Letting Nature Take Its Course
Murray, maker of lawn tractors and snow blowers helped its community clean up a valuable site.

By Deborah Moazen

Environmental scientists at ARCADIS are finding that the best approach to remediation can sometimes be to let nature take its course, according to Jerry Archer, an environmental scientist who heads the company’s Knoxville area operations. Sometimes, the natural resources of a site and its unique environmental setting can fit hand-in-hand with the best technical solution to environmental issues.

            That doesn’t mean we don’t help nature along sometimes,” said Archer. The key, according to Archer, is careful evaluation of the site to find the solution that fits best.

That’s exactly what happened at the Horseshoe Bend Site in Lawrence County, Tennessee where ARCADIS is harnessing the power of trees to clean up a former industrial and municipal disposal site. In addition to meeting environmental cleanup objectives, the innovative remedy (technically known as phytoremediation) has led to plans for returning the site to the community as a valuable and unique environmental resource. 

“The trees have been a very effective way for us to meet our environment goals at this site, “ says Phillip Hood, Environmental Manager with Murray, Inc., located in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. Murray, best known as producer of the first BMX bicycle, also produces lawn tractors, mowers, snow blowers, and other outdoor equipment. “Now we have a great opportunity to take the next step and craft an exciting plan for future use of the site.” Murray has been working closely with a local bird-watching group to make the site a key observation location. The site is positioned at a beautiful bend in Shoal Creek and boasts steep rock cliffs and unique bird habitat. “On top of that, additional observation points are needed in this part of the state,” says Hood.

After careful review of cleanup options, ARCADIS recommended phytoremediation to Murray, according to Jim Morgan, the senior scientist who managed the project. At the site, the designed network of root systems takes in soil water, limiting the infiltration of water through the disposal areas. “Construction costs of the phytoremediation system were approximately half that of a traditional single-barrier cover and operation and maintenance costs have been significantly lower,” said Morgan.

The system designed by ARCADIS features a two-foot-thick soil/compost layer and soil amendments with a stand of fast-growing hybrid poplar trees. After 5 years of successful cover maintenance and post-construction monitoring, the site is in excellent condition with a survival rate of greater than 95 percent for trees and an approximate 500 percent increase in tree height.

ARCADIS has used phytoremediation at more than a dozen sites across the country, including a technology demonstration project for NASA at the Kennedy Space Center. In addition to phytoremediation, the company, recognized throughout the world for its environmental expertise, is using other creative approaches—many developed and patented by ARCADIS—that can remediate a site in less than one-quarter of the time it takes for standard techniques. ARCADIS even has one patented process that uses molasses to clean sites. Molasses? The syrupy delicacy of Sunday morning pancakes? “One and the same,” Archer acknowledged with a smile.

Murray is proud of what’s been accomplished at the Horseshoe Bend Site. “What was once an eyesore will soon serve as a natural resource observation and research station,” says Hood. “The program is allowing a gradual return of the site to its natural condition while providing a benefit to the community and protecting the health of our neighbors and the environment.”

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