Principles of Waste Management EPID 541
Offered in Spring Semester (Cross listed with ENVS 541)
DEPARTMENT OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
AND COMMUNITY HEALTH
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY(VCU)
COURSE TIME/ROOM: Monday 7:00-9:40pm, Room 103,
Trani Life
Sciences Center, 1000 W. Cary
Street, VCU Campus
CREDITS: 3
Credit Hours
INSTRUCTOR: Dr.
M. A. Karim, P.E.
Environmental Engineer Senior
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
629 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219.
Phone: (804) 698-4196; 364-8101; Fax: (804) 698-4327
E-mails:makarim@deq.virginia.gov / makarim@juno.com
URL: http://www.epidemiology.vcu.edu/Faculty/karim.htm
COURSE SYLLABUS:
Introduction to waste management; Definition, types, characteristics,
generation, storage, collection, transfer, treatment, and disposal of wastes;
Federal, Virginia, and local regulatory requirements and issues including
a discussion of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) & Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), constitutional
restrictions on state regulation, Virginia Department of Environmental
Quality (VADEQ) regulation, and local regulation of waste management facilities
and practices; Types of landfills; Concepts of conventional (dry tomb)
and bioreactor (wet) landfill design, operations, and performance; Waste
minimization, recycling and environmental impacts; An overview of remediation
of contaminated soil and groundwater at existing disposal sites.
MPH MISSION STATEMENT:
The mission of the MPH program at Virginia Commonwealth University is to
promote health and well-being through commitment to public health education,
excellence in research, and dedication to community service.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
After taking the course, the students will be able to -
- define and characterize solid and hazardous wastes from technical and regulatory points of view;
- identify the most common waste processing, minimizing, recycling, and separation techniques and their application;
- acquaint themselves with federal and state laws, regulations, and policy related to waste management;
- understand the design, operations, and performance of landfills currently being practiced;
- understand the beneficial use of waste management by-products such as leachate and gas;
- acquaint themselves with federal and state permitting process for waste management;
- understand the soil and groundwater remediation process;
- speak intelligently in public and help in the decision making process in the arena of waste management;
- bridge environmental law, regulation, and engineering related to waste management; and
- conduct legal research in the area of solid and hazardous waste management.
TEXT:
Environmental Engineering by Howard S. Peavy, Donald R. Rowe, and George Tchobanoglous, McGraw Hill Book Company, Current Edition. (Note: Students may not need to buy the book. Handouts will be prepared based on the required chapters from the book and will be given to the students).
COURSE OUTLINE:
|
Introduction to waste management; Definition, types, characteristics, generation, storage, collection, treatment, disposal, and perspective of solid waste. |
|
Chapters 10, 11 |
Lecture 2: |
Definition, types, characteristics, generation, storage, collection, treatment, and disposal of hazardous waste. |
|
Handouts |
Lecture 3: |
RCRA and CERCLA
|
|
Dr. Vance, |
Lecture 4: |
DEQ and Local Regulation; Constitutional Limits to Regulation. |
|
Dr. Vance, |
Lecture 5: |
Introduction and landfill perspective; Types of landfills; Concepts of conventional (dry tomb) landfill design, operations, and performance. |
|
Chapter 11 |
Lecture 6: |
Introduction and landfill perspective; Types of landfills; Concepts of conventional (dry tomb) landfill design, operations, and performance (Continued). |
|
Chapter 11 |
Lecture 7: |
EXAM 1 (MID TERM 1) |
|
|
Break |
Spring Break |
|
|
Lecture 8: |
Other solid waste management facilities design, operations, and performance; Case studies. |
|
Instructor /Mr. Godfrey, VADEQ |
Lecture 9:
|
Concepts of bioreactor (wet) landfill design, operations, and performance; Case studies. |
|
Handouts |
Lecture 10: |
Generation, control, and beneficial use of landfill leachate and gas. |
|
Chapter 11 |
Lecture 11: |
EXAM 2 (MID TERM 2) |
|
|
Lecture 12:
|
Waste minimization, recycling and environmental impacts; Review of a typical solid waste permit issued by the VADEQ. |
|
Chapter 12 & Handouts |
Lecture 13: |
Term Paper presentation and submission. Review of a typical solid waste permit-by-rule (PBR) issued by the VADEQ if time permits. Start of Lecture 14, if time permits. |
|
Handouts |
Lecture 14: |
Remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater at existing disposal sites. Review for the Final Exam. Term Paper presentation and submission (Remaining, if any). |
|
Handouts |
Lecture 15: |
FINAL EXAM |
|
|
GRADING:
| 1. Mid Term 1 | - 25% |
| 2. Mid Term 2 | - 25% |
| 3. Final Exam | - 35% |
| 4. Term Paper/Presentation | - 10% |
| 5. Class participation & attendance | - 5% |
| Total | - 100% |
TERM PAPER/PRESENTATION:
A term paper of 15-20 pages, typed and double spaced with pages numbered,
with at least five references has to be submitted on or before the date
of final exam (or an assigned date) or a presentation of about 10-15
minutes has to be done in a specified time (usually it is the last day
of the class). Topics for both the term paper and the presentation need
prior approval of the instructor. A term paper of 35-40 pages, typed
and double spaced with pages numbered, with at least 10 references can
be submitted by a group of two students. Term papers should be organized
as follows:
Cover page
Table of Contents
Abstract/Summary or Overview (maximum 1 page)
Text of paper (may contain headings and subheadings)
References
Appendices, if any (not to exceed 5 pages)
Note: An effort will be made, if students show enough interest, to visit a nearby sanitary landfill in order to show students the daily activities in a typical sanitary landfill facility.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS:
USEPA and DEQ regulations related to solid and hazardous waste management
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/ ; http://www.deq.state.va.us
Waste Management Practices, Municipal, Hazardous, and Industrial by
John Pitchel, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, 2005 Edition.
