HOMER MONOFILL/TRANSFER FACILITY (HMF/TF)

(907) 235-6678

OPERATING HOURS

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Location & Permits
The HMF/TF is located at Mile 169.3 Sterling Highway, 3.5 miles northwest of downtown Homer in Sec. 15, T6S, R14W, S.M., AK. The Monofill is required by ADEC regulations to have multiple permits: Inert Waste Permit SWZA011-23 (expires in September 2023); AK Pollution, Discharge & Elimination Permit AKR06AA70 (expires in March 2025). No ADEC permit is required to operate the Transfer Facility portion.

Background
The site was established by the KPB in 1979 as a landfill and converted to a baling facility in 1983. Site specific studies in the 1990’s identified several long term alternatives for waste management in the Homer area. The KPB determined that landfill closure, construction of a transfer facility, and transfer of MSW to the Central Peninsula Landfill (CPL) for burial with daily operations contracted out was the best long term plan for waste management from this area. Groundwater quality concerns identified in 2010, necessitated by the ADEC permit, confirmed the KPB’s decision. The baling facility was closed in August 2013 and the HMF/TF began operating.

The site sits on roughly 90 acres of KPB owned land, 45 of which are associated with the closed landfill, HMF/TF and buffer property. It serves a population of approximately 10,000 residents of the southern Peninsula from Anchor Point to all communities along Kachemak Bay.

Construction
In June 2011 the baling facility received approximately $9,000,000 from a State of Alaska Legislative Grant for design and construction of the transfer facility. Construction included site civil work and construction of a 9,600 square foot transfer building with a waste tipping area, transfer trailer bay, administrative space, a partially paved parking and driving area, and a commercial weigh scale for disposers of chargeable waste streams. Construction was completed in July 2013 and the facility opened in August 2013.

The facility also includes features that were a carryover from the Baling Facility operations including a recycle tent, recycling storage/baler building (formerly used to bale MSW and recyclables but is now used exclusively for recyclables), a used oil collection tank, a hazardous waste storage container, an equipment maintenance building, and stockpile and burial areas. A salvage tent was constructed in spring 2014. No contracted construction was required for the monofill since the areas to be utilized were already well established.

Operations
An Operator under contract with the KPB operates the transfer facility and monofill concurrently. The Operator is responsible for supplying the equipment, manpower, and supplies necessary to perform all operation and maintenance duties of the facility in a safe and orderly manner. Contract services include, but are not limited to, monitoring activities during operating hours, inert waste and recyclables management, screening incoming waste, waste transfer to the CPL, baler operations, conducting litter cleanup, snow removal, and access road maintenance. The contract duration is five years with three renewal options of one year, all of which are subject to contract compliance, the agreement of both parties, and annual approval of funding.

Waste Segregation
One of the many facets to managing waste is the proper disposal and handling of a wide variety of materials. Because not all materials are managed in the same way, it is important to separate them into categories, each with its own disposal location.

Tipping Floor: MSW
Both public and commercial haulers deposit MSW onto the tipping floor of the transfer building where it is loaded into a transfer trailer and ultimately hauled to the CPL. The Operator screens the incoming waste prior to loading the transfer trailer and segregates materials not suitable for burial in the lined cell at the CPL. Types of materials accepted include animal carcasses, electronics, fish waste, kitchen trash, small quantities of lawn clippings and leaves, etc.

Inert Waste Monofill: C/D, Metals & Woody Debris/Brush
Inert waste is segregated into these three separate piles. The C/D is currently being placed over the existing footprint of the former landfill that was not filled to capacity at the time of transition to a transfer facility. An estimated 9,000 cubic yards is consumed annually in the C/D cell with a projected life of 20-30 more years.

*C/D: Both the public and commercial haulers deposit this waste stream directly into an unlined cell where it is ultimately compacted and buried. Types of materials accepted include inert waste such as building materials, concrete, dry wall, furniture, roofing material, tires, treated wood/lumber products, etc.

*Metals: Accepted materials include appliances, copper, iron, tanks, etc. Items with engines must have all fluids drained and gas tanks and batteries removed (if applicable) prior to disposal. Refrigerators and freezers are placed in the C/D cell after refrigerants are removed. The removal and hauling of this waste stream is the sole responsibility of the Operator.

*Woody Debris/Brush: Also known as the ‘brush pile,’ the stockpiled material is periodically burned, which saves space for this waste stream from burial. Accepted materials include branches, Christmas trees, large quantities of un-bagged grass clippings and leaves, untreated lumber without nails or hardware, etc. 

Recycling Containers
Collection bins are set up in a large tent across the parking lot from the baler building for convenient public disposal. Accepted materials include aluminum cans, glass, newspaper, PETE #1 twist top containers and HDPE #2 plastics, and tin. Corrugated cardboard and mixed paper are collected in the baler building. The onsite management of recyclables, including shipment to market, is the sole responsibility of the Operator.

Similar to the CPL, glass is crushed and reused onsite for building roads and as a cover and drainage material. This saves money that would otherwise go towards purchasing gravel for these types of projects and saves space in the transfer trailer, which saves on hauling costs to Soldotna.

Hazardous & Misc. Waste
Fluorescent bulbs, used oil, and lead acid and household batteries are accepted daily. The KPB contracts out used oil management hauling while the lead acid batteries are periodically picked up by a local battery recycling company. The onsite management of fluorescent bulbs is the sole responsibility of the Operator.

Four HWCE are conducted throughout the year by the KPB’s hazardous waste management contractor who manages the events and ships the waste out of Alaska for management.

Disposal Fees
HMF/TF has one commercial disposer scale which is located on a separate access road from that of public access. Currently, scale charges for specific waste items are limited to a small number of large commercial vehicles while smaller commercial vehicles with more than five cubic yards are charged by volume. A future goal is that all commercial vehicles be charged by the tonnage. Both large and small commercial jobs have a 250 cubic yard limit per job. Households are charged for specific items.

Fees apply to hazardous waste management from businesses that generate very small quantities of this waste stream; households are free.

Permits
ADEC Solid Waste Disposal Permit – SWZA011-23
18 AAC 60 Solid Waste Management regulations require inert waste monofills be managed and operated in accordance with all applicable permits and regulations. The permit period is for five years and the application process includes drawings, documents, and plans demonstrating the applicant meets all applicable standards pertaining to location, design, operations, monitoring, closure, and post-closure, and financial assurance.

ADEC Alaska Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Multi-Sector General Permit – AKR06GB56
ADEC regulations require a permit for storm water discharges associated with industrial activity that includes the industrial activity category Sector L-Landfills. The HMF/TF is covered under a Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) which requires submission of a Notice of Intent to ADEC and compliance with a site specific Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). The permit period is five years. This permit requires additional monitoring separate from other permits, regular recordkeeping, and, at a minimum, annual filing with ADEC throughout the permit period.

Environmental Monitoring
A KPB contractor samples seven groundwater monitoring wells around the site perimeter biannually and surface water from Diamond Creek annually, both in accordance with the ADEC permit. Landfill gas monitoring including methane, carbon dioxide, and oxygen, is conducted quarterly by SWD staff.