The Department of Environmental Protection announced this week it has approved a plan to allow landfill gas from the Conestoga Landfill in Berks County to be shipped via pipeline to Lancaster County where it can be converted to energy to help power local industry.

Granger Energy of Morgantown will construct a gas treatment plant in Lancaster County, which is expected to operate without air emissions by subjecting the gas to a three-stage treatment process, including dewatering, filtration and compression.

Granger will use multiple pieces of equipment to remove as much water as possible from the gas. The process will also remove other condensable items. The gas will pass through a filter designed to remove particulate equal to and less then 10 microns.

Any gas not treated and shipped will be returned to the landfill to be burned by the existing on-site flares.

New Morgan Landfill Company Inc., which operates the municipal solid waste landfill in New Morgan Borough, now controls the generated gas on the site with two enclosed ground flares.

The gas treatment plant will take the place of a proposed gas-to-energy facility at the landfill property. Plans for the gas-to-energy facility were approved in 2006, but were appealed by Berks County.

As part of the settlement agreement, Granger agreed to withdraw its plans to construct a treatment plant and pump station for the landfill gas.

For more information on the use of landfill gas as energy, visit DEP’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program webpage.

NewsClip: Plans Modified for Landfill Gas-to-Energy

8/15/2008