 Last speaker that we have today is Scott Stockville with Are you DEQ? Okay with DEQ. So Scott today is gonna talk with finishing touches of reclamation So as a few of you guys file in here we can get going so all right I am the person that yelled out hammered with your Tonka on the previous Slide and for life of me, I thought most of the Red River Valley was Tonka Maybe it just has drain tile in it. So it's good. I don't know All right, I am Scott Stockville I am going to be doing finishing touches for reclamation and working towards site closure here This is my first day back at work after having six weeks off for a new baby leave So I will have to curb my talk that I've been doing because you guys are adults kind of weird thing is that It's not all gonna be curved though. So you'll see that later All right, first thing is first very important part of My presentation is we need candy Everybody can take a piece. I did not expect to be this popular So you guys are just gonna have to steal piece from From the vendors if you don't have one Don't worry. I am not going to be doing experiments with the candy like I do with my co-workers It's nothing nefarious I just found out that it takes 10 kick cats to be taken before anybody wants to touch a York government Patty All right, let's get started All right, so you have messed up cleaned up now what? PowerPoint put that crying emoji on there. That was not me So don't worry about that We're gonna go over some of the finishing touches for reclamation some of the things that are holding up closure on some of your sites What we're gonna cover we're gonna cover backfill billing degrade erosion control vegetation establishment and I'm very thankful of the previous presentations that have been Been going on here there. There's been a lot on vegetation establishment And I'm I'm really looking forward to seeing some of that implemented Removal of equipment and last one will be picking up our garbage All right, so backfill I am going to probably just skim over some of this Pretty much everybody knows to backfill their holes once they're done Fact in my 10 years of 5 and years that I've been doing this. There's only been one person that doesn't want to fill their hole Still working with that one It's more of a landowner Company issue though. It's a little complicated More than it should be But I am gonna put out some precautions It's been mentioned like I said in a few of the presentations beforehand Sourcing your fill material. I know it's getting tough. I know it's tough to find good topsoil But sourcing the topsoil and the material that you're getting to put back in your holes is important Making sure it's weed-free Sampling of the source material we don't necessarily require it a lot of people do do it. I don't have a problem with that It's not necessary though Purchasing from the impacted landowner that seems to solve a lot of the issues that backfill can have All right filling the grade. Nobody has hit a hole this large yet This is something that we'd be seeing typically that will prevent cyclosure and You can see that there was a trench that had been dug and it had been backfilled and didn't get quite filled up to grade and It probably actually sunk because it had been filled during winter or during a rainy time or a dry time in that rain But stuff like this will be one of the things that we're looking for when we're doing our inspections to to get our sites closed and What do we expect? All sites that have had soil excavation or change in grade need to be returned to their pre spill elevations This can be kind of a problem sometimes with larger sites, but I'd like to like you guys to get as close to it as possible Erosion control I always tell people erosion control is part of your remediation efforts Once you've disturbed the soil once you've done work there. You want to keep that soil back in its spot Erosion controls part of plana. I mentioned that but you know, it's it's kind of money wasted You want to keep that top soil? You've bought and paid for it. The landowner has it wants it there We got wind erosion on top. That's actually at our gateway to science center in Bismarck and Some water erosion on bottom But you want to want to keep the soil that you brought in that you paid for the heart worked hard for You want to keep that in the same spot if I see lots of wind erosion asset If I see lots of water erosion like what's in this picture, I'm not going to be closing a site not gonna be the You know putting no further action I'll put this out job. Well done. I actually stole this from our permits division. This is a silt fence At construction sites. I told them that if I got a hold of it, I would try to disseminate it as much as possible But this is this is a good job. I don't expect this on every site I mean this this is really good But I do expect some good effort towards erosion control and what do we expect? Soils that have been disturbed or backfilled to remain in location. Like I said, it can be costly if they don't and If we have lots of erosional issues at your sites, we're not going to be issuing no further action It's gonna just be open and open and open until we finally see those get addressed All right vegetation