SCH Number 2021020054

Project Info

Title

Visalia Disposal (Landfill) Site and Biogas and Compost Facility – Landfilling Operations

Description

This Draft Focused Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR) is tiering off the adopted/certified EIR (SCH No. 2021020054) for the Visalia Disposal (Landfill) Site Compost and Biogas Compost - Facility project. The SEIR will address two proposed updates to the County’s current landfill permit from the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to avoid the County’s risk of violating its current permit by exceeding its daily tonnage limit. Tulare County intends to develop and operate a covered aerated static pile (CASP) compost facility within the Visalia Landfill property to comply with the upcoming SB 1383 regulations. The compost facility will occupy 36 acres of the 634-acre Landfill site. The compost facility will be designed to accept up to 200,000 tons per year (TPY) in increments of 50,000 TPY technology modules and can store up to 200,000 cubic yards on-site of organic material that would have otherwise been landfilled. The compost facility would include installing processing and composting equipment, a 50,000 square foot processing building, compacted compost pads, and a lined pond. To accommodate the transport of organic material for the compost and biogas component at the Landfill, it is anticipated that a maximum of 300 vehicles (haul trucks) would be required. Increases in haul trucks would be incremental over an approximately 13-year period when the compost and biogas component reach maximum operations. The proposed Project is intended to maintain the current maximum permitted volume of solid waste (2,000 TPD) and increase total daily vehicles by 300 vehicles (to haul in organic material) for the compost/biogas component of the Landfill. To summarize, the Project consists of two updates to the existing Landfill operational permits: 1) increase the Landfill’s total permitted tonnage to 3,000 tons per day (tpd), by directing 2,000 tpd to the landfilling operation and the remaining 1,000 tpd to the composting operation; and increase the Landfill’s total permitted haul trucks from 900 to 1,200 trucks per day to accommodate the additional 1,000 tpd.

7 documents in project