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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4406_BlueRidgePaper_Area6ESiteInvestigationPlan_27077_20161104 WORK PLAN LANDFILL NO. 6 AREA E SITE INVESTIGATION Prepared for BLUE RIDGE PAPER PRODUCTS INC. DBA EVERGREEN PACKAGING CANTON, NORTH CAROLINA November 2016 ____________________ i 2016brrp-6E-Workplan.docx Sevee & Maher Engineers, Inc. November 3, 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS Section No. Title Page No. 1.0 PROJECT LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION ......................................................................... 1  2.0 SITE INVESTIGATION ........................................................................................................... 2  2.1 Piezometer Installations ........................................................................................ 2  2.2 Survey ................................................................................................................... 4  2.3 Water Level Monitoring ......................................................................................... 4  2.4 Piezometer Abandonments ................................................................................... 5  3.0 REPORTING ........................................................................................................................... 5  4.0 SCHEDULE ............................................................................................................................ 5 LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX A FIGURES FIGURE 1 - PROPOSED PIEZOMETER LOCATIONS FIGURE 2 - TYPICAL NESTED PIEZOMETER INSTALLATION SCHEMATIC FIGURE 3 - WATER LEVEL DATA AREAS D AND E (2007-2008) FIGURE 4 - WATER LEVEL DATA AREAS D AND E (2013) ____________________ 1 2016brrp-6E-Workplan.docx Sevee & Maher Engineers, Inc. November 3, 2016 WORK PLAN LANDFILL NO. 6 AREA E SITE INVESTIGATION 1.0 PROJECT LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION Blue Ridge Paper Products Inc. dba Evergreen Packaging (Evergreen) owns and operates a landfill in Canton, North Carolina for deposit of their solid waste generated by the papermaking process. The landfill, referred to as Landfill No. 6, is located approximately three miles north of Canton. Evergreen operates the landfill in discrete areas and has two active areas open, Area D South and Area D North, and nine closed areas. The approved solid waste footprint for Landfill No. 6 includes the two active areas, Area D North and Area D South as well as an undeveloped parcel, Area E. Evergreen is proposing to develop Area E to meet future waste disposal demands resulting from operations at their mill in Canton, North Carolina. Area E creates an additional solid waste footprint of approximately 10.5 acres. Area D South was constructed in 2009 and is currently filled to the rim. Area D North was constructed in 2013 and is currently active and will be at the rim in early 2019. Evergreen has retained Sevee & Maher Engineers, Inc. (SME) to prepare a Permit to Construct for Area E. This Work Plan describes the proposed supplemental hydro- geologic investigation of Area E. The purpose of this proposed site investigation is to gather additional hydrogeologic information to supplement the previous hydrogeologic/geotechnical site characterizations completed for Landfill No. 6, which include:  “Design Hydrogeologic Report Addendum for Landfill No. 6 Area D North, Canton, North Carolina” prepared by Sevee & Maher Engineers, Inc., August, 2013 (SME, 2013);  “Hydrogeologic Report – Landfill No. 6 Areas D and E” prepared by Sevee & Maher Engineers, Inc., October, 2008 (SME, 2008); ____________________ 2 2016brrp-6E-Workplan.docx Sevee & Maher Engineers, Inc. November 3, 2016  “Groundwater and Surface Water Assessment for Landfill No. 6” prepared by Roy F. Weston; March 1995 (Weston, 1995);  “Construction Documentation for Landfill 6A East Enhancement Project” prepared by Sevee & Maher Engineers, Inc.; March 1995 (SME, 1995);  “Geotechnical Report of Landfill No. 6 Expansion Area A” prepared by Sirrine Environmental Consultants, October 1989 (Sirrine, 1989); and  “Revised Report of Geotechnical Exploration and Evaluation and Conceptual Site Development Recommendations, Landfill No. 6” prepared by Law Engineering and Testing Company (Law), February 1982 (Law, 1982). To date, there have been approximately 75 borings in and around the vicinity of Areas D and E. In the 2007 Site Investigation (SME, 2008), 52 piezometers were installed in 28 borings. In the Supplemental 2013 Site Investigation (SME, 2013), 18 