Reporting Landfill Gas Data - PUB2942

The Missouri Solid Waste Management Law and regulations require sanitary, demolition and some special waste landfill owners and operators to design and implement gas monitoring programs at their facilities. Gas monitoring programs are required at most permitted landfills. These programs must be capable of detecting methane gas migration in order to protect human health and safety and the surrounding environment.

The monitoring data must be submitted to the Department's Waste Management Program at least quarterly, using the Comma Separated Value (CSV) file format. CSV files can be created from Microsoft Excel^®, Apple Numbers^® and many other spreadsheet programs. The monitoring data must also be submitted in a format prescribed by the Department to enable data tracking and ensure the data will meet the regulatory requirements. Format and submission requirements are provided below.

Sampling events are meant to provide representative samples for each landfill for every quarter. Do not conduct sampling late in one quarter and early in the next quarter in order to submit the data together at one time. Collecting and submitting gas monitoring data this way leaves a large gap in the gas sampling data. Four to five months may pass before the Waste Management Program receives the next set of gas monitoring data. Although this may technically meet monitoring requirements, it does not meet the intent of the law, which is to provide regular, representative sampling of gas concentrations to the Waste Management Program to ensure there are no unusual or excessive gas concentrations occurring at the landfill.

Formatting the Data

Use these guidelines when setting up your facility’s monitoring results spreadsheet.

1. The first row should only contain data and should not be a header or title for the information.
2. Each row provides gas monitoring results for each well on a specific date.
3. The landfill's permitted name should be included in the email when submitting the data. The permit number also should be included and be the one most recently assigned by the Waste Management Program. The first number of the permit should not be zero.
4. The well identification name/ number (ID) must exactly match the monitoring well IDs that were submitted in the landfill's most recently-approved gas monitoring plan. Well IDs must be written exactly the same way every time the data is submitted, including proper spacing. For example, if a gas monitoring well ID was originally submitted as well 01-R, it must be submitted as 01-R for every subsequent monitoring event.
5. The database will accept the sample collection date in several formats. Please use one of the following date formats when submitting your data:
   • m/d/yy
   • m/d/yyyy
   • m/d/yy 1:56 PM
   • m/d/yyyy 1:56 PM
   • m/d/yy 13:56
   • m/d/yyyy 13:56
6. No extraneous information should be entered in any columns. If a well was not sampled, leave the field blank. Do not enter 0, NS, Not Sampled, a space, hyphen, etc., or any other explanation in the cell. Only enter the value 0 if the monitoring well contained zero methane when sampled. Do not enter measuring units, such as % or ppm, after the gas concentration amount written in the database field. If you would like to explain why the well was not sampled, or provide any additional comments or information about the monitoring or the wells, please include this information in the email the data is attached to for your submission.

* Required information for each submittal.

Saving the File

The CSV file format was chosen because it will prevent certain types of import errors that can be caused by common spreadsheet programs. The example below shows how to save a spreadsheet in CSV format using Microsoft Excel^®.

1. Click on the File tab and select Save As
2. In the Save As pop-up window, choose a location to save the document
3. At the bottom of the Save As pop-up window, in the Save as type field, click on the dropdown arrow and choose CSV (Comma delimited) from the dropdown list
4. In the bottom-right corner of the Save As pop-up window, click Save.
5. You may see a message window pop-up, stating the CSV file "...may contain features that are not compatible with CSV....". Select Yes and continue closing the file.

Submitting the Data

Email the CSV file, as an attachment, to swgasmon@dnr.mo.gov. Please use the following guidelines when submitting the data:

1. Use the following email subject line: (Most recently-approved Landfill Name), Permit # (Most recently-approved Permit Number) Gas Monitoring Results for (Time Period) (i.e. 1^st Qtr 2011, Week Ending 1/7/2011, etc.). For example, ABC Sanitary Landfill, Permit #123456, Gas Monitoring Results for 3^rd Qtr 2008.
2. In addition to any comments or a description of the monitoring conducted in the attachment, include the following statement in the email body:  
   • Per 10 CSR 80-3.010(12)(D)8, I am submitting landfill gas monitoring data for the (Landfill Name), Permit # (Permit Number). By sending this e-mail, I certify that the information submitted has been collected by me, or staff trained to conduct the sampling, and is accurate to the best of my knowledge. I certify that I have the authority to submit this data on behalf of the facility referenced.
3. Include the name and contact information of the individual who is submitting the data in the body of the email. Email signature lines are acceptable if they are of the individual who is submitting the data.
4. Attach data for only one landfill per email. If you need to submit data for multiple landfills, send separate emails and attachments for each landfill.
5. You may submit data for multiple monitoring dates in the same attachment if more frequent gas monitoring is occurring at the landfill. However, the data must be submitted within seven days of sample collection to meet regulatory requirements. This should only occur if a more frequent sampling schedule has been implemented due to methane gas exceedances at the landfill.
6. Attach the CSV file to the email.

If you have any problems submitting the data, contact the Waste Management Program at the telephone number provided below.