I N T E R N A T I O N A L E R O S I O N C O N T R O L A S S O C I A T I O N

JANUARY 2013 | VOLUME 7 • ISSUE 1 | www.ieca.org

ENVIRONMENTAL CONNECTION 2013

PRE-CONFERENCE PLANNING GUIDE

STARTS ON PAGE 17

POLYMER SYSTEM ENSURES CLEAN WATER

FOR HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT

AMENDMENTS TO PREVENT SOIL EROSION

EROSION CONTROL & SPANISH OLIVES:

A FIELD TOUR

AWARD-WINNING MINE RECLAMATION PROJECT

LETS THE LAND GIVE BACK

WOOD-BASED MULCH: ARE YOU COVERED?

INSIDE

NO

NPRO

FIT O

RGU

S POSTA

GE

PAID

CPC MA

IL

International Erosion Control Association

3401 Quebec St. Ste. 3500

Denver, CO

80207

E N V I R O N M E N T A L

Plan your Environmental Connection 2013

trip with our Pre-Conference Planning

Guide, starting on page 17.

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28 • ENVIRONMENTAL CONNECTION

Award-Winning Mine Reclamation Project Lets the Land Give Back: Part One of Two

814 Solutions, LLC was responsible for thefollowing on the reclamation project: creation,implementation and maintenance of the SWPPP;harvesting all plant and plug material; transporta-tion and care of all plant material throughout theproject; soil analysis; amendment application andincorporation; seed bed preparation; seeding andmulching. Construction on the project began inMarch 2012, and most items were completed inOctober 2012. Cottonwood poles will be plantedin early Spring 2013.

The project was performed as a “time andmaterials project” with budgets set for each lineitem, so that production rates, material costs, laborhours and total project costs could be trackedthroughout the project. To lower the environmen-tal footprint of the project and to stretch the fund-ing dollars, all material that could be repurposedfrom onsite materials was considered for use.

Site ChallengesTo accommodate the dramatically different

changes in soil composition on the site, soil analy-sis was performed on small areas to accuratelydetermine the need for soil amendments, com-post material size variations and engineered woodstrand material application rates, depending on theslope of finished areas. Since the project is locatedinside a narrow canyon, there was limited space forconstruction activities and material stockpiling.In addition to limited space, there are a numberof archeological sites in the area that had to beconsidered when planning construction, materialharvesting and movement. 814 Solutions, LLCpartnered with Kiewit Construction on areas tobe harvested, areas to be amended and areas to beseeded, and the successful partnership was a sig-nificant factor in accomplishing the project in sucha short time frame.

The grading and drainage for the site useda geomorphic reclamation design with the goal ofreturning the area to its natural state before anymining began. The access road in the area wasremoved during construction and moved out ofthe way of Dillon Creek, replacing the creek to itsnatural state. Having limited access to most areasof the site was managed with careful transitiononto a new access road that was constructed sothat it would not interfere with the creek.

Letting the Land Give BackOver the past decade, wood material had

been pulled from the Vermejo Park Ranch andstockpiled at Western Wood Products to sell as fin-ished lumber products. The process of creating fin-ished lumber creates waste wood material, which814 Solutions planned to use as compost materialfor the seeding. After the project was awarded, 814Solutions worked with Western Wood Products touse a small area on their facility to have the mate-rial composted to meet site specifications for eacharea to be composted. In order to account for theunique soil composition from each area, the com-post material size was modified to include smallto large material, based on the desired timeframesand speed at which the material would compost.

reviewP E E R

Salem (Sam) Stribling is the Chief Executive Officer of 814 Solutions, LLC, headquartered out of Albuquerque New Mexi-co. 814 Solutions, LLC provides seeding, slope stabilization, dust control and environmental com-pliance as some of their services to their clients throughout the Southwest and Rocky Moun-tains. Mr. Stribling graduated from the Anderson School of Business at the University of New Mexico with Bachelor’s degrees in Marketing, Production and Operations Management, and Entrepreneurial Studies. 814 Solutions, LLC can be reached at 505-872-0846 or by email at: Sam@814solutions.com.

Plantings ready for transport after being harvested onsite.

