|
<br />
<br />North County Recycling Center and Sanitary Landfill Permit Revision Project
<br />Final Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration · San Joaquin County | May 2025
<br />6
<br />
<br />The total permitted area for all facility operations is 320 acres and the landfilling area is 185
<br />acres. The designated landfilling area is divided into 11 modules. Modules are excavated for
<br />refuse fill as needed, generally in numerical order. When filling each module, refuse is placed in
<br />lifts, ranging from 6 to 10 feet thick, then spread and compacted in layers two feet thick on a
<br />sloped working face. Waste is covered at the end of each day to control fires, odor, windblown
<br />litter, and other hazards. All earthwork is done in accordance with the Valley Air District
<br />regulations. Other industrial activities at the facility include fueling, parts replacement, changing
<br />of vehicle fluids, vehicle and equipment washing, equipment storage, and repair. In addition to
<br />the waste disposal area, the four main buildings on site are a recycling center,
<br />office/maintenance building, water pump house building, and scale house. Accessory structures
<br />on site include a gate house, truck weigh scale, parking for landfill personnel and visitors, and a
<br />covered recycling center with a tipping area. There is a permanent berm, set back 100 feet from
<br />the property line, surrounding the project site’s perimeter. Temporary berms are used to divert
<br />surface runoff water away from the working face as needed.
<br />
<br />The current Solid Waste Facility Permit allows 1,200 tons of solid waste intake per day; at
<br />current operational levels, the projected closure year of the landfill is 2046. The landfill accepts
<br />residential refuse, commercial/industrial waste, green waste, wood waste, metals, paper
<br />products, glass, tires, plastic, agricultural waste, construction/demolition waste, household
<br />hazardous waste, dead animals, inert waste, and treated waste. The amount of solid waste
<br />accepted has increased steadily since the landfill opened, 2015, 2021, and 2023 were the only
<br />years the landfill exceeded 200,000 tons accepted. In 2023, the landfill accepted approximately
<br />267,154 tons of solid waste. Currently, the landfill averages 37,648 garbage truck, transfer truck,
<br />and miscellaneous commercial vehicle roundtrips annually.
<br />3.2 Detailed Description of Proposed Project
<br />The project consists of a proposed revision to the Solid Waste Facility Permit to increase the
<br />maximum allowed daily refuse disposal and the number of daily incoming refuse vehicles from
<br />1,200 tons per day and 850 vehicles per day to 4,000 tons and 1,200 vehicles per day. This
<br />increase would involve a change in refuse truck routing; approximately 50 transfer trucks that
<br />currently go to the Foothill Landfill would be re-routed to the North County Landfill. The
<br />projected annual intake would increase from 250,000 tons in 2024 to 660,000 tons in 2026, then
<br />increase 3 percent annually thereafter. The operating hours would also be altered, allowing the
<br />acceptance of commercial waste at 6:00 am and remaining open until 5:00 pm seven days per
<br />week. Up to six new employees would be needed for the increase in waste disposal and truck
<br />trip-related activity.
<br />
<br />No new construction is proposed, and the landfill’s capacity would not change. The existing site
<br />is depicted in Figure 2. Thus, because of the permit modifications without expanding current
<br />capacity, the projected closure date would move from 2048 to 2043. The rate of additional cell
<br />and module construction on the project site would increase to accommodate the amount of
<br />waste accepted. Existing temporary and permanent waste cover methods would remain
<br />unchanged, and the haul routes would remain the same. However, total vehicle round trips per
<br />year are projected to increase to 38,334 annually, primarily by diverting trucks originating from
<br />Tracy Material Recovery and the Lovelace Transfer Station that currently disposes of waste at
<br />Foothil l Landfill. Though the number of truck trips would increase, partially due to routing
<br />changes, the total vehicle round trip miles expected to be generated by landfill operation would
<br />be projected to decrease from 1,678,144 annually to 1,582,797.
|