Report for fiscal year 2019

Georgia Solid Waste Trust Fund
Report for Fiscal Year 2019
Environmental Protection Divsion Georgia Department of Natural Resources
January 2020

Solid Waste Trust Fund

The Solid Waste Trust Fund was established in 1990 as part of the Georgia Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Act. In 1992, an amendment to the Act established a primary source of funding for the fund in the form of a $1.00 fee on every new tire sold in the state.
With the passage of House Bill 220 in 2019, the Georgia General Assembly extended collection of the fee for three years. Beginning in FY 2021 and lasting through FY 2022, the fee will be $0.38 per tire.
Each year, the fees collected the previous year may be appropriated by the General Assembly to the Environmental Protection Division (EPD), whose

director is authorized by the Act to serve as the fund's trustee.
Appropriation for FY 2019
The General Assembly appropriated $2,790,775 from the Solid Waste Trust Fund to clean up illegal scrap tire dumps, properly close abandoned landfills, fund waste reduction and recycling programs and administrative and operational costs for FY 2019.
EPD is required by the Act to produce an annual report on activities funded by the trust fund; this report fulfills that requirement.

$9,000,000

Fees Collected on New Tires Sold and Amount Appropriated to SWTF FY 2010 to FY 2019

$8,000,000

$7,000,000

$6,000,000

$5,000,000

$4,000,000

$3,000,000

$2,000,000

$1,000,000

$0 2010 2011

2 | FY 2019

Fees Collected

2012

2013 2014 2015 Fiscal Year
Fees Appropriated

2016

2017 2018 2019 Reserve Balance

Expenses
By Authorized Use

SWTF Expenses by Authorized Use FY 2010 to FY 2019

$4,000,000 $3,500,000 $3,000,000 $2,500,000 $2,000,000

$1,500,000

$1,000,000

$500,000

$0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Fiscal Year

Scrap Tire Management and Abatement Emergency Response and Corrective Action Abandoned Landfills

Operations and Fund Administration Waste Reduction and Litter Education

FY 2019 | 3

Tire Management
EPD has been active in the management and cleanup of tires in Georgia since 1992, using a variety of programs and mechanisms to help ensure scrap tires generated in Georgia are reused or recycled. In FY 2019, 496,440 scrap tires were removed from illegal tire dumps or cleaned up through investigations or by local government partners.

Permits & Approvals
EPD issued 299 scrap tire/retail tire dealer generator identification numbers, 135 used tire dealer numbers, 11 tire carrier permits, and 4 scrap tire sorter permits in FY 2019.

PERMITS & APPROVALS

CLTIERAENUDPUSMP

INSPECTIONS

Inspections
EPD staff conducted 1,322 site visits to tire carriers, scrap tire generators, sorters, and processors in FY 2019.

G LOVOFECRUALNNDMIENNGT

COLTLIERCETIFOENE

Tire Fee Collection
Retailers who sell new tires are responsible for collecting the fee from consumers for each new tire sold. In FY 2019, $7.7 million was collected.

INVESTIGATIONS

Investigations EPD staff lead investigations in response to complaints from citizens about tire dumps and other tire issues. In FY 2019, 225 investigations were conducted, leading to 20,312 tires being removed from 21 sites.
4 | FY 2019

Local Government Funding
The Local Government Scrap Tire Abatement Program funds tire dump and roadside cleanups and amnesty events where residents can bring in their scrap tires for free. In FY 2019, 178,702 tires were cleaned up by 52 local governments that were reimbursed a total of $345,380.

Tire Dump Cleanups
The SWTF is also used to hire contractors to clean up illegal scrap tire dumps around the state. In FY 2019, 297,426 tires were removed from 24 sites by contractors at a cost of $723,453.

FY 2019 Scrap Tire Cleanups Around the State

Before

After

This site in Macon was cleaned up under a state contract in May 2019; 407 tires were removed and recycled.

Charlton County collected 1,145 tires during its amnesty event in February 2019.

Residents of Grady County brought in 4,029 tires during their December 2018 amnesty event.

During their May 2019 amnesty event, Toombs County residents brought in 4,861 tires.
FY 2019 | 5

Solid Waste Reduction & Recycling

Staff members in EPD's Recovered Materials Unit respond to inquiries about waste reduction and recycling from businesses and the general public; participate in local, state and national initiatives that promote waste reduction; and manage special projects on specific waste reduction issues.
Sustainable Materials Management
In FY 2019, EPD hosted a stakeholder meeting with representatives from recycling industries, businesses, nonprofits, state agencies, local governments, and others on the Solid Waste Trust Fund.
Unit members also presented at an Atlanta Recycling Metrics Meeting in February at Atlanta City Hall and in Lexington, KY at the annual EPA Region 4 State Solid Waste Managers Meeting in March.
Composting & Wasted Food
In FY 2019, EPD staff participated in initiatives designed to strengthen the infrastructure for mid-size and communityscale composting operations, including working with the Atlanta Community-based Composting Council and the Georgia Recycling Coalition (GRC). These activities included providing updates on the new state regulations to audiences at GRC and Emory University. Unit members also participated in a food waste audit at Atlanta's Parkside Elementary in conjunction with Atlanta Public Schools and the U.S. Green Building Council.
Environmental Education
EPD's Environmental Education in Georgia program supports efforts to enhance public health and increase

