The Idaho Department of
Environmental Quality (IDEQ) is in a transition process with EPA for reclamation
responsibilities at the Bunker Hill Superfund site in north Idaho.
IDEQ plans to spend several hundred million dollars over the next few
years in a continuing effort to dispose of hazardous mine wastes generated by
over 100 years of mining operations. The
Team of Nelson Construction, Science Applications International Corporation, and
Klone Crippen has secured a four-year, time and materials contract with the
State of Idaho. This contract
focuses on the design and implementation of construction programs to isolate and
remove contaminated materials associated with historic mining activities near
the communities of Kellogg and Wallace, Idaho.
This contract has an option for renewal after four years at the
discretion of the State of Idaho. The Environmental Division of Nelson
Construction is currently executing hazardous material removals at the Bunker
Hill site as well as in the South Fork of the Coeur d’ Alene River.
We are working with IDEQ on plans for three major removal actions
scheduled for 2002.
Nelson
Construction is currently in negotiations with URS Greiner Corporation on an
exclusive teaming agreement for ongoing remedial activities near Stibnite,
Idaho. The Environmental Division
of Nelson Construction is continuing to provide consulting services to our
engineering, geotechnical, and natural resource based clients.
These services include permitting, environmental assessments, cost
estimation, and resource evaluations.
Nelson Construction mobilized into the rugged central mountains of the
Stibnite mining district. After years of mining without proper reclamation plans and best
management practices this area has been contaminated with tailing spoils, metal
contaminated soils and acidic water. Consequently, reclamation of this area has been a hot
political topic for the last few years. In 1998 Nelson Construction managed to negotiate a
contract with Woodward Clyde Engineering and Mobil Oil to reclaim this old mining district
and to help rejuvenate this once pristine area. The work included HDPE lining of active
stream channels, excavation and embankment of tailings and previously mined earth and
regrading of slopes, roads, embankments and waterways.
Talache & St. Joe Tailings project in Atlanta Idaho was another
environmental project that developed from our experience and focus on CERCLA cleanups.
Arsenic contamination and fluid tailings breach due to heavy rainfall have cause
significant environmental damage to the surroundings. Although this site is not listed, it
is an area of intense scrutiny. Nelson Construction together with Terracon Engineering
developed a construction plan approved by the EPA and Forest Service to relieve this area
from immediate federal action. The main tailings site had to be regraded to stabilized
movement and an intense force of laborers moved thousands of cubic yards of contaminated
soils by hand to a secure repository. This site included decontamination stations, 40 hour
HAZWOPER training, BMPs, site safety and action plans.
Hidden Hollow Landfill is another project that has used Nelson
Construction’s expertise in hazardous material clean up. This project, like the
Environmental Site Closer Cap project, required a comprehensive site and company safety
plan. Because of the potential for hazardous material exposure, it required 40 hours of
hazwoper training for many people. Major tasks included: Lined ditch construction, Dike
and pond construction, Concrete pipe installation (steep and deep), Garbage excavation,
re-disposal and embankment.
Stibnite Mine is another mining project in which Nelson Construction has
been able to participate. This area in Mid Idaho is a historic mining district with years
of varied mining history. Stibnite Mining has been operating for the past few years, and
as with most mining projects, reclamation is an integral part. Given our past experience
in the mining industry, we performed many different reclamation tasks in 1997. From rip
rapped channels to dams, roads, hillsides and streams, We worked from summer until the
high country snows of fall.
Buckskin Mine, Nevada was an old abandoned gold mine outside of
McDermott NV, left with tailings piles, unidentified waste barrels and a scarred landscape. Later in
1996, because of our HAZWOPER certification acquired under the previous project, Nelson
Construction was contracted to restore the terrain and to rid the site of hazardous
material. This remote area demanded that all construction gear be mobilized under its own
power, including pulling a screening plant with a bulldozer for nearly a full day both in
and out. The job was completed ahead of time and included laying pipe, screening for spec.
aggregates and shaping slopes to try and regain much of the original landscape.
Environmental
Site Closer Cap, Boise Idaho was a ground breaking project for Nelson
Construction combining the skills and knowledge of earthmoving with the new
challenges of R.I.C.R.A. Hazardous Material Clean-Up. Before starting this
project Nelson Construction educated and certified core personnel under the
strict guidelines of 40-Hour HAZWOPER training. Under the federal specifications
for this project, Nelson Construction demolished existing buildings and
structures, contained hazardous materials on site, cleaned-up and contained
perimeter contaminants (Hot Spots), and placed a 4 layer earth cap incorporating
3 layers of 60 mil HDPE liner, erosion control net, and coconut fiber
environmental matting over 11 acres.