establishment I do not expect you guys to get us looking like the Pacific Northwest not gonna happen but like I said, we've had some good presentation so far on establishing vegetation in some of our impacted areas and Those of you who have dealt with the DEQ know that this is usually one of the last boxes that we have and One of the things that we spend a lot of our summer doing inspections for This is a pretty typical site That we've just been trying to get a vet vegetation established on can't quite get it you can see that there is a Dead area all throughout here not growing with crops and it's been like this for a while Here's another example the same thing you can see all this dead area You can see a little bit of weeds, you know around this area, but it's not being not coming back the way that it wants to be back or or it's not going to be getting closed the way that we want it to be closed and This is going to hold up a no further action if you don't have vegetation back in the impacted area All right, and like I said, we've had some great presentation so far It can be dependent on what kind of year you've had you've had really wet year. You've had a really dry year It can be dependent on your crop choice the one presentation mentioned how soybeans are very Intolerant to any salinity and it also mentioned that barley is very tolerant to salinity so sometimes the crop choice of the landowner can Can show that there's more work that needs to be done And like I mentioned before it is typically our last box to check off when we are looking to close sites And what do we expect? We expect a reasonable establishment of vegetation in the area impacted. Why? It shows that there's no longer contamination and harmful concentrations It also prevents erosion which actually can lead to an NOV if you are having issues With erosion or causing problems to waters of the state All right equipment removal All right equipment and removal what this applies to a lot of times with these bigger Mediation projects and big reclamation projects a lot of equipment ends up at these sites and What can be applied? We'll go over each one of these individually could be boom groundwater equipment any kind of special equipment there's there's a lot of stuff that's going on there and When we want to see a site closed when we want to get to the point where we're not going to look at it again We're going to issue that no for their action letter We want to see all of this gone Hard and soft boom, you know guys, I got to tell you this is the one that I probably get on people the most Hard and soft boom They're not permanent fixtures a lot of times they get left over especially soft boom they do have a limited time for use they can only soak up so much and They kind of lose their effectiveness Hard boom it is reusable It needs to be deconed obviously But again with same as soft boom if it's left in place. It's it's not You know overly tough it will begin to degrade All right monitor wells. I can tell you that I've never had somebody say oh we want to keep this monitor well in It's pretty rare actually but that is one of the last things that That we have people if we have groundwater monitoring equipment at the site we will ask that okay, you know Let everything looks good. We just need you to remove the monitor wells properly abandon them and then we can get this site closed I guess what we're more likely to see is people removing them too early But even that's you're not going to be the case anymore Specialized equipment bill, you know the sites don't say who it is Um specialized equipment when you have a site and you have a lot of specialized equipment there To remediate the sites whether it be an irrigation network There's a lot of sites out there that have these barrier walls which I've seen Marginal use with them sometimes sometimes they work sometimes they don't But when we want to close the site, we're gonna have to have this removed We're gonna have to pull all this and this one what did they end up doing build it? Did they dig down and cut it with cutting torch or did they? They yank it out with a Yeah Yeah Now these are steel beams that are driven about 10 12 feet down into the ground but Sometimes it's it's a lot of work, but it's still gonna need to take place before we end up Putting in no further action letter out there Underflow dams we have two different underflow dams. They have one in pristine condition and one that has gone through spring runoff It's pretty you can see the one actually still has oil on it We're gonna need to see these removed after they've had their use everything has a limited time use Especially if you put it in a creek like this If it's left there if it's ignored it can begin to degrade Begin to look like this and it can actually lead to more issues and it can lead to an animal Alright posts and flags Show hands how many people have been yelled at to have their flags removed from sight There's a few of you less than I thought I expected a few more. I know Landowners are not a fan of flags and They want them removed as soon as possible Sangles with posts it kind of you know goes back to the specialized equipment if they're at a place where they shouldn't be