Date: May 26, 2006
Source: US Fed News
FORMER LANDFILL TO GET NEW LIFE
05/26/2006 06:53:00 AM EDT
US Fed News
MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE ALBANY, Ga., May 25 -- The U.S. Marine Corps issued the following official news story:
A former landfill just west of the Indian Lake Refuge area here is being given a new life, thanks to a $3 million environmental restoration project.
According to officials at the Environmental Branch here, the project involves placing a 52-inch-thick soil and compost cover over the 28-acre site and then replanting it with grass and trees to slow down the infiltration of rainwater through buried contaminants and then into the groundwater. The landfill restoration project is in conjunction with another $4 million project to treat and monitor the base's overall groundwater system.
Construction of the evapotranspiration cover, as it is called, will include 6,000 truckloads of fill being transported across the base to the site by way of the truck gate off Fleming Road.
"The contractors will begin hauling the 90,000 cubic yards of fill starting in mid-June and should be finished up around next February," explained David Ringholz, project manager, Public Works Branch here. "Drivers need to be aware of the increased traffic, but the inconvenience should be minimal because the trucks will not be traveling between peak traffic hours which are from 6:30 to 8 a.m. and 3:30 to 5 p.m."
The former landfill is 2,800 feet west of the Indian Lake area and just south of North Shaw Road. It was active from 1954 until 1988 and was used for the disposal of tons of various industrial by-products. The landfill was officially closed in 1988 under Georgia solid waste regulations.
The contractor for the cap is Environmental Chemical Corporation based out of Bloomfield, N.J. The job includes numerous monitoring wells and injections of various chemicals to neutralize past and present groundwater contamination.
"Once the cover is in place, the area will be revegetated with grass and trees to help absorb rainwater before it can penetrate through the cap, which will act as a collection point before water can filter into the waste below," explained Brian Syme, an environmental engineer with the Navy Installation Restoration program. "We'll also continuously monitor the underlying soil with an elaborate monitoring system to make sure the filtration system works."
Finally, the area will be surrounded by a permanent chain link fence to keep out people and wildlife.
The project is expected to be completed by January 2010.
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