1. 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 CLEANWATER
FOR HYDROELECTRIC
PROJECT
AMENDMENTSTO
PREVENT SOIL EROSION
EROSION CONTROL
& SPANISH OLIVES:
A FIELDTOUR
AWARD-WINNING MINE
RECLAMATION PROJECT
LETSTHE LAND GIVE BACK
WOOD-BASED MULCH:
AREYOU COVERED?
INSIDE
NONPROFIT
ORG
USPOSTAGE
PAID
CPCMAIL
InternationalErosionControlAssociation
3401QuebecSt.Ste.3500
Denver,CO80207
E N V I R O N M E N T A L
PlanyourEnvironmentalConnection2013
tripwithourPre-ConferencePlanning
Guide,startingonpage17.

2. 28 • ENVIRONMENTAL CONNECTION
Award-Winning Mine Reclamation
Project Lets the Land Give Back:
Part One of Two
814 Solutions, LLC was responsible for the
following 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 the
project; soil analysis; amendment application and
incorporation; seed bed preparation; seeding and
mulching. Construction on the project began in
March 2012, and most items were completed in
October 2012. Cottonwood poles will be planted
in early Spring 2013.
The project was performed as a “time and
materials project” with budgets set for each line
item, so that production rates, material costs, labor
hours and total project costs could be tracked
throughout the project. To lower the environmen-
tal footprint of the project and to stretch the fund-
ing dollars, all material that could be repurposed
from onsite materials was considered for use.
Site Challenges
To accommodate the dramatically different
changes in soil composition on the site, soil analy-
sis was performed on small areas to accurately
determine the need for soil amendments, com-
post material size variations and engineered wood
strand material application rates, depending on the
slope of finished areas. Since the project is located
inside a narrow canyon, there was limited space for
construction activities and material stockpiling.
In addition to limited space, there are a number
of archeological sites in the area that had to be
considered when planning construction, material
harvesting and movement. 814 Solutions, LLC
partnered with Kiewit Construction on areas to
be harvested, areas to be amended and areas to be
seeded, and the successful partnership was a sig-
nificant factor in accomplishing the project in such
a short time frame.
The grading and drainage for the site used
a geomorphic reclamation design with the goal of
returning the area to its natural state before any
mining began. The access road in the area was
removed during construction and moved out of
the way of Dillon Creek, replacing the creek to its
natural state. Having limited access to most areas
of the site was managed with careful transition
onto a new access road that was constructed so
that it would not interfere with the creek.
Letting the Land Give Back
Over the past decade, wood material had
been pulled from the Vermejo Park Ranch and
stockpiled at Western Wood Products to sell as fin-
ished lumber products. The process of creating fin-
ished lumber creates waste wood material, which
814 Solutions planned to use as compost material
for the seeding. After the project was awarded, 814
Solutions worked with Western Wood Products to
use a small area on their facility to have the mate-
rial composted to meet site specifications for each
area to be composted. In order to account for the
unique soil composition from each area, the com-
post material size was modified to include small
to large material, based on the desired timeframes
and speed at which the material would compost.
review
PEER
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
BusinessattheUniversityofNew
Mexico with Bachelor’s degrees
in Marketing, Production and
Operations Management, and
Entrepreneurial Studies. 814
Solutions,LLC can be reachedat
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.

3. Volume 7• Issue1 • 29
The smaller pieces would compost faster, and the larger pieces would
compost much slower and provide material for many years.
In addition to using the wood waste material as compost, 814
Solutions used the material as media for the erosion control logs that
were placed onsite as BMPs.
The repurposing of the wood waste material made sense for
814 Solutions, placing all compost and erosion control logs needed
within ten miles of the site. The repurposing also made sense for the
project administrator, since the material already was acclimated to
site conditions, was relatively free from non-native plant material
and was being pro-
vided at a sig-
nificantly reduced
cost. In addition
to the above-men-
tioned benefits,
the Vermejo Park
Ranch liked the
idea as well, since
they knew that the
land was giving
back what it was
able to use from the
last ten years. The material that was chipped and composted was
placed less than ten miles from the location where it orginally had
grown.
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, sulphur
and nitrogen were ordered to be placed at each area, as indicated by
the soil analysis results. Negotiations were made with each supplier
for the return of any unused material, which lowered the project cost
and ensured that each area received exactly what it needed. For areas
that needed material, the gob located onsite was used as a fill material
and then capped with two feet of clean fill as topsoil. The final cap
was tested to make sure that any amendments needed for optimal
growing conditions were met.
Harvesting Onsite
To eliminate
the need to pur-
chase plant material,
shrubs, poles and/
or wetland plugs, all
material was har-
vested onsite from
areas that were over-
grown or areas that
needed to undergo
modifications, such as
the access road and old stream bed. All material was collected prior
to the onset of other construction activities and stockpiled in areas
that 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 a
watering system was installed. All material successfully was planted
once 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, wire
baskets, planting pots,
soils, amendments
and fertilizers), water-
ing and planting - a
tremendous cost sav-
ings to the project. The
plan and process pro-
vided was excellent and
resulted in less than
four percent mortality of the plants.
The Mining and Minerals Division of the New Mexico Energy,
MineralsandNaturalResourcesDepartment(EMNRD)presentedthe
2012 Excellence in Reclamation
Award to 814 Solutions, LLC
for this project on September 6,
2012 at the New Mexico Mining
Association Convention held in
Las Cruces, New Mexico. Part
Two of this article will be fea-
tured in the next issue and will
highlight updated results of the
plantings.
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.
STORMWATER
STORAGE MODULES
• Easy to Install & Clean
• 97% Void Space
• High Strength
• Stackable
• 18, 24, 30 or
36" Heights
Phone: 610-236-1100
Email: stormwater@brentw.com
Web: www.brentwoodprocess.com
As a follow up to this project, there is an interactive online
community board located at www.814solutions.com/commu-
nityshare. Get involved, ask questions, make recommendations
and see additional photos of the site as it matures!