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RECLANATION PLAN <br />than a couple of feet, the process will produce poor growth or will select for <br />only very deeply rooted species. then porous material underlies soil drought <br />conditions easily develop when moisture is limiting. <br />Placing 6 inches of processing fines as "subsoil" will provide an <br />available water capacity of about 0.05 inches per inch of material or a total <br />of 0.3 inches for 6 inches of material. Placing 4.25 inches of the Cascajo <br />soil (available water capacity of 0.08 inches per inch) increases the total <br />available water capacity to 0.64 inches or, if rounded off, about 3/4 inch of <br />available water could be held in this growth medium with a 10.25 inch total <br />depth. <br />However, the shale acts as a considerable barrier to moisture <br />percolatim. Therefore, although the "subsoil" holds minimal amounts of <br />water, the shale layer restrains water percolation so the available water can <br />exceed expectation. As the available water capacity is depleted it is <br />replaced from the reserves. This produces a higher moisture budget than would <br />otherwise exist if the shale layer was not a barrier to percolation. <br />If 6 inches of loam soil is placed on top of 6 inches of waste, the <br />water budget is improved even more. The loam has an available water capacity <br />of about 0.13 inches per inch of soil. Therefore, 6 inches would produce an <br />available water capacity of 0.78 inches or about 3/4 inch. Combined with the <br />0.3 inches in the waste, the total available water capacity, without <br />augmentation from the shale layer, is about an inch. <br />It would appear that because the Cascajo has a much lower available <br />water capacity then more is needed. That would be true if the availability of <br />this soil is greater than the need. But, because the stripping to replacement <br />ratio must be maintained at very close to 1: 1, more cannot be spread because <br />it is not there in the first place. However, because the loam soil stripping <br />to replacement ratio is expected to be about 1:1.25 there should be same <br />opportunity to improve the Casca,io soils by blending with Stoneham soils. <br />E3ecause the Cascajo soil, covers so much more area than the Stoneham soil, <br />soil augmentation will be limited and the Cascajo situation of producing an <br />available water capacity of about 0.75 inches will be more usual. <br />By placing 6 inches of processing fines on tap of the shale the upward <br />movement of salts is also reduced. 4henever evaporatirn exceeds precipitation <br />upward movement of salt through capillary rise can be a problem. Reduction of <br />this effect can be achieved by making subsoil texture more coarse. Coarse <br />Page 16 <br />