ClosureTurf estimated to save $6 Million in Installation and Maintenance Costs and $40,000 Per Day in Water Treatment Costs Once Completed
Atlanta, GA – July 2,2019– Watershed Geo announced today that its innovative engineered system, ClosureTurf, was chosen for the landfill closure method at the Mississippi Phosphates Corporation Site (MPC) in Pascagoula, MS, marking the first time an engineered geosynthetic turf cover system will be used for an EPA Superfund site.
Designed and patented by Watershed Geo, ClosureTurf has been used on RCRA Subtitle D hazardous waste, brownfield, and industrial landfill closure systems. The system was specifically designed to address the environmental and performance failures of traditional vegetated landfill closures. ClosureTurf is comprised of a structured geomembrane, an engineered turf and a specified infill. EPA chose the system because of its proven ability to handle large waste settlements, lower infiltration rates (compared to prescriptive membrane/vegetative covers) and significantly lower maintenance costs for the taxpayer.
At the MPC Site, ClosureTurf will be used to cover existing gypsum storage facilities by sequestering the contaminants from surrounding bayou and the Grand Bay Estuary Reserve. ClosureTurf will also provide clean, sediment-free runoff to the adjoining stormwater system and ultimately offsite discharge. The scope of the project includes 220 acres of total closure that will be completed in phases over a two-year period. Construction on phase one is now underway and all three phases are scheduled to be completed by 2021.
“ClosureTurf is a proven technology for over 70 closures across the US. It is designed to solve the challenges associated with using soil and vegetation for landfill closure,” said Watershed Geo CEO Mike Ayers. “In addition to eliminating erosion, installing ClosureTurf at the Superfund Site in Pascagoula will save $6 million in project costs by eliminating the need to truck in dirt for the cover, yielding about an 80 percent reduction in carbon footprint while improving safety. A significant reduction of leachate and wastewater treatment costs will also be achieved,” he concluded.
ClosureTurf will eliminate the need for 1.2 million cubic yards of dredged material or soil that would have been required for a traditional vegetated cap. This translates to eliminating 120,000 truck trips saving $4.6 million, a significant reduction in carbon footprint and improved safety on local roads. Further, the system requires almost no maintenance which is expected to yield an additional $1.4 million in savings due no sediment cleanup and cover regrading after storms, no revegetation and no mowing.
According to the EPA, two to four million gallons of wastewater are treated per day at this site, costing $1 million per month. The use of ClosureTurf will limit leachate and improve the cleanliness of stormwater runoff, ultimately reducing the state’s need to manage and store 500 million gallons of water by 98 percent. This will result in a savings of $40,000 per day in wastewater treatment once the project is completed.
“We are excited to support the public at large with this project,” said Ayers. “ClosureTurf will not only provide environmental benefits to the surrounding communities, it will save the American taxpayers in both the short and long term.”
To date, ClosureTurf has been used in almost 2,000 acres of closure, safely and effectively reducing the environmental impact of landfills across the United States. Several of these installations have experienced significant, if not historic, weather events such as hurricanes, tropical storms and snow storms where high winds and extreme precipitation have occurred. In some cases, individual sites have experienced multiple events. ClosureTurf has performed as designed with no erosion or damage. With the MPC site falling in the infamous Hurricane Alley, ClosureTurf will be critical in protecting against rill erosion and complete washout.
In January 2018, the MPC Site was added to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Superfund National Priorities List. It is one of 21 locations targeted for immediate attention by the EPA in response to the Superfund Task Force Recommendations.
“We are proud to support the EPA’s efforts to remediate this site and look forward to demonstrating the value of ClosureTurf in such important applications,” said Ayers.
All components of ClosureTurf are manufactured in America.
About Watershed Geosynthetics, LLC
Watershed Geo is an environmental solutions company offering a broad range of products for landfill management and erosion control. Through best-in-class materials and extreme engineering, Watershed Geo products deliver improved performance and reduced environmental impact while limiting the long-term costs associated with landfill management and revetment projects. The company is headquartered in Alpharetta, GA and can be found on the web at WatershedGeo and on LinkedIn.
