[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6196094,"mediaKeyId","3858144-0e80412ca8b1f2c9bfd6ab74104e836c","parentId",3858144,"title","Anchorage solid waste staff brief committee on Merrill Field leachate tests and landfill gas upgrades at regional landfill","audioSeconds",1370,"startMs",1391000,"endMs",2761000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3858144-0e80412ca8b1f2c9bfd6ab74104e836c&start=1391&end=2761","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3858144-0e80412ca8b1f2c9bfd6ab74104e836c/thumbnail_1391000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6196094/Anchorage-Municipality/Alaska/Anchorage-solid-waste-staff-brief-committee-on-Merrill-Field-leachate-tests-and-landfill-gas-upgrades-at-regional-landfill","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6196094-862cd3f66c650f1a9b32ca433c37c091/orig.mp4?Expires=1771004728&Signature=mr2Cp2qeDV80zlvVWOWjxO-kXSQ9-z1v1Fna2j7LCsrA8EL6MUmvEojKhv6B-Mc1PSt~d-bwAs3zNxbRuiE1y5bQ9DhwcnI1H0QubW9UvVZeRlUa2BxpxaCQOW0pCFrHTkELQoy5eDhijg33KusDlJlMTwwyAaKqqjJqkUgaswmTVEWdSn31jwoo4zetfqTJStZVhp2WBRP4TEAnGgHQoLh5VChHTaEvdJffvVqq-1T~loTzVh8M98ijEBxZS4jP1A~DPlhbxqC-OF-C~BU~~cfVvCl37pkPFnszAwhlKHZi9lpnlTtXbkzJqekmxwK-Brmx6TfB5vhTydJXq1PpsA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Municipality of Anchorage","date","2025-06-13T00:00:00Z","article","Solid Waste Services staff told the Assembly Infrastructure Enterprise and Utility Oversight Committee of the Whole on June 12 that they have installed a test production well at the closed Merrill Field landfill to measure leachate and groundwater and are moving quickly to design and begin construction of gas-control and pipeline improvements.

Kelly Toth, director of Solid Waste Services, and James Armstrong, chief engineer for engineering and planning, said the Merrill Field site — closed in 1984 and unlined — has rising groundwater and surface water creating leachate that has in some periods spilled onto adjacent Fifteenth Avenue. \"We did the emergency procurement,\" Toth said, and staff are installing gas probes, a leachate production well and replacement pipeline phases; parts are en route and construction is expected to start mid to late June.

The test well is a data collection step, staff said: it pumps groundwater and leachate to a nearby lift station where those liquids are currently pushed into the municipal sewer system. \"This is the test well. . . . This provides us data so that we can make further decisions,\" Armstrong said. Staff reported plans to use the test well's drawdown and flow measurements to size any additional wells and to design a scalable solution for leachate control.

Committee members asked whether the leachate flow onto public sidewalks creates a public-health risk. Toth said routine water-quality monitoring is in place and that staff will confirm whether recent flows were leachate and report back. She also said Solid Waste Services and airport staff are coordinating with the Federal Aviation Administration when work occurs near Merrill Field.

At the Anchorage Regional Landfill (ARL), staff described progress implementing a 2019 compliance order by consent with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) to reduce landfill gas emissions. Under that order, the municipality must increase destruction capacity; staff said they are designing additional flare capacity to reach a minimum burn rate of 4,000 standard cubic feet per minute and expected to reach 65% design in July with bidding and award anticipated later in the year.

Toth said ARL work also includes pond improvements and an initial bench‑scale study for advanced leachate treatment. Staff have expanded pond storage, improved aeration, and added a leachate load‑out pump to improve truck loading safety. Earlier disposal options such as deep well injection and evaporation were examined and ruled out; staff now seek an advanced treatment train (including reverse osmosis in bench testing) that could reduce leachate volume by roughly 90 percent and return reject streams to the landfill for sequestration if permitted.

Solid Waste is also preparing a request for proposals for operations and maintenance support of the gas collection and control system (GCCS) at ARL and Merrill Field, staff said; the RFP was in purchasing and could be advertised in the coming weeks with a potential fall procurement timeline. Toth said the ARL landfill was built with modern practices and that its remaining life is driven by investments and operating choices; staff cited a current estimate of roughly 70 years of remaining capacity but noted that lifespan can change with operational choices.

Committee members asked about possible beneficial uses of landfill gas. Toth said the primary near-term action is to increase collection and either route gas to Doyon for energy use (if Doyon expands capacity) or destroy the gas in new flares. \"Flaring is better than not flaring,\" she said, while continuing to pursue beneficial-use options.

