Speaking

Landfills operating before the promulgation of the solid waste management regulations in 1976 were often constructed near a stream or river, typically without a landfill liner, and were closed with more permeable soils than what is required today. Groundwater and surface water at these facilities often have issues with inorganic constituents such as ammonia, nitrates, metals, and sometimes volatile organic compounds and polychlorinated biphenyls. It is often a challenge to manage this leachate economically for the municipalities responsible for them in perpetuity. 

Passive or “green” treatment systems are a viable alternative to traditional biological and mechanical processes to treat various wastewater streams. This presentation will review phytoremediation treatment systems, an alternative treatment option that has been successfully applied to manage landfill leachate. It has proven to be a significantly lower cost option for leachate management from capital investment, long-term operational, and maintenance cost perspectives. Burgess & Niple’s Mike Leone will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the system, the function, construction, and operation of this technology, and the resulting impacts on the receiving streams. Passive systems also, however, have their limitations. He will also explain limitations around the constructability of phytoremediation treatment systems and other issues that may limit their potential for application. 

In addition to landfill leachate, Mike will explain how these low-cost/low-energy systems can also be applied to manage industrial wastewater, sanitary wastewater, compost facility runoff, stormwater (including industrial and agricultural runoff), acid mine drainage, and coal pile runoff. 

The Whittier Peninsula in Columbus, Ohio, was home to industrial sites, scrap yards, warehousing, the Columbus impound lot and crime. This 160-acre brownfield near downtown Columbus was transformed into a "green oasis" as Scioto Audubon Metro Park, now home to wildlife and recreation. Burgess & Niple (B&N) lead the remediation and restoration engineering, including the design of wetlands and other stormwater management features in concert with the remedial needs to comply with Ohio EPA's Voluntary Action Program (VAP). 

B&N's Dave Walker, VAP CP, WV LRS, will discuss the soil impacts and remediation efforts that supported the planned wetlands development. This includes the site uses that caused environmental impacts to soil and groundwater, the determination of the needed clean-up levels, mitigation and remedial alternatives, and the selection of redevelopment options. Brian Tornes, PE, will detail some of the methods used for integrating the site demolition debris into the final site development, such as a new playground in place of the warehouse building and the demolition debris reuse. He will also showcase how the site manages stormwater using the constructed wetlands, green roofs, pervious pavement, bioswales, vegetative swales, and dry detention basins to fit within this urban park setting. 

The presentation will feature a "virtual tour" of the site's features to demonstrate how these engineering efforts created a restored space for preservation, environmental awareness, urban integration and connection. 

Water delineations can be a time-intensive and costly portion of land development projects. It can take days to fully inspect large sites on foot to identify high-probability areas, walk transects, and backtrack to identify potentially missed areas or fully determine the site's hydrology. Using drones in conjunction with traditional delineation methods, an environmental scientist can decrease time in the field by quickly identifying and more comprehensively documenting the resources, keeping the project on-time and on-budget. 

When drones are used to photograph or map the property and that information is used for CWA Section 404/401 permits, it can help regulatory agencies have a better understanding of the size, quality, and hydrological connections of the resources. This technique can also help reduce agency review time and site visits that can further delay projects. 

Wetland and stream restoration projects can also benefit from drone technology. Using higher-quality drones and post-processing software, detailed imagery and survey-quality data can be obtained to help determine optimal flow patterns, ideal wetland locations, and the site's current hydrology. 

This presentation will demonstrate the practical use of drone technology to decrease the time and cost associated with wetland and stream projects.