Wisconsin Administrative Code
Department of Natural Resources
NR 500-599 - Environmental Protection - Solid Waste Management
Chapter NR 504 - Landfill Location, Performance, Design And Construction Criteria
Section NR 504.06 - Minimum design and construction criteria for landfill liners and leachate collection systems

(a) All major phases of landfills initially accepting municipal solid waste after July 1, 1996, shall be designed with a composite liner and a leachate collection system capable of limiting the average leachate head level on the composite liner to one foot or less during operation and after closure of the landfill, except as provided in s. NR 504.10(1) (c). The composite liner shall consist of 2 components; the upper component shall consist of a nominal 60-mil or thicker geomembrane liner with no thickness measurements falling below the minimum industry accepted manufacturing tolerances, and the lower component shall consist of a minimum 4 foot thick layer of compacted clay meeting the specifications of s. NR 504.06(2) (a). The geomembrane component shall be installed in direct and uniform contact with the compacted clay soil component, and the landfill shall meet or exceed the standards in the applicable portions of subs. (2), (3) and (4). All other landfills shall be designed to contain and collect leachate to the maximum practical extent. This shall be accomplished by designing the landfill to meet the standards contained in the applicable portions of subs. (2), (3) and (4), unless the department approves the applicant's alternative design as per s. NR 504.10, which provides an equivalent or better level of performance than the standards contained in this chapter.

(b) If the applicant does not complete construction of the first major phase of the landfill within 2 years from the date of the plan of operation approval, the applicant shall reapply to the department for approval to construct the landfill. This application does not constitute a feasibility report as defined in s. 289.24, Stats. The department may require additional conditions of approval and require redesign of the landfill in accordance with state-of-the-art design criteria.

(a) All clay used in liner construction shall meet the following specifications:

(b) The separation distance between the seasonal high groundwater table and the bottom of the clay component of a composite liner or a clay liner shall be at least 10 feet except for zone-of-saturation landfills.

(c) The separation distance between the top of the bedrock surface and the bottom of the clay component of a composite liner or a clay liner shall be at least 10 feet.

(d) The slope of the liner surface toward the leachate collection lines shall be at least 2%.

(e) The minimum thickness of the clay component of a composite liner at all locations shall be at least 4 feet. The minimum thickness of a clay liner at all locations shall be at least 5 feet.

(f) The clay component of a composite liner or a clay liner shall be constructed in the following manner:

(g) The slope of the interior sidewalls of a landfill may not exceed 3 horizontal to one vertical nor be less than 5 horizontal to one vertical.

(h) The clay component of a liner in adjacent phases shall be keyed together to form a continuous clay seal. This shall be accomplished by excavating steps along the edge of the existing lined phase and overlapping them with the lifts of clay being placed for the liner of the new phase. A minimum of 4 steps shall be included, with the total width of the spliced area measuring a minimum of 15 feet.

(a) All geomembranes shall be fabricated from resins specifically formulated for waste containment purposes. Nominal geomembrane thickness shall be 60 mils or greater with no thickness measurements falling below the minimum industry accepted manufacturing tolerances.

(b) Additional protection shall be provided for the geomembrane component of the composite liner along areas subject to traffic or other concentrated activity during construction or operation. This shall include sumps, sideslope risers and entry ramps.

(c) For slopes in excess of 10%, geomembrane panels shall be installed such that all seams run perpendicular to the contour lines of the slope to the extent possible.

(d) Prior to geomembrane placement, the clay surface shall be rolled and graded so it is free of irregularities, protrusions, loose soil and abrupt changes in grade. The surface shall also be free of stones, grade stakes and construction debris which may be damaging to the geomembrane and shall contain no areas excessively softened by high water content. The clay surface shall be sufficiently dry and dense such that the construction equipment used to place the geomembrane panels do not rut the clay surface. All depressions and large cracks shall be filled in with tamped clay.

(e) Geomembrane panels made of polyethylene resins shall be welded by double-tracked, fusion welding machines for all linear seams. Corners, butt seams and long repairs shall be fusion welded where possible. Extrusion or fusion welding shall be used for all other repairs, detail work and patches. Department approval shall be obtained prior to use of any other welding method for either panel seaming, repairs or construction of details.

(f) The geomembrane component of a composite liner constructed in phases adjacent to each other shall be welded together to form a continuous membrane surface. The liner extending beyond the proposed edge of waste at a phase junction shall be protected from traffic and weather.

(g) Wrinkles in the geomembrane component which are higher than they are wide, shall be smoothed or cut out and repaired prior to covering with soil. Guidance to machine operators placing soil on the geomembrane component shall be provided by the use of an observer with an unobstructed view of the advancing lift of soil.

(h) The minimum thickness of soil which must be present over the geomembrane component before vehicular traffic may occur shall be one foot for vehicles with ground pressure less than 5 pounds per square inch and 2 feet for all other tracked vehicles and flotation tire equipped vehicles. Trucks and other wheeled hauling equipment shall be confined to corridors or locations with a soil thickness of 3 or more feet over the geomembrane component.