They need to be gone It typically like if you have a few flags you know about it They do become a garbage after a while so that is a permanent issue there, but We we'd like to see some of these sites or some of these removed before we want to go ahead and close the site Sandbags I didn't think I would have to say this that sandbags in a creek need to be removed After they have been done or after they've had their use will use but apparently I do because it has happened to me several times and After a while they begin to degrade they begin to break open and begin to create problems and Like I said, they're in a creek. They're in a stream And if you're putting things in a stream, you have to be careful because you're asking for trouble if you end up leaving it Drain tile this one's a bit more tricky because it is Something that's pretty much going to be left in the ground A lot of times we asked that once a drain tile is outlived as purple purposefulness that we That we pump it full bent night or we properly abandon it I did put this one out there as a bit of a caveat other agencies may have other requests because us Fish and Wildlife Service places like that if you have Drain tile on their property where they have a lease They are going to have very specific rules that you are going to want to follow All right abandon equipment This happens invariably A lot of times, you know, if it's a fire Or an excavator that dropped down into a creek or a river in this case Every effort should be taken in trying to remove that I am somewhat sympathetic because I understand that there's probably going to be insurance involved And maybe they want to come take a look at it but We need to try to remove things that are issues This site has stories attached to it. I will not get into All right, what we're expecting We're expecting the removal of any equipment that may cause disruption in the general land use become a waste Or cause damage to waters of the state um We're trying to get sites back to how they are. That's why the remediation is being done. That's why the recommendation is being done and we need to You know, make sure that everything is out of there All right. Oh exceptions. I forgot I had this slide. There are exceptions to every role. This is a Weir that was put in and I think we opted to leave this one in place because removal was going to damage the The stream bed more than Then leaving it in there It was also native materials that were sourced around there. So It is something that we can be a little bit flexible with But we're gonna have to talk it over All right. Now a little bit of levity Mr. Rockman I need your help All right, I have a little bit of levity. Like I said, I have just come off of a paternity leave and I'm still kind of in the world of little kids And obviously when I go home, I will definitely be in the world of little kids But Came across this book. It is a favorite of mine All right, next slide The ocean is amazing. Mr. Fish's grin was wide. The beautiful surroundings left him wonder struck inside His head was full of happy and his heart was full of awe But his smile sank away when he turned around and saw A big big mess Whatever could it be, but he really couldn't tell so he talked with a friend who had noticed it as well There's a problem that needs solving and I don't know what to do But we're going to find some answers. Would you like to join me too? Absolutely said miss shimmer as she grabbed a few supplies. They traveled to the mystery mess to see with their own eyes Swimming off they were enchanted by the ocean big and bright but looming in the distance was a dark and dismal sight a big big mess What's it made of they both wondered as they pondered this out loud around them others gathered in a small but growing crowd There's a problem that needs solving and we don't know what to do, but we're going to find some answers Would you like to join us too? Count us in said mr. Seahorse as he powered up his rig Enthusiasm bubbled. Yes, the group was getting big They jetted through the ocean in a peaceful sort of list But the thing that stretched before them was impossible to miss a big big mess Who will fix it fish were asking hoping someone else would know there was lots of conversation as they traveled with the flow There's a problem that needs solving and we don't know what to do, but we're going to find some answers Would you like to join us too? All is one said mrs. Squid as they switched away some junk the group continued forward to the nearing pile of junk They reached the mystery mess. They took measurements and samples. They made notes. They did research They found similar examples When everyone was finished they assembled to discuss they came to one conclusion. The problem is Us We made the big big mess. They froze in disbelief. They all began to shout feeling troubled and unz and some began to pout Were they stuck with this forever would it worsen would it grow mr. Fish was worried too But there's one thing that I know it is awful that we caused it But this bad news can be good for it means that we can solve it if we all agree we should Silence filled the ocean. Their future was at stake. It was a moment of decision. But which would they