Integrated Solid Waste Management by George Tchobanoglous,
Theisen, H., and Vigil, S., McGraw-Hill, New York, 1993 or current edition.
RCRA Orientation Manual, Developed by EPA Office of Solid
Waste/Communications, Information, and Resources Management Division, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20460.
Any other books on Solid and Hazardous Waste Management.
EXTENDED COURSE OUTLINE:
Lecture 1: Introduction to waste management, definition
and types of solid waste from technical and regulatory points of view,
characteristics of solid waste, generation rate of solid waste in different
regions and climate, process for storage, collection, treatment, disposal
procedures, and perspectives.
Lecture 2: Definition of hazardous wastes from technical and regulatory points of view, Introduction to RCRA: waste management act and provisions/subtitles, evolution of RCRA legislation, components of RCRA, RCRA and its interrelationship to other environmental statutes,Identification of hazardous waste, hazardous waste exclusions and exemptions, types of hazardous waste: listed and characteristic hazardous wastes, mixture rule, hazardous waste recycling and universal wastes, hazardous waste generators and transporters, hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs), land disposal restrictions, combustion, and permitting for TSDFs.
Lecture 3: Legislative histories, statutory structure; comparison between hazardous waste & solid waste provisions; promulgation of regulations; state programs; underground storage tank’s (UST's); release notifications; federal, state & private cleanup/cost recovery; liability for response actions, impact on commercial real estate transactions; miscellaneous statutory provisions; enforcement; judicial review. Guest Speaker: Dr. R. Leonard Vance.
Lecture 4: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Programs [solid, hazardous, UST/AST]; concepts of federalism; private enforcement, citizen suits & attorney's fees; standing; pre-emption; takings; scientific evidence; Dillon's Rule and limits to agency power; Philadelphia v. New Jersey; Chemical Waste Management v. Hunt ; Carbone v. Clarkstown, NY. Guest Speaker: Dr. R. Leonard Vance.
Lecture 5: Introduction and landfill perspective; Types of Landfills: Sanitary, Construction/Demolition/Debris (CDD), Industrial landfills; Landfill siting criteria, design/construction overview of liners and leachate collection and storage systems, construction quality assurance and specifications, operations, groundwater and gas monitoring, closure design and construction, and post-closure care.
Lecture 6: Continued from Lecture 5.
Lecture 7: Mid Term Exam 1.
Lecture 8: Other facilities such as Solid waste transfer stations, Materials recovery facilities, Energy recovery and incineration facilities, Surface impoundments and lagoons, Waste piles, Miscellaneous units; Case studies. Guest Speaker: Mr. John Godfrey.
Lecture 9: Definition of bioreactor landfill, types of bioreactor landfills such as aerobic, anaerobic, and hybrid bioreactor landfills, Basic difference between conventional (dry tomb) and bioreactor landfills, design overview of bioreactor landfills, advantages and disadvantage of bioreactor landfills over conventional landfills, landfill chemistry and microbiology, closure and post-closure care; Case studies.
Lecture 10: Sources of leachate generation, estimation of leachate generation by EPA HELP Model, storage, treatment, and disposal of leachate; Surface water, groundwater, and soil contamination by leachate; Beneficial use of leachate such as leachate recirulation in the filled waste; Sources of gas generation, estimation of gas generation by LandGEM , gas control and beneficial use such as power generation; Case studies.
Lecture 11: Mid Term Exam 2.
Lecture 12: Waste minimization and separation in the source, recycling and reuse of waste; Environmental impacts such as health hazards, soil and groundwater pollution by organic and inorganic pollutants from the waste; Parameters to be assessed for groundwater monitoring and the regulatory limits of the parameters, Review of a typical solid waste full permit issued by the VADEQ.
Lecture 13: Term paper presentation and submission. Review of a typical solid waste permit-by-rule (PBR) issued by the VADEQ. Start Lecture 14, if time permits.
Lecture 14: Remediation of Contaminated Soils and Groundwater: Introduction, Soil Remediation: in-situ remediation processes such as soil vapor extraction (SVE) aka: "soil venting" and "vacuum extraction", bioventing, biosparging, air sparging aka: "in-situ air stripping" and "in-situ-volatilization", electrokinetic, coupled electric-hydraulic gradient assisted by ion exchange medium (CEHIXM) process, ex-situ remediation process such as soil washing, low-temperature thermal desorption (LTTD) aka: "low-temperature volatilization", "thermal stripping" and "soil roasting" etc; Remediation of Groundwater such as pump and treat, air sparging, groundwater bioremediation, dual-phase extraction, etc. Review for the Final Exam. Term paper presentation and submission (Remaining, if any).
Lecture 15: Final Exam
GUEST SPEAKERS:
1. R. Leonard Vance, Ph.D., J.D., P.E., CIH, Associate
Professor, Dept. of Epidemiology & Community Health, 1112 East Clay
Street, Rm L-13, VCU/MCV, Richmond, VA 23298-0212, Phone: (804) 628-2513;
828-9785; Fax: (804) 828-4549, E-mail: vance@hsc.vcu.edu
2. Mr. John Godfrey, Environmental Engineer Senior, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, 4949-A Cox Road, Glen Allen, Virginia 23060, Phone: (804) 527-5028; Fax: (804) 527-5106, E-mail: jpgodfrey@deq.state.va.us.