environmental stewardship by providing resources and direct assistance to K-12 teachers and nonformal educators.
The program's main component, the EEinGeorgia.org website, acts as a state clearinghouse, ensuring that the public has easy access to environmental education resources -- a vital part of improving environmental literacy in Georgia.
More than 620 state agencies, nonprofits, K-12 schools, and other organizations have joined the site and can submit resources, events, and other environmental-related information. Each month, a newsletter is emailed to more than 7,500 subscribers, most of whom are educators who rely on the site to find environmental education lesson plans, curriculum guides, grants, awards, outreach programs, field studies, conferences, and professional learning courses.
Technical Assistance
In FY 2019, the unit responded to nearly 50 requests for technical assistance, including questions about grant availability, composting, household hazardous waste, business development, and recycling or properly disposing of various materials -- e.g. arsenite, mercury, railroad ties, rubber gaskets, bubble wrap, sharps, propane tanks, escrap, batteries, bulbs, yard waste, and more.
Staff members from multiple units reached hundreds of people from around the state -- either in direct meetings or through conferences -- about scrap tire regulations, scrap tire dumps, and the availability of funding from the Solid Waste Trust Fund for the clean up and beneficial reuse of scrap tires.

Members of the unit helped with a food waste audit at an Atlanta elementary school (above) and toured FoodChain, a nonprofit working in the sustainable food systems space in Lexington, KY (right).
6 | FY 2019

Abandoned Landfill Care & Clean Up

In FY 2017, EPD evaluated the condition of three abandoned landfills to identify activities needed to properly close the sites:
Eller Whitlock Avenue Landfill in Brunswick accepted land clearing debris and construction and demolition (C&D) materials from 1987 to 2013
Steele Brothers Landfill in Walker County accepted municipal solid waste, industrial waste, and C&D materials (including asbestos) from 1976 to 1995
Fauconniere Buckeye Cellulose Industrial Landfill in Andersonville accepted waste from the Buckeye Cellulose Pulp Mill (now International Paper Flint River Mill) from 1983 to 1988; this waste consisted primarily of boiler ash, knots, grits, and dregs from the pulping operations, and sludge
The results of the evaluation showed that the landfills require a variety of activities, including:
Delineating waste
Filing landfill deed notices
Installing and improving existing site access controls and erosion and sedimentation controls
Removing and disposing of surface waste
Clearing, grubbing, and grading
Installing final cover systems

Assessing and/or redeveloping environmental monitoring wells
Preparing post-closure care plans
In FY 2018, EPD contracted with Kemron Environmental Services, Inc. to provide closure and post-closure plans for each landfill that will be protective of human health and the environment.
Eller Whitlock's existing environmental monitoring networks were found to be functional, and in February 2018, EPD contracted with Advanced Environmental Management, Inc. to perform environmental monitoring at the site.
Due to groundwater contamination and the discovery of abandoned drums at the Steele Brothers Landfill, EPD's Hazardous Waste Response and Remediation Program (RRP) was brought in to perform additional assessment. In FY 2019, Kemron removed the drums and collected soil samples from below the drums. Testing showed that regulated constituents were not present in soils at levels exceeding their Hazardous Site Response Act notification concentrations and the RRP did not recommend listing it on the state's Hazardous Site Inventory.
EPD intends to issue requests for quotes to properly close both Eller Whitlock and Steele Brothers in spring 2020. Plans for closing the Fauconniere Buckeye site will move forward when funding is available.

The Eller Whitlock Avenue Landfill in Brunswick is located directly adjacent to occupied residences and borders an active rail line (left). EPD staff survey the Steele Brothers site (above).
FY 2019 | 7

The Scales Road Landfill in DeKalb County began accepting construction and demolition materials in 1990. The landfill's owner declared bankruptcy and in 2005 notified the state of its intent to abandon the site. Because the landfill was not properly closed, conditions deteriorated. In 2007, the state hired a contractor to properly close the site.
For several years, EPD did not have the funding necessary to properly maintain the site and it fell into disrepair. By FY 2017, EPD was appropriated sufficient funds and contracted with Oasis Construction Services, Inc. to bring the site back into compliance with the closure requirements of the Solid Waste Management Rules. Work under this contract was completed in December 2017.
EPD continues to receive funding for post-closure care of the site and in April 2018, again contracted with Oasis

At the Scales Road Landfill in DeKalb County, a methane sink was discovered near the peak that was prohibiting the establishment of new vegetation. Contractors added a methane trench and vent to release the methane.
to provide continued environmental monitoring and maintenance activities. Work completed in FY 2019 under this contract included:
Landfill cap maintenance (e.g., regrading, topsoil replacement, weeding, revegetation, mowing)
Groundwater and methane monitoring, sampling, and reporting; surface water sampling
Well installation and monitoring system maintenance
Removing and disposing of surface waste
Maintaining site access controls to prevent dumping and trespassing
Maintenance of sediment basin and drainage channel

Activities at Scales Road in FY 2019 included ensuring the security of the site (left) and removing dumped waste (right). 8 | FY 2019

Georgia Environmental Protection Division Land Protection Branch 4244 International Parkway, Suite 104 Atlanta, Georgia 30354 epd.georgia.gov
For additional information, please contact EPD's Solid Waste Management Program at 404-362-2537 or visit
epd.georgia.gov/land-protection-branch/solid-waste.