make? A big big yes We can do it they exclaimed positively yep and yep So they pitched together and they cleaned the ocean up They gathered up the garbage with help of everyone. They worked to fix and remedy the damage that they'd done When they talked about new habits how to travel with less traits and reduce the use of plastic and put trash into its place Problems have solutions. So we learn what we can do together. We're the answer Would you like to join us too? Now why did I feel the need to read you a children's book? Well, that is the next slide Yeah, because I've been at home with kids for the last six weeks Picking up trash This is one of the things this is actually how this whole presentation began and this is how it involved evolved Like I said, I've been doing this for 11 years now In the first 10 years that I've been doing this job one finger Once that's how many times I have thrown the NOV on People not picking up their trash at locations I did it five times last year Now, I don't know what's causing that but it is something that I want to get in front of Um, obviously we have some some big offenders things that cause lots of Lots of damage lots of lots of trash train derailments truck accidents explosions well fires large remediations We'll kind of get into some of some of what we're looking at Abandoned absorbent booms. Remember what I mentioned earlier that they can't last forever And you know the problem with I mean, especially if they're left over winter is mice bowls Probably bowls. They're they're usually the problem for everything Mice bowls rats vermin just in general like to dig into them break them apart and they spread all over Um, this one has an absorbent boom, but that's not why I brought this absorbent pads too A lot of times they're left Um, they're usually where there's water. So again, that can be problems with waters of the state and In having an NOV rent for you um I'd like to see them. I mean, they don't last forever. They can only absorb so much. They can only do so much All right, we have another absorbent boom here this one And actually I think the sheriff finally pulled this one out um they uh They only last so so long and they need to be installed properly. Otherwise, they don't do anything at all But here is one of my sites that uh that I have I think I had about 10 emails on this site. Um, I had about three meetings on location with the responsible party um One of the times the responsible party goes. Oh man, this place looks like a landfill Yes, yes. Yes, it does. Thank you And did that clean it up? No, it took about five more emails Um, finally, I told them I'm like if it's not cleaned up and I don't see bags of trash I'm going to take this to an NOV And the next day I got an email with about 20 garbage bags lined up in a row And the next inspection I closed it because all the trash was gone um One thing I do see every once in a while. I don't when I say pick up trash. I mean pick up trash I don't mean use an excavator to try and push it around into a pile and then dig up the pile That happens more often than I care to admit Here's what we expect. Oh, I forgot my wife highlighted that for me. Um removal of all ways on the site cleanups That is generated from cleanup or the workers at location um It's pretty self-explanatory if you if you create trash at the site We expect to be gone. We expect it to to be We don't expect a big hole in the ground from excavation to become a landfill um Here's another aspect that Might be a little bit more controversial about removal all ways that showed up At the location from the point of remission permission until the site is closed You are responsible for that site. You're responsible to keep that site clean Until we issued that no further action. I don't know how many times I've seen excavations a lot of times They're along the road, but they have a tendency to gather trash People walk by they throw some garbage in there pop bottle beer bottle, whatever Um, but that needs to be removed because we're not going to let you backfill over top of that Where's the law that says we have to and we got a few of them we can certainly pick from Oh There is one last thing that I do I do want to put forward a little anecdote Um, this was this not this winner was last winner. I was at a location and uh touring a site with uh environmental rep for a company and their contractor We're going down to the excavation. I see below this uh excavator uh that the operator had thrown out a bunch of bottles a bunch of uh Candy wrappers just random garbage. Uh, so they weren't in his cab while he was doing his work um And I saw the head of the contracting company Storm over there grab it open the cab whip it into the cab And continue to use words that I cannot use here At the contractor at the excavator operator operator to uh To tell him to clean it up now Everybody does a pretty good job. I I'm really I'm happy with how sites are getting closed and I'm happy with how how we're doing but There's always room for improvement and here are some of the issues that we uh, we've been seeing lately What do we do with our candy wrapper? I think we know I think we know what we should do that is the end of it. Have a good day