who are polluting the river. Not the wicomico landfill. And you can take that to the bank.

Anonymous said...

How much did it cost the county to prove to you people that cry wolf at everything that the landfill WAS IN COMPLIANCE??

Unknown said...

Buddy I've lived here so long I used to shoot rats at those ponds and just to kept it simple I smell a rat.I don't care how it get there whether it leaches,seeps or creeps! If it looks like #$%@ and smells like #%$@ then it probably is #$@%! I smell a rat!!!

Anonymous said...

Well Joe, I guess you and channel 47 were incorrect in your witch hunt. Maybe you owe the county an apology for jumping to conclusions and trying to make others so skeptical. And as for Old Fisherman, the county employees were not the only ones testing the water. I wouldnt drink water from a ditch anywhere around here. But if it makes you feel good to b!tch, then go ahead. People like you are never happy unless they can find fault (even when apparently there is none). I expect a retraction statement from channel 47 (they made it sound so much like a conspiracy, I mean the tunnels and all) and a retraction statement from Joe.

joe albero said...

A retraction? The River was overpolluted at the time for weeks on end, closed down. In order to eliminate the County from any responsibility towards that pollution, these waters needed to be tested.

The County has done so and claim the water is perfectly fine, the River is still polluted and shut down once again.

At no point can Mayor Barrie Tilghman point a finger at the County for participating in the problem.

I/We were encouraged to investigate this situation by Jim Finneran the entire time. The tips and information I received, (all of them) were first sent to Jim.

No retraction is necessary, including WMDT, (IMO).

Anonymous said...

Im not your buddy and you probably smell old fish.

Anonymous said...

You sure that wsnt a 1lb bass with a 4lb tumer?

Anonymous said...

9:35, look at what Politt wrote...they looked at the test that the landfill workers took in the past{from who knows where} go look at the pic on 47's site, look at that water in that creek, that craps goin to the river where families go for recreation. You dont have to drink it....jus roll ur ass all up in it for awhile, you think its flippin safe!

hip.boots

Anonymous said...

9:35, you need to understand what you read..." sampled monthly by landfill employees for the parameters defined in the State-issued NPDES Permit. Geosyntec reviewed the laboratory test results of surface-water samples collected by landfill personnel dating back to 2003" "Based on the review of the surface-water quality "data" that Geosyntec was provided,"

thats data collected by the theives they just charged....you think they gave a rats ass about quality samples?

hip.boots

Anonymous said...

Like I said, I wouldnt drink water from ANY ditch in this county. If you think the only people pullin water samples is the county, you are an IDIOT. MDE visits the landfill regularly, MR albero took samples, and as I stated at the beginning of Joes BREAKING NEWS, that is old news, There is an independant company that pulls samples on a routine basis. I have seen that water more than you I GUARANTEE, it looks no worse than most other ditches and tax ditches in this county. It is actually rather clear compared to alot of ditches. I am sorry that you all seem dissapointed that there was not an INTOXICATE. Now it appears, the river is polluted from people sh!t, chicken sh!t, and yard fertilizer sh!t. If you are still concerned about the landfill though, you can always find another place to take your trash so you arent adding to the pollution.
Sincerely
Chest-waders