The Swastika Mine and Dutchman Canyon project is located in Raton, New Mexico on a portion of the Vermejo Park Ranch. The scope of the project’s contract involved reclaiming two abandoned mine areas - one called Brilliant Number Two (previously known as the Swastika Mine, but renamed after World War II) and the Dutchman Canyon Mine. The name “Brilliant” is said to have been inspired by the unusually lustrous sheen of coal in the area. The project was administered by the Abandoned Mine Land Program, which is part of the Energy Minerals and Natural Resources Department of the U.S. Department of Interior. As part of the reclamation project, 400,000 cubic yards of soil and mine waste material were used to create stable landforms to restore pre-mining meanders in the Dillon Canyon Creek which were removed during the mines’ construction.

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Volume 7• Issue1 • 29

The smaller pieces would compost faster, and the larger pieces wouldcompost much slower and provide material for many years.

In addition to using the wood waste material as compost, 814Solutions used the material as media for the erosion control logs thatwere placed onsite as BMPs.

The repurposing of the wood waste material made sense for814 Solutions, placing all compost and erosion control logs neededwithin ten miles of the site. The repurposing also made sense for theproject administrator, since the material already was acclimated tosite conditions, was relatively free from non-native plant material

and was being pro-vided at a sig-nificantly reducedcost. In additionto the above-men-tioned benefits,the Vermejo ParkRanch liked theidea as well, sincethey knew that theland was givingback what it wasable to use from the

last ten years. The material that was chipped and composted wasplaced less than ten miles from the location where it orginally hadgrown.

Since the site soil composition was so different at each area,there was a strong need to modify the fertilizers used for each area.To meet this challenge, large quantities of lime, gypsum, sulphurand nitrogen were ordered to be placed at each area, as indicated bythe soil analysis results. Negotiations were made with each supplierfor the return of any unused material, which lowered the project costand ensured that each area received exactly what it needed. For areasthat needed material, the gob located onsite was used as a fill materialand then capped with two feet of clean fill as topsoil. The final capwas tested to make sure that any amendments needed for optimalgrowing conditions were met.

Harvesting OnsiteTo eliminate

the need to pur-chase plant material,shrubs, poles and/or wetland plugs, allmaterial was har-vested onsite fromareas that were over-grown or areas thatneeded to undergomodifications, such asthe access road and old stream bed. All material was collected priorto the onset of other construction activities and stockpiled in areasthat were out of the way for planting at later dates. A shade struc-ture was created to provide shade for all of the transplants, and awatering system was installed. All material successfully was plantedonce the areas were finished. The total cost per plant was less than$200.00 a plant, a figure that takes into consideration harvesting,

transportation, nursery(shade structures, wirebaskets, planting pots,soils, amendmentsand fertilizers), water-ing and planting - atremendous cost sav-ings to the project. Theplan and process pro-vided was excellent andresulted in less than

four percent mortality of the plants.The Mining and Minerals Division of the New Mexico Energy,

Minerals andNaturalResourcesDepartment (EMNRD)presented the2012 Excellence in ReclamationAward to 814 Solutions, LLCfor this project on September 6,2012 at the New Mexico MiningAssociation Convention held inLas Cruces, New Mexico. PartTwo of this article will be fea-tured in the next issue and willhighlight updated results of theplantings.

Volume 7• Issue 1 • 29

Kiewit Construction and 814 Solutions, LLC crews shaping the Dillon channel realignment. Note the large pile of gob in the background, which gives a good perspective on the scale of the

814 Solutions, LLC’s talented crew and specialized equipment.

Crews installing wetland plugs, shaping the channel and prepping for turf reinforcement mat and engineered wood strand material.

Aged wood material processing area. All material used was repurposed from wood that was harvested from the Vermejo Park Ranch over the course of several years.

STORMWATERSTORAGE MODULES • Easy to Install & Clean• 97% Void Space• High Strength• Stackable• 18, 24, 30 or 36" Heights

Phone: 610-236-1100Email: stormwater@brentw.comWeb: www.brentwoodprocess.com

As a follow up to this project, there is an interactive onlinecommunity board located at www.814solutions.com/commu-nityshare. Get involved, ask questions, make recommendationsand see additional photos of the site as it matures!

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