Preventing Erosion and Reducing Stormwater Runoff Near State-wide Trail
The Quarry Waters Industrial Landscape Restoration project is located in the City of Kingston, Ulster County, New York, at the South Cove section of what was the Quarry Waters site. The objective of the project was to prevent erosion from impacting the adjacent Empire State Trail, reduce runoff from the pile areas, and establish a vegetative cover that will support natural succession on the site.
The project was part of a larger comprehensive parkland and site development planning effort on approximately 500 acres that resulted in the Sojourner Truth State Park and was dedicated in the spring of 2022.
The project included the restoration of two material stockpiles that were waste from the closed industrial facility. The waste material’s chemical and physical composition made the material very erosive and prohibitive to establishing vegetation. The project included the regrading of the material waste piles to soften slopes, improve accessibility and manage stormwater. The material stockpiles were then encapsulated in a mixture of on-site and off-site materials to promote the growth of vegetation on the stockpiles. Other work included drainage improvements and site access.
Tighe & Bond’s environmental scientists played a key role in identifying native species to the site and providing a seed restoration mix to provide a homogeneous vegetation mixture from the previously disturbed area to the previously undisturbed area. Vegetative samples were taken jointly with the Tighe & Bond environmental team and DeRosa Environmental Consulting, Inc, to gauge the soil’s capacity for vegetative growth.
Services Snapshot
Tighe & Bond was tasked with completing the permitting, design, and construction observation services for the stabilization of unvegetated historic industrial waste material stockpiles from a cement mine and processing facility. The project team assisted in coordinating the Project’s permitting phase with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) for stormwater discharges from construction activity and local MS4 approvals. Tighe & Bond conducted twice weekly field observation and management services and provided assistance with coordination between the client and contractor for any additional on-site construction work.