(i) In order to lessen desiccation effects, the base of the landfill and the lower 10 vertical feet of the sideslope shall be covered with a drainage blanket within 30 days after completing quality control and quality assurance testing of the installation. The remaining sideslope shall be covered with either drainage material or a geotextile to prevent damage to the geomembrane.

(j) To prevent movement and folding of wrinkles, placement of soil over the membrane shall be performed during cooler temperature periods to the extent possible using methods of placement which minimize wrinkling.

(k) Anchor trenches shall be designed and constructed around the perimeter of the landfill to secure the permanent edges of the geomembrane. The geomembrane shall be seamed completely to the ends of all panels to minimize the potential of tear propagation along the seam.

(a) The landfill shall be located in a fine-grained soil environment.

Note: Fine-grained soil environment is defined in s. NR 500.03(86).

(b) The landfill shall meet the requirements in sub. (2) (a), (d), (e), (f), (g) and (h), and if the landfill will accept municipal solid waste, sub. (3).

(c) An analysis shall be performed of the effect which groundwater flow may have on uplift of the liner and the short and long-term stability of the geomembrane component of the composite liner. The analysis shall evaluate the effect of an underdrain or other dewatering system.

(d) Borings, backhoe pits or other means of exposing subsoils shall be performed on a 100-foot grid to a minimum depth of 5 feet below the gradient control layer, if part of the design, or a minimum depth of 5 feet below the subbase grades of the liner. All detected granular or silty soils within this 5 foot depth shall be removed and replaced with compacted, fine-grained soils.

(a) A leachate collection system shall be included in each horizontal phase of the landfill. This system shall be designed to route leachate to the perimeter of the landfill in the most direct manner possible and limit the average leachate head level on the liner to one foot or less. The piping layout shall be such that leachate flows no more than 130 feet across the base of the liner before encountering a perforated leachate collection pipe. The department will consider greater flow distances for well designed composite landfills.

(b) The minimum slope on all leachate collection pipes at the base of the landfill shall be a constant 0.5%. The department recommends that greater pipe slopes be utilized whenever possible.

(c) The minimum diameter of all leachate collection or transfer pipes shall be 6 inches. Schedule 80 PVC pipe or an approved substitute shall be used.

(cm) Pipe fittings selected for use with PVC and HDPE pipe shall be secured to the leachate collection pipe. PVC fittings and pipe shall be solvent-welded. HDPE fittings and pipe shall be fusion welded.

(d) Leachate collection trenches for clay liners shall be designed as rectangular trenches. Leachate collection trenches for composite liners shall be designed as vee-trenches, with a minimum depth of 18 inches and with sideslopes no steeper than 3 horizontal to one vertical. The clay component of vee-trenches shall be smooth-drum rolled such that the clay in the trenches is smooth prior to placement of the membrane.

(dm) A geotextile shall be used to line the base and sidewalls of all leachate collection trenches and shall be placed directly over the geomembrane component of a composite liner or the clay component of a clay liner. The geotextile shall have a minimum weight of 12 oz/yd2, and may not be overlapped over the top of the trench. The geotextile specifications, including manufacturer's data for grab and puncture strength, shall be used to demonstrate that the geotextile can resist damage due to impact and puncture when aggregate is placed over the geotextile.

(e) The bedding material utilized in backfilling the leachate collection pipe trenches shall have a uniformity coefficient of less than 4, a maximum particle diameter of 11/2 inches, a maximum of 5% of the material which passes the number 4 sieve and consist of rounded to subangular gravel. A minimum depth of 4 inches of gravel shall be placed in the trenches prior to installation of the leachate pipes. The backfill shall also be placed such that a minimum of 6 inches of material exists above the top of the pipe and within the trenches. An additional 12 inches of material shall be mounded above the trench. In cases where the particle size of the drainage blanket is significantly less than the collection trench bedding, a properly designed graded soil filter or geotextile shall be utilized to minimize the migration of the drainage blanket material into the collection trenches. Limestone and dolomite may not be used in the leachate collection system unless no other suitable material is reasonably available.

(f) The sizing of sand, gravel, geotextiles and pipe openings shall be analyzed for control of piping of soil materials. The gradation of sand and gravel, the apparent opening size of geotextiles, and the pipe opening sizes shall be selected to achieve a stable and self-filtering structure under all conditions of leachate flow.

(g) All leachate collection lines shall have cleanout access points installed on both ends of each line and may not exceed 1,200 feet from the end of one cleanout to the toe of the opposite slope.

(h) Leachate lines, manholes and other engineering structures may not penetrate the liner in the vertical direction. For clay lined landfills, leachate transfer lines may penetrate the liner in the horizontal direction only. The number of liner penetrations shall be kept to a minimum. Composite lined landfills shall be designed without any perforations in the liner and in accordance with par. (j).

(i) Any leachate line that penetrates a clay liner shall have a 4 foot by 4 foot anti-seep collar placed around it. A minimum of 5 feet of compacted clay, as measured from the pipe, shall be placed around the collar in all directions.

