FCC Waste Services (UK) Limited: Greengairs Landfill Site, Meikle Drumgray Road, Greengairs, Airdrie - PPC Variation Application

Overview

It is part of SEPA’s remit to maintain a high-quality environment by setting permit conditions which limit the impacts associated with installations operating under Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) Part A regulations.

Application details

We received an application from FCC Waste Services Ltd to vary their existing PPC permit (PPC/W/0020041) at Meikle Drumgray Road, Airdrie.

The proposed variations are summarised below -

• An increase to the maximum permitted leachate level from 2m to 8m in phases 8, 9 and 10 at the site Landfill;
• Removal of the the obligation to install additional groundwater monitoring boreholes to the east, west and south-west of the current site landfill footprint, and within the non-filled areas of land to the west of phase 7d;
• The removal of conditions requiring baseline hydrogeological data to be collected on the basis that this data has now been collated and used to form the current Hydrogeological risk assessments
• A revision of the environmental monitoring schedules for ground water and leachate, including a proposal to amend existing groundwater trigger levels;
• Increase the maximum quantity of Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA) which can be stored on the dedicated storage pad on site from 30,000 tonnes to 46,000 tonnes;
• The application also outlines an amendment to the overall site landform due to a proposed downturn in landfilling activities over the coming years, not least as a result of the impending ban on the landfilling of municipal waste.  The footprint of proposed landfilling activities will therefore be smaller than previously thought.  Whilst this amendment does not in itself require a change to any specific permit condition, a revised stability risk assessment has been submitted for review;
• Finally, the application outlines a change to infrastructure around the site offices, but again this will not require a change to any specific permit condition.

SEPA has agreed to the variation as requested, with the following caveats. 

The maximum permitted leachate head has been varied to a maximum of 7m in these particular cells rather than the 8m applied for, and the requirement to install monitoring boreholes to the east and west and south-west of the site remains unchanged.

A summary of their application is available below:

• Non-Technical Summary

Why your views matter

SEPA have assessed the application and has drafted new permit conditions. These, along with the decision document, are available below:

• Draft variation conditions
• Draft Decision Document

This is your opportunity to let us know your views on the proposed conditions. The consultation will be open for 28 days from date of publication. SEPA will consider any comments received between 11 May and 8 June 2022 before issuing the final decision.

Your comments will be published unless you ask us not to, in which case we will publish a note saying that we received a response but have not made it publicly available.