In one of the most important state environmental decisions this year, California air regulators adopted new rules designed to reduce methane leaks and better respond to disastrous underground fires at landfills statewide. <\/p>\n
California Air Resources Board members voted 12-0 on Thursday to approve a batch of new regulations<\/a> for the state\u2019s nearly 200 large landfills, designed to minimize the release of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas produced by decomposing organic waste. Landfills are California\u2019s second-largest source of methane emissions, following only the state\u2019s large dairy cow and livestock herds.<\/p>\n The new requirements<\/a> will force landfill operators to install additional pollution controls; more comprehensively investigate methane leaks on parts of landfills that are inaccessible with on-the-ground monitoring using new technology like drones and satellites; and fix equipment breakdowns much faster. Landfill operators also will be required to repair leaks identified through California\u2019s new satellite-detection program. <\/p>\n The regulation is expected to prevent the release of 17,000 metric tons of methane annually \u2014 an amount capable of warming the atmosphere as much as 110,000 gas-fired cars driven for a year. <\/p>\n It also will curtail other harmful landfill pollution, such as lung-aggravating sulfur and cancer-causing benzene. Landfill operators will be required to keep better track of high temperatures and take steps to minimize the fire risks that heat could create. <\/p>\n There are underground fires burning in at least two landfills in Southern California \u2014 smoldering chemical reactions that are incinerating buried garbage, releasing toxic fumes and spewing liquid waste. Regulators found explosive levels of methane emanating from many other landfills across the state.<\/p>\n