No formal Assembly action was taken at the June 12 meeting; staff said further briefings and procurement items would be brought back to the Assembly as design and contracting progress.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Infrastructure, Enterprise and Utility Oversight Committee-of-the-Whole Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","Solid Waste Services updated the Assembly committee on a test well and leachate controls at the closed Merrill Field landfill and described ongoing upgrades and planning to expand landfill gas destruction capacity and leachate treatment at the Anchorage Regional Landfill under a 2019 compliance order by consent.","taxTitle","Anchorage Municipality, Alaska","taxId",2653,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6196099,"Anchorage staff pitch crane use ordinance that would let Matson own Port cranes while preserving limited municipal access",1001,41000,1042000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3858144-0e80412ca8b1f2c9bfd6ab74104e836c&start=41&end=1042","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3858144-0e80412ca8b1f2c9bfd6ab74104e836c/thumbnail_41000.jpg","/articles/6196099/Anchorage-Municipality/Alaska/Anchorage-staff-pitch-crane-use-ordinance-that-would-let-Matson-own-Port-cranes-while-preserving-limited-municipal-access","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6196099-28813e954ff28d108e2654cce9252034/orig.mp4?Expires=1771004728&Signature=GspjqjFP~l9m9rDM~zBHMBiZPOcyGTsTrCLfqq64Te05qlO1-K1HF8oXFdhbGoGhBTxaLTEOrxDEu-KrcWQWrrXkG8dJprWIsIuAjeoPSyyWcw~psKPPmnVryTVVd5QSO~LwiHUC3FjDaSS-LlmPYw0YLoWF2Rpibissu70pb67-0TsfvMRtdoEcZI7psHEjcLjTZtIH3z1hJbI2rTAm75x2kYHqfeNPKNs2qjPkg1clpqy7mjsgsoVCgPxqT8H~ms5AeobEHQdMrAkDfwbw-xcb0Ck-WKblKuwEt-M8JC0hrNhwwOcMPGz3UfcGgvS0clmaU9koFZTaoT84Im8RzA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Municipal staff told the Assembly Infrastructure Enterprise and Utility Oversight Committee of the Whole on June 12 that the crane-use agreement with Matson — an ordinance scheduled for introduction and public hearing on June 24 — would let Matson own and operate container cranes at the rebuilt Port of Alaska while preserving limited noncommercial and transient municipal access.

Becky Winpearson, municipal manager, said the construction contract for the Port has already been approved but the crane purchase agreement remains on hold while Matson decides whether to repurpose existing cranes or buy new ones. \"The only thing in front of you right now is the crane use agreement,\" Winpearson said. \"We have language that both parties are comfortable with, and that is what is going to come to you for introduction on the 06/24 meeting.\"

The draft use agreement, Winpearson and John Daly of the Port of Alaska said, reserves operational flexibility for the municipality in two broad categories: noncommercial uses tied to defense and emergency response, and limited third-party commercial or transient uses. Daly described the noncommercial carve-out as covering Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and FEMA requests, where consent \"would not be reasonably withheld\" though Matson might charge a fee and must staff the cranes. For third-party commercial users, the agreement treats short-term or infrequent calls as \"nonpermanent\" and not to be unreasonably denied; staff said a use repeated eight times within any four-year period would still be considered nonpermanent under the draft language.

Several committee members pressed staff on why the municipality is not purchasing cranes directly. \"Why didn't we buy these cranes?\" an assembly member asked, noting the cranes' cost is small relative to the overall project. Winpearson and Daly said two practical constraints drove the model: the high capital cost (staff cited an estimated $120,000,000 for purchase/transport/installation) and federal \"Buy America\" requirements tied to federal funding for the dock. Daly said most large cranes are manufactured abroad and federal funding can make procurement difficult; Matson, as a private purchaser not using federal grant dollars, would not be subject to the same Buy America restrictions.

Committee members also asked about cyber security and foreign-made equipment. Daly said industry reporting raises concerns about embedded spyware in some foreign-made cranes but that \"there's little or no documented cases of that actually happening.\" Winpearson said software and cybersecurity protections are issues to be addressed in the crane purchase agreement, which staff intend to negotiate to protect the municipality if Matson procures cranes with embedded risks.

Committee members asked whether approving the use agreement now could lock the municipality into terms that disadvantage it if Matson later declines to buy or operate the cranes. Winpearson said the administration prefers to \"secure as many components of this relationship now\" to limit future delay or paradigm shifts, but listeners were told the use agreement would not be executed until the purchase agreement terms — including the not-to-exceed purchase price — are finalized. \"At this point, we will not plan to execute this until we have the purchase agreement in place,\" Winpearson said.

The chair confirmed the item will be introduced as an ordinance June 24 with a public hearing; no formal vote or execution occurred at the June 12 committee meeting.

The committee discussion also flagged open dependencies and next steps: the crane-use ordinance is contingent on the still-open crane purchase agreement, and staff said any material changes to purchase terms would come back to the Assembly for review. Staff also noted they are pursuing federal funding avenues for the broader construction program and that procurement and indemnity language to address security or sourcing concerns would be incorporated into the purchase agreement.

The committee had no formal action on the use agreement at the June 12 meeting; staff said the administration will present the ordinance for introduction and public hearing on June 24 and that execution would occur only after purchase terms are resolved.","Municipal staff briefed the Assembly committee on a negotiated crane-use agreement with Matson that would have Matson own and operate new cranes at the Port of Alaska; the use agreement is scheduled for introduction and public hearing June 24, while the separate purchase agreement remains on hold.","actionData","errors"]

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Anchorage solid waste staff brief committee on Merrill Field leachate tests and landfill gas upgrades at regional landfill

Anchorage staff pitch crane use ordinance that would let Matson own Port cranes while preserving limited municipal access