piezometers were installed in 15 borings. The 2013 hydrogeologic report presented a bedrock contour plan, groundwater contour plans, flow nets, and a groundwater flow regime report for Areas D and E. This investigation along with the completed investigations shall provide a minimum coverage of one piezometer per acre of the Area E solid waste footprint. The site investigation shall also provide and confirm adequate information to demonstrate compliance with Rule 15A NCAC 13B.0503 of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) for a minimum groundwater separation from the base of the landfill. The primary objective of the proposed site investigation is to obtain sufficient hydrogeologic data to prepare a design for the development of Area E. The various components of the site investigation and reporting are discussed in the following sections. 2.0 SITE INVESTIGATION 2.1 Piezometer Installations In order to monitor groundwater levels in the area of the proposed Area E, five new borings (designated B16-201 through B16-205) are planned at the locations shown on Figure 1. One ____________________ 3 2016brrp-6E-Workplan.docx Sevee & Maher Engineers, Inc. November 3, 2016 existing boring and its associated piezometer, P-07-205 that was installed previously as part of the 2008 Hydrogeologic Investigation for Areas D and E (SME, 2008) will be utilized along with the proposed piezometers to provide the spatial coverage of one boring per acre required by NCDEQ regulations. In addition to P-07-205, 8 borings with eleven previously abandoned piezometers, 3 borings and 3 auger probes, were completed in Area E during previous investigations. These locations are shown on Figure 1. NCDEQ requires a minimum 4-foot separation between the bottom of the liner beneath a landfill, and the seasonal high water table. Therefore, the new borings and their piezometers will be located within the footprint of Area E, north of the active Area D North. It is estimated that the borings will range from about 30 feet to 60 feet in total depth. Interpretive geologic mapping using historical information from previously drilled borings indicates a bedrock high in the northeastern portion of the site. The bedrock surface generally slopes downward from northeast to the southwest. Most of the borings will be drilled to about 15 to 20 feet below the interpreted high water table as presented in SME, 2013, to allow for the installation of nested piezometers in each of the borings (i.e., two piezometers in each boring). Gradients and flow nets for Area D North were provided in SME, 2008 and 2013. The new piezometers will be used to supplement and confirm earlier data. The overburden will be drilled using either hollow-stem-augers and/or water rotary drilling techniques. Split-spoon soil samples will be collected at 5-foot intervals in each boring following ASTM D 1586 procedures for standard penetration testing. The grain size distribution and moisture content of the overburden will be determined in selected borings in accordance with ASTM D 422 and ASTM D 2216, respectively. Bedrock will be cored with a double-tube core barrel equipped with either HQ (2.5-inch diameter), NX (2.16-inch diameter) or NQ-2 (2.0-inch diameter) diamond coring bit in accordance with ASTM D 2113. Descriptive soil boring and bedrock core logs will be prepared from visual logging of the retrieved soil and rock core samples. Each boring will be completed as a nested piezometer having two ¾-inch or 1-inch diameter flush-joint Schedule 40 polyvinylchloride (PVC) riser and a 2.5 and a 10-foot-long PVC 0.01-inch slotted well screen per ASTM D 5092. A washed filter sand pack will extend 1 to 2 feet above ____________________ 4 2016brrp-6E-Workplan.docx Sevee & Maher Engineers, Inc. November 3, 2016 the top of the well screen and the remaining annular space will be sealed with either solid bentonite chips or an appropriate hydrated powdered bentonite grout. A typical nested piezometer installation schematic is shown in Figure 2. A steel protective surface casing secured with a keyed padlock will be installed around the portion of the riser pipe extending above the ground surface. Water for drilling will be obtained from the Evergreen mill. 2.2 Survey The ground surface elevation and horizontal coordinates of each piezometer will be surveyed to the nearest 0.1 foot and 1 foot, respectively, using existing site benchmarks and control points. The top of the PVC riser pipe will also be surveyed to the nearest 0.01 foot. Elevations will be referenced to National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29). Horizontal locations will be reported relative to the site grid coordinates. 