In the summer of 2018, city staff began working with the Phase II Earthworks Contractor to address issues with insufficient vegetative growth and drainage issues at the Rawlins Sanitary Landfill Transfer Station. During the course of discussions, city staff with the assistance of professional landfill engineering consultants concluded that a revegetation of the Phase II Closure Area was required. The original Phase II contract specifications were prepared and awarded with the assistance of a national landfill closure engineering firm, and used a format that has been utilized throughout Wyoming and the country. These same specifications were successfully used in the Phase I Closure Project. The Phase II reseeding effort was needed due to environmental conditions and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) requirement to have sufficient vegetative growth.
The WDEQ landfill closure permit requires sufficient vegetative growth to protect the expensive flexible membrane liner (FML) and allow proper drainage. Thanks to observant landfill staff who noticed the seeding stand was not sufficient for protecting the FML, and therefore prevented a much more expensive repair if it were to go unchecked.
Former City Administration released the Phase II Earthworks Contractor’s Performance and Payment Bonds on January 23, 2019 without approval from the governing body or WDEQ. The revegetation of Phase II was put out to bid again with both a two-year warranty and upgraded, performance-based specifications. Although the City was not pleased to re-seed the Phase II area, it was the only option remaining for the city to comply with the WDEQ requirements. The upgrades to the reclamation bid specifications go well beyond standard of practices. The city will ensure we have special warranty periods on all future projects as needed.
The Phase II re-seeding project has now been awarded and completed by Rocky Mountain Reclamation who have serviced a number of landfills and other locations in Wyoming. Their method utilizes a native grass hay mulch and includes several techniques to keep the seed in place (a problem with the original Phase II reseeding) to ensure eventual germination. Although Rocky Mountain Reclamation’s approach was more expensive up-front it provided the best combination of techniques to ensure successful revegetation, require fewer repairs and will be less expensive in the long-run.
The City of Rawlins would like to thank the WDEQ Solid Waste Division for their assistance throughout the Landfill Closures for Phase I and II. The City Council and Interim City Manager are committed to being more responsive to public requests for information. We are also committed to ensuring the City’s business is conducted in the public forum and if any information is unclear, incomplete or inaccurate, it is clarified as quickly as possible.
For more information, please contact Mira Miller, City of Rawlins Community Relations Coordinator, at 307-328-4500 ext. 1022.
Sincerely,
Mayor Steve Nicholson on behalf of Rawlins City Council
