Projects:

Acid Mine Drainage:

Saint Vincent College Activated Iron Solids/SBR Demonstration Project

A demonstration of a new technology was undertaken by St. Vincent College using funds obtained through a “Growing Greener” grant.  The technology demonstrated was the innovative activated iron solids/sequencing batch reactor (AIS/SBR) treatment process (patent pending) developed by Jon Dietz, Ph.D of Dietz-Gourley Consulting, LLC.     St. Vincent AIS (.pdf   file  40 KB)

Passive Treatment of the Site 15 Acid Mine Drainage Discharge

The Shamokin Creek Restoration Alliance (SCRA), in partnership with the Northumberland County Conservation District (NCCD), initiated a project to treat the Corbin Mine Tunnel AMD discharge (Site 15) to Shamokin Creek.  Dietz-Gourley Consulting along with the EADS Group of Clarion developed construction plans and documents, coordinated the relocation of onsite utilities, resolved PENNDOT right-of-way issues and reviewed and recommended a contractor for the construction phase of the project.  The project is scheduled to start construction in late 2005. Shamokin Site 15 (.pdf   file  59 KB)

Mill Creek Coalition AMD Abatement System OM&R Plan

Dietz-Gourley Consulting, LLC assessed and characterized the current conditions of the Mill Creek Coalition's existing passive treatment systems in the watershed.  The technologies that have been utilized include ALD, Aerobic Ponds, Aerobic Wetlands, SAPS and limestone beds.  Each system type was evaluated to determine current conditions and performance, operating issues, and expected life.  Criteria will be developed for each passive treatment type as triggers for required maintenance activities and ultimate system replacement. Mill Creek OM&R (.pdf   file  66 KB)

Elk County Fisherman Watershed Twomile Run AVFW Design

Dietz-Gourley Consulting, LLC assisted the Elk County Fishermen Watershed Group with the site investigation and evaluation, preliminary design and cost estimates for two treatment system locations.  Before completing the final design and permitting for the two treatment systems under Phase I, Dietz-Gourley Consulting assisted the watershed group with the preparation of a “Growing Greener” grant application for Phase II of the project.  Phase II involved the construction of the passive treatment systems, performance monitoring, and development of an O&M plan Elk County Fishermen - Twomile Run (.pdf   file  92 KB)  & photographs: AVFW (.jpg   file  656 KB) & AeLB (.jpg   file  660 KB)

Development of Abatement Approaches for AMD Emanating from the Potato Ridge Mine

Dietz-Gourley Consulting, LLC assisted the EADS Group in a project involving reclamation and treatment of numerous acid mine drainage (AMD) emanating from two mines, Smith & Potato Ridge Mines, as well as abandoned mined land (AML) in the area.  The various AMD discharge into Laurel Run, a cold water fishery containing wild brook trout, and cause water quality impacts from AML AMD and inadequately treated water from the Smith Mine (currently treated with various passive treatment approaches). Potato Ridge (.pdf   file  45 KB)

Solomon Creek AMD Feasibility and Bench-scale Study

Dietz-Gourley Consulting, LLC is assisting Borton-Lawson in a feasibility study to identify the most cost effective and efficient method for treating the Solomon Creek AMD.  The Solomon Creek AMD discharges consists of the South W-B Boreholes and Buttonwood Tunnel discharges with combined flows exceeding 50 million gallons per day (MGD) and an average ferrous iron of 35 mg/L. Solomon Creek (.pdf   file  79 KB)

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Acidic Water Impact Mitigation:

Schrader Creek Watershed Association:

Sunfish Pond Acidic Deposition Remediation

A study was conducted to determine the sources of acidic water contributing to the Sunfish Pond acidification. A major acidic water spring source was identified with pH and aluminum levels toxic to aquatic life.  Designs were developed the Schrader Creek Watershed Assocation (SCWA) for an aerobic limestone basin (ALB) to provide longterm (> 25 years) and continuous treatment of the source water. The designs were based on a Maximum Alkalinity Estimation Model (MAEM) and an alkalinity kinetic model (AKM) developed by Jon Dietz Ph.D. for acidic type waters. Sunfish Pond (.pdf   file  53 KB)