2.3 Water Level Monitoring Groundwater levels will be measured during the drilling program, and periodically after all the new piezometers are installed to ensure that a static water level condition has been attained. Thereafter, water level monitoring in the new piezometers and several existing site piezometers/wells will continue on a monthly basis for about six months, through the end of June 2017. The water level data from 2007-2008 and 2013 showed the seasonal high water levels occur in the spring. Therefore, water levels will be monitored monthly from installation through June 2017; and more frequently throughout the spring season at selected piezometer locations. Historical graphs of water levels measured near Area E are shown on Figures 3 and 4, as presented in SME, 2008 and 2013, respectively. Groundwater levels will be measured to the nearest 0.01 foot from the top of the PVC riser pipe, and referenced to NAVD. The new water level data will be used to confirm the seasonal high water elevation in the Area E. ____________________ 5 2016brrp-6E-Workplan.docx Sevee & Maher Engineers, Inc. November 3, 2016 2.4 Piezometer Abandonments All of the piezometers planned for this next field investigation will be situated within the boundary of the proposed Area E. The piezometers will eventually have to be abandoned prior to construction, in accordance with applicable regulations. The PVC well material will be pulled from the boring or removed by grinding, to the greatest extent possible. The boring will then be backfilled with either solid bentonite or a bentonite grout sealant. 3.0 REPORTING The findings from the Area E site investigation will be documented in a Permit to Construct report. The submittal will contain SME’s interpretive boring logs, piezometer installation details, water level measurements, geologic considerations and a plan showing surveyed locations of the installed piezometers. Results from physical property testing (standard penetration resistance, grain size distribution, and water content) of the overburden will also be summarized. An interpretive groundwater phreatic surface map will be generated for the wet- season conditions based on the data collected from water level monitoring and historical data. An interpretive bedrock surface contour map for the area beneath proposed Area E will also be prepared along with stratigraphic cross sections. The previously completed saturated hydraulic conductivity testing performed for Areas D and E (SME, 2008 and 2013) provides a large data set that adequately characterizes Area E will be included. This information will be used to develop a design for landfill construction. 4.0 SCHEDULE The start of the Area E field investigation is contingent on receiving NCDEQ approval of the Work Plan herein, and authorization from Evergreen to proceed. SME estimates the drilling, piezometer installation and site investigation program will take 1 to 2 weeks to complete once initiated. Thereafter, water levels will be monitored monthly for six months and more frequently during the spring of 2017. ____________________ 6 2016brrp-6E-Workplan.docx Sevee & Maher Engineers, Inc. November 3, 2016 The landfill design will be based on the site investigation findings and will take approximately three months to complete. A Permit to Construct application will follow the design to the NCDEQ, which is expected to be submitted in the third quarter of 2017. The permit process would be followed by construction, contingent on receiving NCDEQ approval. APPENDIX A FIGURES SME ENVIRONMENTAL CIVIL GEOTECHNICAL WATER COMPLIANCE \\ N s e r v e r \ c f s \ B r p p \ N C \ 6 e \ A c a d \ F i g u r e s \ 6 E - B O R I N G S - 1 . d w g , 1 1 / 3 / 2 0 1 6 2 : 1 8 : 0 0 P M , p a f SME ENVIRONMENTAL CIVIL GEOTECHNICAL WATER COMPLIANCE \\ N s e r v e r \ c f s \ B r p p \ N C \ 6 e \ A c a d \ F i g u r e s \ P I E Z O M E T E R - I N S T A L L A T I O N . d w g , 1 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 1 6 1 1 : 4 6 : 1 3 A M , p a f SME ENVIRONMENTAL CIVIL GEOTECHNICAL WATER COMPLIANCE \\ N s e r v e r \ c f s \ B r p p \ N C \ 6 e \ A c a d \ F i g u r e s \ 6 D S o u t h W a t e r L e v e l D a t a . d w g , 1 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 1 6 1 1 : 4 2 : 2 8 A M , p a f 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9/1/2012 11/1/2012 1/1/2013 3/3/2013 5/3/2013 7/3/2013 9/2/2013 11/2/2013 Di s t a n c e  Fr o m  Lo w  Wa t e r ,  (f t ) Date P‐07‐207 P‐07‐213 P13‐101 P13‐102 P13‐103 P13‐104 P13‐105 P13‐106 P13‐107A P13‐108 P13‐109 P13‐110B P13‐111 P13‐112 P13‐113 P13‐114A