The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District, is putting the finishing touches on a 23-acre landfill cap, at the former Lockbourne Air Force Base in Columbus, Ohio.
“Seeding is now complete and additional vegetation will be planted this fall. During the spring and summer of 2017 the cap will be assessed to determine if proper vegetation coverage has been established,” said Kevin Mieczkowski, Louisville District environmental engineer.
Investigations showed the landfill was used for general trash from Air Force base housing and administrative buildings, construction and demolition debris and lime sludge from the base water treatment plant from 1951 to 1979, making it eligible for the Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) program, which cleans up contamination on properties that were formerly owned, leased, possessed, or used by the Department of Defense.
Capping the landfill was chosen as the best way to effectively remediate the site. Since 2013 the contractor, Cape Environmental, Inc., out of Norcross, Georgia, has been working to install a cap with 24 inches of compacted soil and six inches of topsoil to the former landfill to create a barrier to prevent exposure to any contaminants.
In addition to the soil cover, passive gas vents, a perimeter seep prevention trench and erosion and sediment controls, will be maintained as needed during the follow-on long-term management phase.
Even though construction is wrapping up, the site will still have long-term management implemented later next year, which includes groundwater monitoring, inspections, maintenance, and an environmental covenant, which will restrict the future use of the landfill area in a manner to prevent exposure to onsite groundwater, intrusive activities and contact with waste.
“We’re looking forward to entering into the next phase of the process, which is the long-term monitoring phase of the project,” said Mieczkowski. “The long term monitoring phase will have monitoring, inspections, and maintenance to assure that the remedial efforts are protective of human health and the environment consistent with the selected remedy.”