Ground Water Discharge Permit For Unlined Rubble Landfills Details

A groundwater discharge permit, along with a refuse disposal permit, includes limitations and requirements deemed necessary to protect public health and minimize groundwater pollution in the State of Maryland. Groundwater discharge permits for rubble landfills regulate the discharge of pollutants that may be generated as a result of rain water or groundwater passing through the rubble waste in an unlined disposal cell and seeping into groundwater beneath the landfill. Rubble waste consists primarily of waste resulting from construction and demolition activities and land clearing debris.

All rubble landfills constructed after July 1, 2001 are required to have liners and leachate collection systems, so groundwater discharge permits are no longer needed for new rubble landfills. However, existing unlined rubble landfills are required to maintain these permits until such time as the Department determines that a regulated discharge is no longer occurring.