CCB0053_Site_Summary_2001

Iredell-18
Iredell County; Race Park, USA, Mooresville, NC ;
Duke Power; Ash Basics Co.; J. B. Mallory III, Pres. Race Park;
July 16, 2001; October 15, 2001;
The Division received the initial Notification of this project on January 26, 2001. The
original proposed start date was Jan. 24, 2001 when site clearing and prep and erosion control
measures were planned to be installed and the first ash placement to be on Feb. 15, 2001. The
start and completion estimated dates had to be revised to July 16, 2001 and October 15, 2001
respectively due to the very long delay experienced in obtaining all of the necessary information,
construction drawing revisions, etc. required to allow determination that the project would be
according to the .1700 Rules if constructed according to the plans. The estimated amount of ash
to be utilized on this project was 45,000 cub yds (54,000 tons using ash generated at Duke
Power's Marshall Steam Plant located at Terrell, NC. Representative TCLP data was submitted.
An 8.5 X 11 copy of the Lake Norman North Quadrangle USGS 7.5 minute series map
was provided with the site location marked. A signed owner's Acknowledgment and Consent
form and a copy of the Jan. 4, 2001 NC DENR Land Quality Section Letter of Approval (with
modifications) for the erosion and sedimentation control plan were also submitted. This original
Notification did not include a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers General Permit Verification Form.
Since more than 10,000 cub. yds. of ash were to be used, construction plans were submitted. A
copy of a January 25, 2001 letter from Ground Technological Services Inc. (GTSI) to Ash Basics
Co. was furnished by Ash Basics. This stated that GTSI had conducted six hand augered probes
to an average depth of 2.5 feet in the low lying area of the project to determine the presence of
groundwater. GTSI stated that no groundwater was encountered {at the shallow depth explored}.
The purpose of this project was reported to be to furnish a site for an entertainment facility.
On February 13, 2001, a letter addressing contents of the 01/23/01 Notification was
issued by the Permitting Section. Six items were listed that required responses or corrections to
the construction drawings. When no contact had been made by Ash Basics Company in six
weeks following this 2/13 letter, a request was made of the Mooresville office Field Operations
Branch to visit the site and determine what activity (if any) was taking place. Rather than visiting
the site, Mr. Johnston of Ash Basics was called (approx. April 2) and he stated that the
construction drawings were being revised. Mr. Johnston returned a call from the Permitting
Branch on April 19 and said he was planning to submit to the Division the necessary information
in a few days. The Western Area Engineer visited the site on April 27 and in mid -May and
observed two back hoes screening material out of the soil on the first of these visits. It appeared
that significant grading had been done.
A second Notification letter dated June 1, 2001 was received on June 41h. This Time a
copy of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers General Permit Verification Form allowing this activity
was an enclosure. The (May 29, 2001)Corps Permit states that this activity impacts 150 LF of an
unnamed tributary to Lake Norman and mentions 0.2 acre of wetlands. Also, the Corps stipulates
that the project must be done in accordance with submitted plans. Enclosed with the 6/l/01
Notification were: (1) a revised construction drawing, (2) a statement that Dean Johnston was
satisfied that there will be a minimum of two feet separation between the seasonal high
groundwater table and the ash, (3) assurance that the repetition of language in the notes had been
corrected, (4) stated the ash slope on the drawing has been changed to 3:1 as per the rules and (5)
stated that the adjoining property owner's well had been plotted on the drawing and claimed
there was 120 feet separation between the well and the ash. Actually, the drawing scaled to show
100 feet separation, not 120', and this 100' just matches the rule minimum requirement.
A meeting was held at the site on June 20, 2001 primarily due to concerns of the

Iredell-18 (cont'd)
Permitting Section over possible violation of the 2 foot minimum separation of the groundwater
seasonal high level and the ash fill. Present were Tim Jewett and Bill Hocutt of NC DENR
Permitting, Dean Johnston of Ash Basics Co. and Larry Harper of Duke Power. Another reason
to tour the site was to get some explanation of the purpose of excavation that had occurred. Tim
Jewett had visited the site on 04/27/01 and had observed significant earth moving taking place
with some trash being screened out of the soil. A large trench had resulted from this excavation.
Very early in the 6/20 discussions it was discovered that Mr. Johnston had not included a
copy of a May 29, 2001 GTSI study of groundwater elevations along with his June 1, 2001
(second) Notification. Mr. Johnston stated that he had intended to include a copy. A copy was
supplied to DENR on June 20 allowing discussion about it at that time. GTSI revealed in this
letter/report to Ash Basics Co. that GTSI had advanced nine hand auger borings to a depth of 3.0
feet below existing grade for groundwater measurement purposes. These borings were made in
the lower elevation part of the project site. Groundwater was noted in borings B-4 (14 inches
below grade) and in B-8 at 36 inches. The May 29 letter also reported: (1) that GTSI had
observed removal of domestic trash and organic debris that had been placed in a steep gully in
the southeastern quadrant of the site (this explains the large trench seen by Tim Jewett on April
27th) and (2) that GTSI recommends installing tested, earthen structural fill materials within the
lower portion of the site represented by B-4 and B-8 for the purpose of maintaining the required
2.0 feet separation of groundwater from the ash materials. It was recommended by DENR that 8
feet of soil be placed in the low elevation part of the site. This would provide protection for the 6
foot swing between dry and wet seasonal periods which has been recorded in a Mecklinburg
County well and would also provide the 2 feet separation between groundwater and ash fill.
A July 6, 2001 letter was received by the Division from GTSI that reported an additional
subsurface evaluation within geoprobes had been conducted at the site. Also, prior to this latest
testing, soil fill ranging in depth from 0.0' (at higher elevations) to 5.0' (at lower elevations) had
been installed on the project site. GTSI retained SAEDAACO of Charlotte for direct push
drilling at nine locations in the lower elevation portion. Push driven sampling tubes collected soil
cores in sealed plastic tubes representing the intervals from 0.0 to 8.0 feet below existing grade.
The borings were terminated at a depth of 8.0 feet below the existing soil subgrade elevations.
Bright orange mottles indicative of seasonally elevated groundwater were encountered in B-5, B-
6, B-7, B-8 (and also B-9 according to the data supplied, although for some reason GTSI did not
include that boring in the group they reported having bright orange mottles). Soils were noted as
moist generally below 6.0 feet. GTSI recommended installing at least 2.0 feet of additional
earthen fill in the lower areas. Based on the Jan. 23, 2001 and June 1, 2001 notification letters
and the July 6,2001 letter/report from GTSI plus information obtained from site visits by DENR
representatives on April 27, 2001, mid -May 2001, June 20, 2001 and July 11, 2001, a letter of
acknowledgment for the project was issued by the Permitting Branch on July 11, 2001. Verbal
revisions to the planned start and completion dates were received fron Ash Basics Co. on Julyl 1,
2001.The planned start date was stated to be July 16, 2001 with projected completion by mid -
October, 2001. As of December 10, 2001, no Certification of Closure or Notice of Recordation
had been received by the Division.
C:\WP6DOCS\Struct-Fill-Rpt-01 \Iredell\Iredell-18.wpd