Restoration of Atomospheric Related Water Quality Impacts in Schrader Creek

Dietz-Gourley Consulting, LLC developed designs for four (4) innovative combination aerobic limestone basins (ALB)/ anaerobic vertical flow wetlands (AVFW) located in headwater tributary locations.  The technologies have been used independently in AMD treatment, but are relatively new to this field of restoration (an approach developed by Jon Dietz, Ph.D.). The combination systems will employ hydraulic designs that will adjust flow (and alkalinity output) with stream flow to restore base and episodic flow water quality.  Funding for this design project is from a “Growing Greener” grant cooperatively prepared and submitted by the Schrader Creek Watershed Association & Dietz-Gourley Consulting. Little Schrader Creek (.pdf   file  53 KB)

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Site/Civil:

Prior to joining Dietz-Gourley Consulting, LLC, Tim Gourley, P.E. was involved in various site/civil projects in Pennsylvania as an employee of a mid-size, multi-discipline engineering firm with several offices in western Pennsylvania. 

Clarion Area Authority: Greenville Avenue & Fern/Penn Street Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project

The Clarion Area Authority replaced approximately 2000 LF of sanitary sewer within their collection system.  Mr. Gourley developed the construction plans and contract documents for the project and assisted the Clarion Area Authority in selecting a qualified contractor.  In addition, Mr. Gourley reviewed all progress payments and performed construction management services for the project.

Clarion Hospital Professional Building, Clarion Development Corporation

The Clarion Development Corporation initiated a fast-tracked project for the construction of an office building adjacent to the Clarion Hospital in Clarion, PA.  Mr. Gourley assisted with and coordinated the subsurface exploration to identify the extents of surface coal mining within the project location.  After an acceptable project site was located to situate the proposed building, Mr. Gourley completed the site design, E&S plan, and Clarion County Planning Commission approval.  The project is currently under construction.

Land Development Plans

Mr. Gourley developed land development plans for several projects in and around Clarion County.  The plans were for industrial sites and housing developments.  As part of the design process, Mr. Gourley met with the client to understand the goals of the project and develop a feasible, engineering solution to meet the needs of the client and project.  Client requests ranged from full site design plans to conceptual master plans for the project site.   

Plan Reviews

Mr. Gourley reviewed and approved Stormwater Management Plans, Driveway Permit Applications, and Major Subdivision Applications for various municipalities.  Upon approval, he was responsible for inspection of improvements to ensure compliance with municipal regulations.

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Geographic Information System:

Geographic Information System (GIS) can be utilized by nearly any organization, public or private, to organize, sort, query, and present data.  The GIS model provides data a physical location from which data can be accessed.  For example,  a water valve has an unique location (latitute, longitude) that is shown in the GIS model.  By referencing the gate valve location, a user can access the data associated with particular gate valve.  The presented data can be as simple as the size of the valve or as complex as listing of valve size, installation date, installer, and a photograph.  The amount of data presented is a determined by the user during the data collection process. 

Watershed Groups  GIS can inventory site data, water samples, maintenance logs, treatment system characteristics, etc.

Gas Companies GIS can inventory data and features related to wells and transmission lines.  Data such as: property owner address and contact information, well installation date, driller, production date, transmission line size and type, etc.    

Municipalities GIS can inventory data and features of: potable water supply, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, roadway improvements, etc. 

Accessing the Data The GIS application can be accessed and managed by several methods.  There is a free GIS viewer, ArcExplorer, provided by ESRI that can be used to view and perform simple data queries.  ArcGIS Desktop provided by ESRI will provide the capability to edit the data, perform more complex queries, and utilize various data relationships. 

Dietz-Gourley can develop an ArcExplorer compatible GIS application to the user and manage the data set.  Or, a data set can be developed for ArcGIS Desktop and provided to the user.  Please contact Dietz-Gourley Consulting, LLC to discuss your project in detail.  A GIS model can be a beneficial method to organize and access a large quantity of data.

Mill Creek Coalition OM&R Plan: GIS

Dietz-Gourley Consulting, LLC, is currently developing a GIS application with the EADS Group to  organize existing and future AMD treatment system data.  The historic data, current water chemistry data, and other field parameters are to be used to develop a system wide Operation, Maintenance, and Replacement Plan (OM&R Plan).  The GIS model will provide a spatial reference to link all data for specific treatment systems.  Criteria will be developed for each passive treatment type as triggers for required maintenance activities and ultimate system replacement.  The GIS model will display the current level of treatment system operation (good, fair, poor) graphically to facilitate data presentation. Mill Creek OM&R (.pdf   file  66 KB)

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