Location
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Start Date
15-5-2024 1:00 PM
End Date
15-5-2024 1:30 PM
Description
How Sustainable is Your Coal Ash Cover System? Authors Mr. Marc Theisen - United States - Profile Products LLC Abstract Robust cover designs are integral for successful coal ash closures to ensure regulatory compliance while minimizing construction, operational and maintenance costs. Moreover, owners, designers and other stakeholders must meet Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) obligations. With these goals in mind, cover designs should include considerations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprints while offering environmental sustainability and resilience for the life of the project. A vexing issue facing coal ash site restoration is often the lack of available onsite protective cover soil and “topsoil” needed to construct vegetated covers, resulting in significant added costs and schedule risks associated with procurement, transportation, and placement of soil materials. These challenges have led to alternative closure designs that replace topsoil and potentially reduce overall cover system thickness via synthetic turf or Engineered Soil Cover Systems™. While either alternative may offer immediate cost savings, it is also important to evaluate life-cycle costs and long-term environmental impacts especially when considering mitigation of climate change. This paper will address pros and cons of traditional and alternative coal ash closure cover systems, including a comprehensive examination of life-cycle costs in the context of environmental sensibility, sustainability, and resilience.
Document Type
Presentation
How Sustainable is Your Coal Ash Cover System
Grand Rapids, Michigan
How Sustainable is Your Coal Ash Cover System? Authors Mr. Marc Theisen - United States - Profile Products LLC Abstract Robust cover designs are integral for successful coal ash closures to ensure regulatory compliance while minimizing construction, operational and maintenance costs. Moreover, owners, designers and other stakeholders must meet Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) obligations. With these goals in mind, cover designs should include considerations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprints while offering environmental sustainability and resilience for the life of the project. A vexing issue facing coal ash site restoration is often the lack of available onsite protective cover soil and “topsoil” needed to construct vegetated covers, resulting in significant added costs and schedule risks associated with procurement, transportation, and placement of soil materials. These challenges have led to alternative closure designs that replace topsoil and potentially reduce overall cover system thickness via synthetic turf or Engineered Soil Cover Systems™. While either alternative may offer immediate cost savings, it is also important to evaluate life-cycle costs and long-term environmental impacts especially when considering mitigation of climate change. This paper will address pros and cons of traditional and alternative coal ash closure cover systems, including a comprehensive examination of life-cycle costs in the context of environmental sensibility, sustainability, and resilience.
