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At Area D following excavation, flags denote the location of 20 samples collected to confirm the removal of contaminants. Four samples were split with the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. |
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At Area A, a temporary river dam with 4-inch diameter pipe detour water to help dry a portion of the river to be vacuum guzzled. |
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At Area D, 731 cubic yards of topsoil/compost mixture was spread over the area from which contaminated sediment was removed. The application of a topsoil/compost mixture follows the requirements of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. |
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At the Drying Beds, an excavator exposes soil to air to help the drying process. Nearly 750 cubic yards of contaminated sediment were removed from Area D. |
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At Area A, sacks filled with approximately 10-tons of dried sediment each, await transport to a temporary storage location at BNL prior to offsite disposal. |
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At Area D, engineer Amanda Ludlow uses a biodegradable stake to fasten the first of 26 coconut mats to the recently seeded topsoil/compost mixture. The coconut mats help prevent erosion, protect the seeds from birds, and provide additional organic matter to the newly constructed wetland. |
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At Area A, Project Engineer Bob Litzke explains the sediment-drying process to Ray Bettinelli, president of the Peconic River Sportman's Club. Sediment from the vacuum guzzler is first unloaded into a screened drying tank for 48 hours. The weight of the sediment squeezes water through the screen where it collects on the bottom of the tank. Later, the sediment is moved into the intercept box (right) and mixed with a white, inert, drying agent. When dry, the sediment is bagged in a 10-ton, white supersack (left), ready for transport to an offsite disposal facility. |
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At Area D, following the placement of the new topsoil/compost mixture and the removal of invasive plants (canary grass and phragmites), tussock sedges are planted. Along the upper edges of the river, nearly 2,200 sedges were planted. In the lower half of the river, 1,900 soft rushes were planted. In the early summer, bur reeds will be planted among the soft rush. |
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At Area A, wetland plants are left undisturbed, as the vacuum guzzler works around them. |
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At Area A, the section know as A-2 has been dewatered with a large capacity pump. The water was temporarily detoured to the HQ Measuring Station. The dewatering enables more effective vacuum guzzling. When the vacuum guzzling is complete, the flow of the river will be returned to its natural state. |
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At Area A, the vacuum guzzling process is underway in the newly dewatered section. To date, nearly 600 cubic yards of contaminated sediment have been removed from Area A. |
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At the Drying Beds, water is recovered into drums and stored in secondary containment for later testing and disposal. |