Evaluation of the Performance of a Pulp and Paper Mill Sludge Landfill Final Cover System, 1998 Environmental Conference Proceedings

Kwasi Badu-Tweneboah

GeoSyntec Consultants

Paula L. Wentzell

Mead Paper, Fine Paper Division

Joseph C. Lawson

Mead Paper, Fine Paper Division

This paper describes a monitoring program for the evaluation of the performance of a final cover system for a pulp and paper mill sludge landfill. The program consisted of measurements and interpretation of hydrologic, geometric, and water-quality analytical data for evaluating the performance of the final cover system. Rain gauges and flow meters were used to continuously collect precipitation, surface-water, and leachate flow data from the landfill cover system. Surveying measurements were conducted to monitor the settlement and lateral movements of the cover system. Surface-water discharges from the landfill cover system were periodically sampled, analyzed for select chemical constituents, and compared with leachate analytical data. The monitoring data were analyzed and compared with analytical models used to design the landfill cover system. Based on the evaluation of the five-year monitoring data, the final cover system is performing its intended function of containment by minimizing infiltration and percolation of precipitation into the landfill.