Project Name: McIntosh Pit
Location: Fremont County, WY
Date of Installation: Phased Construction 2014-2025
Salesperson: Tom Bowman
Engineering Firm: BRS Engineering
The McIntosh Pit, a former uranium mine site, was a 200-foot-deep pit filled with a groundwater lake walled in by large, stepped banks cut into the rock measuring up to 300-feet high.
When demand for uranium dropped in the 1970s, the mine was abruptly abandoned. This happened prior to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977, when the federal government did not require mining companies to perform site remediation work.
Today, there is a responsibility to rectify the oversights of previous mining activities, which is what the engineering firm and team involved with the McIntosh Pit Reclamation Project was tasked with.
Commencing in 2014, the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Program administered by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) laid out an estimated $26.2M, multi-year plan with 7 project phases to reclaim the McIntosh Pit back to the original landscape, prior to uranium mining operations.
The goals of the reclamation project were to remove dangerous hazards, fix drainage and stabilize the land, clean up 12 million cubic yards of radioactive mine waste, and restore healthy vegetation for livestock grazing. With the site having extremely depleted soil that was not equipped to grow and support vegetation, the goal of re-establishing sustainable, healthy vegetation proved to be a challenge.
Biosol Forte provides all the stable organic
substances and nutrients needed to reclaim
poor soils lacking organic matter and microbial
life — the soil at the McIntosh Mine site.
The nitrogen (7%), phosphorus (2%) and
potassium (1%) in Biosol Forte fertilize, nourish
and heal poor soil. Because of its composition
of slow-release, stable organic nutrients, Biosol
provides long-term nourishment. Biosol’s
nutrients become available for plant uptake
when the soil temperatures, microbial activity
and water are right for growing conditions. This is the result of supplying an organically bound and stable nutrient source to soils, developing and encouraging nutrient cycling in soils for long-term soil health and plant growth. Biosol ensures plants will thrive and grow stronger over time.
Biosol Forte organic fertilizer was applied at 400 lbs/acre along with a native seed mix designed to grow in Wyoming’s arid climate. The contractor broadcast Biosol on the surface, next disced it into the ground, and then pit seeding was performed.
– Biosol Forte 7-2-1 Natural Organic Fertilizer
– Native Seed Mix
Through this multi-phase reclamation project, Biosol Forte was used on all ground disturbed by construction that needed to be revegetated, including the spoils which were moved, contoured and seeded. Biosol Forte was also used around both reservoirs, as it’s safe for use around water since its nutrients don’t leach into groundwater. Pictures below show the incredible transformation and established vegetation.
