Successful RCRA Hazardous Waste Clean-up
Beaumont, Texas Rail Site, Lake Charles, Louisiana CWM
Shipping by rail was the best solution when an old pesticide plant in Tampa, Florida needed to get rid of more than 6500 tons of waste material. During a period of six weeks, the clean up involved the processing of 98 rail cars of waste material.
The material was shipped by rail from Tampa, Florida to Waste Management’s rail site at Beaumont, Texas, then transferred by truck 53 miles away to Lake Charles, Louisiana for processing. The waste material was off-loaded at Lake Charles into a bio pad, which comprises over three and one-half acres of cover and double-lined area to start the process of bioremediation using microorganisms for decontamination.
“This was a cost-effective approach for such a large clean-up. With rail, it’s easy to ship a lot of waste a long distance. Taking advantage of our proprietary process instead of the more expensive incineration process was a key factor,” said Max Whitehead, Manager Rail Services, Beaumont Rail Site.
One of the biggest advantages of the Beaumont, Rail Site is its central location, near Interstate 10 and 150 feet from the Neches River near the port of Beaumont.
“Our location is a real plus, since we offer barge capabilities to rail or truck. We are also well-positioned to receive rail from anywhere,” said Whitehead.
Served by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, the site is also easily accessed through interchanges with the Union Pacific RR, Kansas City Southern RR and the Texas Mexico Railway (Tex-Mex RR.).
While the site specializes in chemical waste and hazardous waste, capabilities include non-hazardous solid waste transportation as well.
“As part of our WasteByRail network, Beaumont is a great example of how we take care of everything from supplying tarps and liners to cover gondola cars to prevent leakage to arranging transportation from source generation to final processing,” said Bob Wallace, Manager Wastebyrail.com. “We provide the expertise for transporting waste by rail, truck, or barge and we work with companies, manufacturers, plants and cities to help them find the most effective and efficient means to dispose of their waste.”
For more information on toxic waste disposal by rail click here.
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City of Seattle
The City of Seattle has traditionally owned and operated its own landfills, but faced a problem in the mid-80s as both landfills neared capacity. Charged with finding another resource for disposal of its solid waste, the City originally turned to King County-owned and operated landfills. However, escalating rates soon proved to be unacceptable to City residents.
”We started looking at waste energy facilities, but after holding citizens’ meetings, we found Seattle residents were strongly opposed to incineration of waste,” said City of Seattle Solid Waste Contract Manager Ed Steyh. “Since Seattle has always been well-known as an environmentally conscious city, we decided to issue an RFP for waste disposal.”
The RFP had three requirements. First, the solid waste was to go to a landfill east of the Cascade Mountains or to a landfill in Eastern Washington or in Eastern Oregon. The City also required the landfill to be a dry site and requested a cradle to grave approach for transportation and disposal. Several RFP’s were submitted, but the contract was awarded to Waste Management for its proposal to use rail to ship waste to one of its landfills in Eastern Oregon.
“Out of the proposals received, Waste Management was selected, primarily because of their existing permitted facility and their ability to handle transportation of solid waste by rail,” said Steyh. “It has turned out to be a smooth operation.”
In addition, Steyh said the City was impressed by the community support Waste Management was able to generate from the folks in Gilliam County in Eastern Oregon where the waste was to be taken for disposal. A contingency from Eastern Oregon visited the City of Seattle to express their interest in promoting the project for the potential revenue, jobs and reduced property taxes it would bring to their community. Through Waste Management, the two entities were able to forge a collaborative effort.
The contract has been in effect since April 1991. Waste Management handles the transfer of more than 475,000 tons of municipal solid waste annually from two city-owned transfer stations and two privately owned transfer stations, one of them a Waste Management facility. The City of Seattle supplies the chassis and drivers to deliver waste to the railhead and Waste Management supplies the intermodal containers for rail shipment.
“Waste Management has been successful in meeting quick turnaround times for the unloading of individual trucks as specified in the contract. The fact that they own a separate gate and scale make it easier to unload. They also have empty containers available at all times,” said Steyh.
The City also likes the fact that the railhead facility is open 24/7 and that Waste Management handles all the transportation issues, dealing with the railroad and providing back-up transport by truck if rail isn’t possible.
“Rail is a nice easy transportation mode. Once the solid waste is on the train, you don’t have to think about it. We’ve got a long-term contract with Waste Management and we are proud to be one of the first cities to transport all our solid waste by rail,” said Steyh.
“It takes a lot of coordination. That’s the key element in making sure this goes smoothly,” said Steve Seed, Division Manager of Waste Management’s Arlington Landfill. “We’ve got a lot of experience in coordination since we turn around the Seattle Waste train in just eight hours—from its arrival at 8:00 am to its departure at 4:00 pm."
An example of the commitment made by Waste Management to bring all the components together to create a “win win” situation, the City of Seattle contract provides a cost-effective and efficient means of disposing waste by rail that benefits two different communities in unique ways.
For more information about transporting municipal solid waste (MSW) by rail click here.
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Design, Build, & Implement Transfer Station and Intermodal Facility
Kitsap County, Washington
Waste Management was recently awarded a new and exciting contract with Kitsap County near the town of Bremerton, Washington to design, build, implement and operate a transfer station and intermodal facility as well as handle the disposal contract for the next twenty years, commencing July 2002.
