Landfill Compliance Monitoring for US EPA and Canada ECCC Requirements
Drone Surface Emissions Monitoring for Regulatory Compliance
US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) Approval for Quarterly Compliance Monitoring
On December 15, 2022, the US EPA issued Alternative Test Letter (ALT-150) announcing broad-based and immediate approval of OTM-51 (Other Test Method 51 - UAS Application of Method 21 for Surface Emission Monitoring for landfill applications). This revolutionarymethod utilizes the SnifferDRONE™ to autonomously identify methane leak sources and their emissions, and requires manual verification.
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The Sniffer team provides OTM-51 service to landfill operations throughout the United States.
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Approved for Compliance Monitoring Under Canada's ECCC Landfill Methane Regulations
SnifferDRONE™ is approved for use under Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) landfill methane regulations, providing a safer and more efficient alternative to traditional walking surveys. Using the EPA-approved OTM-51 methodology, SnifferDRONE™ delivers accurate methane monitoring and compliance-ready reporting through SnifferVIEW™, our ArcGIS-based platform, with leak location data available in real-time and compliance reporting delivered by the next business day.
SnifferDRONE services are provided through Canadian Partners, exclusively with Canadian labor.
Faster Compliance Monitoring.
Faster Repairs.
Faster Reporting.
Landfill operators need more than methane monitoring—they need actionable results quickly. Sniffer Robotics combines EPA-approved SnifferDRONE™ technology with advanced ArcGIS-based reporting tools to deliver a faster, safer, and more efficient approach to landfill compliance SEM monitoring.
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Unlike traditional walking SEM, the SnifferDRONE™ remotely surveys landfill surfaces while maintaining consistent path spacing and precise geospatial data collection. This approach improves worker safety by reducing exposure to steep slopes, difficult terrain, traffic hazards, and adverse weather conditions while delivering comprehensive surface emissions monitoring across active and closed landfill areas.
OTM-51 improves accuracy while increasing safety and speed of methane emissions studies while delivering faster insights, enable operators to begin remediation immediately.
100 Acre Landfill
One of the biggest advantages of the Sniffer Robotics platform is speed.
Methane leak detection data is automatically processed through SnifferVIEW™, our ArcGIS-powered reporting platform, allowing operators to see leak locations in real-time and receive compliance-ready reports as soon as the next business day. Rather than waiting days or weeks for data processing and report generation, operators gain immediate visibility into exceedances, repair priorities, and compliance status.
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This accelerated workflow enables:
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Faster identification of methane exceedances
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Earlier repair planning and resource allocation
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Quicker re-monitoring and verification activities
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Improved compliance documentation
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Reduced administrative burden
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Greater confidence in regulatory reporting
Real-Time Leak Data.
Next-Day Compliance Reporting
Designed for Challenging and Unsafe to Walk Landfill Terrain
Landfills present some of the most difficult and hazardous environments for traditional walking surveys. Steep side slopes, wet or muddy conditions, slippery geomembrane covers, uneven surfaces, and active working faces can make surface emissions monitoring both time-consuming and potentially hazardous for field personnel.
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SnifferDRONE™ is specifically designed to overcome these challenges. By performing monitoring remotely from the air, the system can safely survey areas that are difficult, uncomfortable, or unsafe to walk, including steep slopes, geomembrane-covered cells, intermediate cover areas, and active disposal faces. The drone maintains consistent flight paths and monitoring coverage regardless of terrain conditions, ensuring comprehensive data collection across the entire landfill.
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This ability to access hard-to-reach areas not only improves worker safety but also helps operators achieve more complete site coverage, identify emissions in locations that might otherwise be difficult to inspect, and maintain consistent monitoring quality throughout the landfill.
Why are Companies Converting to OTM-51?
It's the Right Thing to Do!
We know methane emissions are a contributor to climate change and it is generally accepted that we must reduce methane emissions to maintain our quality of life.
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Advancements in technology, from drones to satellites, are empowering interveners, regulators, and neighbors with transparent emissions data. This new, publicly available information is forcing the industry to adopt new technologies and methods to better detect and mitigate methane emissions.
Despite the importance of detecting methane emissions, the industry relies on a subjective, inefficient, ineffective, and hazardous method (Method 21) to inspect for methane emissions.
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OTM-51 is the waste industry's first and only method approved by the US EPA for quarterly surface emissions monitoring, automating the inspection via an unmanned aerial system (UAS - drone). It is proven to be the best available method for surface emissions monitoring available today.
Find More Leaks!
OTM-51 finds more methane leaks! In a blind study conducted by a major waste company, the method resulted in detecting 50% more leaks, and was performed 25% faster than traditional Method 21.
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Contact us for a copy of the blind test.
Detecting and remediating more leak sources benefits the environment and improves operations by capturing more gas that can be converted to energy.
Safer & Less Hazardous!
On average, a technician walks 20 miles to inspect a landfill per the traditional method (Method 21). In addition, technicians walking the landfill for inspection are continually exposed to slip, trip, and fall hazards, rodents, insects (ticks), animals, weather, and other risks. OTM-51 reduces technicians' exposure to hazards by 50% by reducing overall foot traffic to perform the inspection.
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Cover Integrity Inspection
During SnifferDRONE flights, the pilot is able to simultaneously inspect the landfill cover system from the drone's 4K camera. The pilot can photograph suspect areas and deviate from the pre-programmed flight path to collect methane data over the area. Manual verification for these areas can also be performed as required.
Greater Process
& Quality Control
The SnifferDRONE is flown precisely over the area, per pre-programmed flight paths, to collect comprehensive methane emissions data with associated GPS coordinates. Flights can be re-flown to capture data from the same location to compare emissions data over time. Quality checks are also performed to assure proper data collection coverage as required by regulations.
A Complete Solution!
Software, Automation, and Actionable Information.
Leak locations and cover integrity data are pushed to Sniffer Field Ops™ (SFO) mobile app for technicians to manually inspect the locations quickly, coinciding with the SnifferDRONE flights. Purchasing a subscription to SFO allows site operations to be alerted to leak locations in near-real time and view all details from their mobile app. Data is filtered to provide binary and actionable information for compliance reporting.
Gain Additional Insights!
Analytics and calculations can be performed to better understand the cause and frequency of the site's methane emissions, as well as the results of remediation.
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Also consider these additional purposes of using data captured during compliance work:​
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And, it's Cost Competitive!
Sniffer performs OTM-51 at competitive costs to Method 21 inspection.
The time is right to upgrade your quarterly surface emissions monitoring plan. Here's what you need to do to convert:
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Contact Sniffer to obtain a quote for services.
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Notify your responsible agency in advance, of your intent to adopt OTM-51 / ALT-150.
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