Laserfiche WebLink
Reclamation Plan <br />The bench elevation is closest to the stream elevation on its upper end. There the bench is about <br />5 to 6 feet higher than the channel. As the stream descends rather steeply across the old landslide, <br />especially toward the lower end, the bench is about 12 to 15 feet higher on the south side of the <br />bench which, again, is bounded by a bedrock cliff. The bench itself rises 3 or 4 feet from the north <br />end (closest, elevation -wise, to the channel) to the south end. The bench surface is therefore quite flat <br />with a general and gentle slope to the north. It is largely composed of fines and smaller stones left <br />over from the landslide debris. Its total depth is unknown, but it is likely not much deeper than the <br />difference in elevation from the bench surface to the bottom of the channel, plus a few more feet. <br />This depth would work out to somewhere around 8 to 12 feet from the bench surface to the bedrock <br />underneath everything. <br />All other grading is above the wall at the back of the bench. That grading is normal quarry edge <br />rounding with smoothing out the humps and valleys a bit. That grading is above the Mining Limit <br />and is a part of the quarry reclamation. <br />Water Resources <br />It is very important to note that at no time after the slide and throughout the rehabilitation did the <br />stream flow. The minor flows all occurred after all the rehabilitation work was completed. Therefore, <br />there was no impact whatsoever on water quantity or quality during the rehabilitation process. <br />Normally, Turkey Creek flows quite well into late June, often into July, and sometimes into August <br />when it normally tends to decline to little more than a trickle. In 2011 though this area was in the <br />midst of a severe drought. There was little snow the previous winter and very few spring and summer <br />rains. The intense rains of late July and August that can produce short lived flash floods on Turkey <br />Creek did not come in 2011. Throughout most of the summer, surrounding vegetation was in poor <br />condition and many plants showed severe moisture stress. Interestingly, the woody vegetation on the <br />upper portions of the east bank of the spill area exhibited only minor moisture stress. Apparently, the <br />slide debris that forms a bench on the east side of the stream, is a deep reservoir of moisture that <br />supports plant growth even in drought. This also explains why, shortly after the east bank <br />rehabilitation was completed, woody plants that had been damaged showed strong regrowth with <br />little evidence of moisture stress. <br />The overall configuration of the stream rehabilitation was directed at re- establishing the original <br />channel in its pre -spill condition. However, it is now evident that the pre -spill alignment is not the <br />most stable alignment for the stream. It is the stable alignment for the stream in the post - landslide <br />condition, but it is not the natural alignment that was established before the landslide. That alignment <br />involved a much broader curve with less elevation drop per unit of horizontal distance and further to <br />the west against the 30 foot rock wall that backs the bench. That is the alignment the stream should <br />actually have and the presence of the slide debris explains the unusually steep grade of the stream <br />channel in its post - landslide alignment. <br />It was decided not to put the stream back into that pre - landslide alignment, even though that is <br />clearly the best alignment. Doing that would create an abrupt, major change in the stream alignment <br />Menzer Quarry Corrective Action Amendment Exhibit E October 2011 Page 3 <br />