Landfill siting bill criticized

Opponents of a plan to use a special test to help prevent the siting of landfills in areas that are geologically sensitive to groundwater contamination lined up March 31 to poke holes in the proposal.

HF3997, sponsored by Rep. Julie Bunn (DFL-Lake Elmo), would require that all proposed new landfill sites in the state be tested to determine whether any groundwater supplies beneath them contain relatively high concentrations of tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. Tritium was spread throughout the atmosphere by above-ground nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s, and its presence in groundwater usually indicates that a pathway exists for contaminants to infiltrate underground aquifers from the surface. Bunn’s bill would forbid the Pollution Control Agency from issuing any permits for the construction of a new landfill on a site that contains concentrations of five or more “tritium units.”

The House Solid Waste, Recycling and Resources Conservation Working Group held an informational hearing on the bill, but took no action. Its language is also included in the House’s supplemental budget bill — HF1812, sponsored by Rep. Lyndon Carlson (DFL-Crystal).

Chuck Donkers, a geologist for Xcel Energy, presented a laundry list of problems with the bill, including that it had gone through only a limited technical review and that many of its potential impacts are unknown. He also questioned its potential environmental benefits, arguing that no evidence exists of any contamination of groundwater from modern landfill facilities, which use liners to prevent the infiltration of pollutants into groundwater. Older landfills did result in contamination, he said, but, “To use those as a benchmark ... is inappropriate.”

Annalee Garletz, a lobbyist for the Association of Minnesota Counties, was among several testifiers who pleaded for more time to look at the implications and impacts of the legislation.

“We’re just asking for more time to go through this decision-making process,” she said.

Defending her bill, Bunn emphasized that the tritium testing would be used only as an additional screening tool for the PCA, and would not replace the agency’s current landfill permitting process. She added that the bill’s language contains a process by which those seeking a permit could appeal to the PCA commissioner if they believe the results of the tritium test did not accurately reflect the potential for groundwater contamination at the site.

A companion bill, SF3703, sponsored by Sen. Kathy Saltzman (DFL-Woodbury), awaits action by the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee.