Tetra Tech is working with Holcim US to provide engineering design, construction management, and environmental compliance services to expand their cement kiln dust (CKD) landfill.
The Holcim Alpena plant has an active limestone mine to feed its cement production operation. The CKD byproduct is returned to the landfill inside the plant’s operating quarry. The original landfill design required a huge amount of subgrade to fill, which was inefficient and costly. Since 2009 Tetra Tech has provided engineering assistance to modify the permit to optimize airspace, minimize subgrade fill, and upgrade the CKD landfill design due to projections indicating the landfill will be out of airspace in the mid-2020s.
Benefits
- Expansion provides an additional 30 years and 16 mcy of disposal capacity
- Landfill will be compliant with Part 115 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act
- Worked with the Michigan Department of EGLE to improve monitoring programs
We provided design plans and permit assistance for seven future landfill phases to expand the CKD disposal capacity, including a valley fill between two existing landfills. Despite many design challenges—including incorporating and amending existing final cover materials into the base liner design to meet current state rules and requirements—we successfully prepared a construction permit application for a vertical and lateral expansion of the landfill.
The expansion provides an additional 30 years and 16 million cubic yards (mcy) of disposal capacity. The permitting process took more than two years and included evaluation of the existing site, hydrogeology, monitoring network, environmental impacts or upgrades, and design for the overlay cells complete with leachate collection, perimeter berms, and accessibility. Subsequent projects include design and bidding, contract award, and certification reporting.
Tetra Tech also assisted with updating the plant’s Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) and Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan and providing ongoing compliance assistance. We are currently working with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to simplify and improve the groundwater and surface water monitoring programs to maximize environmental protections.