Currently, Kitsap County’s waste is disposed of in the nearby Olympic View Sanitary Landfill (OVSL), a Waste Management landfill slated for closure in 2002. The new facility will be located near the existing landfill on an approximate eleven-acre site on Kitsap County’s property near the local rail line.
Initially, approximately 220,000 tons of municipal solid waste will flow into the facility. The waste will be sorted and compacted into intermodal solid waste containers that will ride in Husky Stack rail well cars from Kitsap County to Waste Management’s Columbia Ridge landfill in Arlington, Oregon.
Based on estimated annual tons and five days per week rail service, approximately 24 to 28 intermodal containers will be transported each day requiring between 12 and 14 rail well cars a day to handle the volume. When a unit train of 50 well cars, containing approximately four days worth of waste, is ready, the waste will be transported by rail from the local railroad to the mainline near Centralia, Washington. After the short line picks it up, the cars will be interlined with the Union Pacific Railroad and transported to the Columbia Ridge landfill in Arlington, Oregon for disposal.
Tapping into Waste Management’s vast experience in solid waste disposal and rail transportation, the Kitsap County project demonstrates a creative solution to dealing with a landfill closure. The ability to design, build and implement—from initial conception to final implementation—mirrors the “cradle to grave” process for waste disposal by using rail transportation as a practical application.
For more information about designing, building, and operating a transfer station and intermodal facility click here.
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Harlem River Yard & Oak Point Yard, New York City
Calling rail transportation of solid waste the wave of the future, Waste Management’s Bronx District Manager Eddie Mullen said communication and coordination are the keys to success. Mullen operates an intermodal facility which opened in November 1999 that sends an average of 30 cars of municipal solid waste a day to Waverly, Virginia for processing at one of four landfill sites.
Dubbed The Bronx Express, the rail train is loaded at the Waste Management facility directly from collection trucks. Designed especially to facilitate rail transport of municipal solid waste (MSW), the 60,000 square foot tipping floor is a bit larger than a professional football field and accommodates 40 to 50 garbage trucks out of sight. The facility itself is secluded and blends into the surrounding area.
“We want to be a community friendly site and the community is very supportive,” said Mullen. “With rail there is less truck traffic and less fumes. This facility was built to minimize the impact on the neighborhood.”
In addition to developing a good rapport with neighbors, Mullen believes good communication with Waste Management’s strategic partner CSXT Railroad is essential. “We have instant access by computer for tracking to enhance coordination.”
When The Bronx Express arrives in Waverly, Virginia, Waste Management District Manager Lee Wilson oversees the off-loading of the containerized waste at his facility.
“We receive 55,000 tons of waste a month for processing and we are the biggest source of revenue in this community,” said Wilson. “Hauling waste by rail is successful from both a safety standpoint and in keeping trucks off the road and out of the neighborhood.”
For more information on building and/or operation of an intermodal facility click here.
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Annapolis Junction Transfer Station/Jessup, MD, King George Landfill/Sealston, VA
One of the most successful public private partnerships in the waste by rail transportation industry is The Emerald Express---a Waste Management, CSXT and Maryland and Virginia municipalities collaboration. This 26-car unit train runs every night between Annapolis Junction Transfer Station in Maryland to King George Landfill in Virginia, carrying more than 480,000 tons of municipal solids waste (MSW) annually.
The Emerald Express is a solution to a very big problem. How do you move that much trash 90 miles south on a daily basis through the extremely congested Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. corridor where traffic is often gridlocked?
“To move that much waste by truck would take more than 100 trucks a day and there would be return trip problems,” said Waste Management District Manager Tim Schotsch. “The unit train eliminates safety and nuisance issues by reducing traffic, pollution and fuel. Since the train operates during off-peak hours at night, the transfer of waste is out of sight and out of mind for the public.”
The unit train runs every evening, leaving from King George Landfill at 6:00 p.m. with empty rail cars and returning to the landfill site during the night with full cars. The specially designed gondola rail cars hold 70 tons of solid waste and are equivalent to 3 1/2 transfer carrier trucks.
“This is a true public private partnership. We are moving a tremendous volume of waste every day and it works extremely well,” said Schotsch.
For information on how you can become a strategic partner click here.
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West Edmonton Landfill, Edmonton, Alberta
Minimizing risk and cost-efficiencies are two of the biggest benefits of shipping waste by rail. As the only direct rail access landfill in Western Canada, the West Edmonton Landfill site is uniquely positioned to help clients who need to get rid of contaminated soils or other waste.
A current project involves the transfer of 11,000 metric tons of contaminated sludge using gondola rail cars from Squamish BC to the West Edmonton Landfill site located in Edmonton, Alberta. The streamlined process minimizes the risk factor to the environment with direct transfer of the waste to the landfill for disposal in a dedicated industrial waste cell (DIWC.).
"Rail is one of the safest methods of transportation. When you are shipping rail to rail, there is no chance of cross-contamination. There are also economic advantages of shipping bulk material by rail that can translate into significant savings," said David (Skip) Kerr, Western Canada Landfill Sales Manager.
Working closely with the railroads, site clean-up projects are carefully coordinated to meet client deadlines. The Edmonton Landfill Site accepts a variety of waste streams including non-hazardous oilfield waste (non DOW), non-hazardous Industrial solid waste, BC special waste, commercial waste, domestic and municipal solid waste.
For more information on site clean-ups and minimizing risk to the environment by using rail to transport waste click here.
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