(j) All composite lined landfills shall be designed and constructed with sumps and sideslope risers as part of their leachate removal system rather than utilizing systems which penetrate the composite liner sidewall. The leachate removal system shall meet the following requirements:

(k) All leachate lines transporting leachate out of the landfill by gravity shall be constructed with valves so the flow of leachate can be controlled. The valves shall be compatible with the leachate and be capable of being operated from the ground surface.

(l) All leachate transfer lines located outside of the composite lined or clay lined area shall be designed to assure groundwater protection through the use of double-cased pipe or by using another approved secondary containment method. All leachate transfer line piping shall be pressure tested prior to use. Unless otherwise approved by the department, the upslope end of the secondary pipe shall be sealed and the downslope end shall be open to allow any collected liquid to flow into the manhole.

(m) All leachate transfer lines, manholes, lift stations and other structures which transfer or store leachate outside the limits of waste shall be designed as shallow as practical and located far enough from the limits of filling so that excavations associated with repair of these devices would not infringe on the landfill cover system or sidewall liner. Each of these devices shall be constructed above the seasonal high groundwater table unless it is not technically feasible to do so and the design meets the requirements of par. (L).

(n) Leachate collection tanks and manholes shall be designed with a secondary containment system to prevent the discharge of leachate to ground and surface waters in the event of a leak or spill. Means shall be provided to monitor the tank and manholes within the secondary containment system unless other means for leak detection are approved by the department.

(o) All leachate collection tanks shall be designed to contain the volume of leachate which is generated by the landfill over a 4 day period and to withstand the soil and liquid loads that will be encountered during installation and use. The installation of the tanks shall follow the recommendations of the consultant and manufacturer.

(p) Measures shall be proposed to prevent accidental discharges at the leachate loadout station from entering groundwater or surface water. Unless an alternate method is approved by the department, the leachate loading station shall be paved with a concrete or asphalt pad and sloped to a catch basin to direct all spills back into the leachate holding tank.

(q) All manholes and enclosed structures for leachate and gas control systems shall be designed to allow for proper venting and access control. For landfills designed with active gas recovery systems, these devices shall be designed to minimize air intrusion into the landfill.

(r) All control systems such as pumps, valves and meters shall be designed to be operated from the ground surface.

(s) All leachate and groundwater collection systems shall be designed to accurately monitor the volume of liquid removed by the system.

(t) A minimum one foot thick granular drainage blanket shall be placed on top of the geomembrane component of a composite liner and on top of the clay component of a clay liner. For composite lined landfills, if the drainage blanket contains gravel greater than 1/4 inch, then a nonwoven geotextile shall be installed below the drainage blanket. The geotextile shall have a minimum weight of 12 oz/yd2 and shall be certified to be needle-free. The granular drainage blanket shall contain no more than 5% material by weight which passes the number 200 sieve.

(tm) Leachate collection blankets shall have a minimum hydraulic conductivity of 1 cm/sec for any site that accepts any amount of municipal solid waste and 1x10-2 cm/sec for landfills which do not accept municipal solid waste. The gradation of the granular drainage blanket and associated hydraulic conductivity shall be selected to maintain the maximum head in the drain within the drain thickness.

(u) All major horizontal clay lined phases above the saturated zone shall be designed with a collection basin lysimeter to monitor the unsaturated zone except for composite lined landfills.

(a) Landfills shall meet the requirements of pars.

(b) to (f) where they will accept municipal solid waste and contain leachate collection lines that exceed 1,200 feet from the end of each cleanout to the toe of the opposite slope. Where the requirements of this subsection differ from other requirements of this chapter, these requirements shall take precedence.

(b) The maximum length of leachate collection lines from the access point at one end to the toe of the opposite slope may not exceed 2,000 feet.

(c) The minimum slope on all leachate collection pipes and associated pipe trenches at the base of the landfill shall be designed and constructed to be 0.5% after accounting for primary and secondary settlement of the subgrade. The minimum design slope shall be selected following computation of 100% of the primary consolidation settlement and the secondary consolidation settlement of the compressible materials beneath the facility, which includes, as applicable, in-situ soil, added geologic material, structural fill material, and compacted clay liner. Secondary settlement shall be calculated using a 100-year time frame.

(d) Pipe bedding material shall be composed of coarse, uniform gravel with a hydraulic conductivity that is greater than or equal to the hydraulic conductivity of the leachate collection blanket specified in s. NR 504.06(5) (tm), in addition to meeting the other requirements of s. NR 504.06(5) (e).

(e) The maximum anticipated construction, operation and post-closure overburden loads over the leachate collection piping shall be calculated and utilized in selecting the pipe material and wall thickness, based on 6-inch pipe diameter and an appropriate in-field consolidated density.

(f) All components of the leachate collection system shall incorporate all of the following design features:

(a) The hydraulic performance of the GCL shall be assessed by the use of compatibility testing. The testing protocol shall be provided to the department for review and concurrence prior to the initiation of compatibility testing. The compatibility testing shall utilize percolation fluids that simulate the leachate that will be produced by the landfill.

(b) The GCL shall meet the specifications of s. NR 504.07(4) (a) 1. to 11.

(c) The GCL shall be underlain by a soil barrier layer that is a minimum of 2 feet thick and that meets the specifications of s. NR 504.07(4) (a) 12. to 17.