Roux Blog

Abandoned Oil Well Investigation

Amanda Ludlow, Principal Scientist with Roux Associates, Inc. traveled to Peru on behalf of the Blacksmith Institute to investigate contamination from abandoned oil wells located in the hills surrounding Puno, in the communities of Pirin, Ahuallane and Huancane, located on the northwestern shores of Lake Titicaca.

Abandoned oil extraction wells were reported to discharge metal, oil and salt contamination into the nearby water and soil, ultimately draining to Lake Titicaca.  While many of the wells were closed and capped, residual contamination was detected in the adjacent and downgradient soil (e.g., arsenic 36,715 mg/kg).  The Peru soil cleanup standard for agriculture and residential areas is 50 mg/kg.  Immediately adjacent to the contaminated soil are potato fields, homes and a school.

Currently Roux Associates and the Blacksmith Institute are developing remediation plans for both the arsenic contaminated soil (i.e., capping and containment) as well as for the abandoned wells which continue to discharge contaminated water to the communities (i.e., constructed treatment wetlands). Construction is anticipated to begin Spring 2014.

Roux Associates and the Blacksmith Institute have partnered on several cleanup projects worldwide as we are both committed to assisting and educating others about the value of employing natural systems to improve water quality. The Blacksmith Institute is an international non-profit organization dedicated to solving pollution problems in low and middle income countries, where human health is at risk. Since its inception in 1999, Blacksmith has completed more than 50 cleanup projects in 21 countries.  Blacksmith works closely with national stakeholders from communities, industry and governments, and coordinates with key organizations such as the World Bank, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the Asian Development Bank, and the European Commission, many of which provide funding.  For more information about the Blacksmith Institute click below:

Roux Associates, Inc. are nationally recognized experts and leaders in the design and implementation of sustainable, low-cost Engineered Natural Systems (ENS®) treatment technologies such as Constructed Treatment Wetlands (CTW), Phytotechnologies, and other passive technologies (e.g., permeable reactive barriers and natural media filtration).  Our award-winning ENS® technologies have been used to treat groundwater and surface water contamination, stormwater runoff, contaminated soils and sediments, landfill leachate, and industrial/municipal wastewaters.

In May 2013, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that New York State would receive $340 million in federal funding for flood-mitigation projects at wastewater and drinking water plants in communities damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Sandy resulted in more than $1 billion in damage to wastewater treatment plants and the release of raw and under treated sewage into adjoining waterways highlighted the need to fortify our water-quality systems. Of the $340 million for New York, $283 million is allocated for wastewater projects and $56.6 million for drinking water facilities.

Working with the EPA, New York State will establish the Storm Mitigation Loan Program, along with standards for the disbursement of the $340 million. This will include rules governing the types of mitigation projects that will be eligible for a combination of interest-free loans and non-reimbursable grants through State Revolving Funds (SRFs) distributed through the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation.

As called for in the Governor's NYS 2100 Commission report, these mitigation projects should include the installation of floodwalls and the construction of green infrastructure (e.g., constructed wetlands) to lessen storm surges at treatment facilities.  Shoreline stabilization and floodwall design can be self-sustaining through the incorporation of native, living materials with hard armoring, termed bioengineering. Vegetation is an effective way to increase the strength and stability of any slope. Given the opportunity to shore up existing coastal utilities, preference should be given to those methods that restore the ecological functions and values of our coastal shorelines.

Roux Associates is a leader in providing green shoreline solutions to clients in the New York City Area. Recently Roux Associates completed a shoreline stabilization design in Brooklyn utilizing bioengineering solutions that survived a 15 foot storm surge during Hurricane Sandy. Click on the following link to learn more about the Shoreline Stabilization project.

Constructed wetlands are one of the most reliable best management practices (BMPs) used across the country to remove stormwater contaminants and reduce peak discharges of large storms and downstream flooding.  Roux Associates has been actively involved in developing CTW technology since 1993. Click on the link to learn more about our recent Sustainable Stormwater Wetland Design currently being installed in a park on Staten Island.

To request more information regarding Roux Associates' Engineered Natural Systems (ENS®) visit the below link.

Roux Associates has performed investigation, remedial design and construction management services for numerous large-scale landfill and environmental capping projects in New York and throughout the United States. A partial list of capping project locations in New York includes multiple municipal landfills on Long Island and New York City; and industrial landfills in Syracuse, Buffalo, Rensselaer, Oswego and Watertown. Cap designs have included the use of HDPE and LLDPE geomembranes, geosynthetic clay liners, vegetative soil caps, wetland transition areas, asphalt and reinforced concrete. Designs also included slope stability evaluations, landfill gas venting and collection systems, leachate control and collection systems, and stormwater runoff controls.

In addition, we provide an impressive array of sustainable development services including alternative landfill cover design and innovative wastewater treatment. Our associates are nationally recognized experts and leaders in the design and implementation of sustainable, low-cost “Green” Engineered Natural Systems (ENS®) treatment technologies. Roux’s ENS® technologies include Constructed Treatment Wetlands (CTW), Phytotechnologies, and other passive natural technologies such as permeable reactive barriers and natural media filtration. Our award-winning ENS® Group focuses on the application of these technologies to treat landfill leachate, groundwater and surface water contamination, stormwater runoff, and industrial/municipal wastewaters. The efficient and effective use of these technologies has resulted in significant cost savings for our clients versus conventional remedial alternatives. In fact, four of our recent ENS® designs for a Fortune 100 client received separate Global Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) awards for innovation, cost-effectiveness, and excellence.

Roux Associates has been actively involved in developing and applying CTW technology for landfill leachate treatment since 1993. Our long-term and continuing commitment to the technology has resulted in the award of a U.S. Patent for an enhanced subsurface-flow CTW design in 1999. Our patented CTW subsurface-flow technology has reduced the size of a typical CTW by 50% while simultaneously enhancing year round and predictable performance.

Roux Associates has amassed over 15 years of phytoremediation experience, with over 70,000 trees installed to replace conventional RCRA caps with “living” Phyto Caps; to remediate contaminated groundwater; to sequester and immobilize contaminants in soil; and even consumptively utilize process wastewater to reduce off-site discharges.

If you are interested in learning more about Roux's innovative landfill technologies please visits us at the upcoming:

Strive for Sustainability
Solid Waste & Recycling Conference
May 5 - 8, 2013 - Booth #107

Or click on the link below.

Roux Associates designed a NYSDEC approved alternative landfill cover (2nd approved alternative landfill cover in NYS) for a nine-acre industrial landfill at an 80-acre former chemical manufacturing facility adjacent to the Hudson River in Rensselaer, New York.
The alternative landfill cover design consists of a 30-inch soil cap to eliminate direct exposure of human and ecological receptors to underlying landfill waste. Rhizodegradation (i.e., degradation of organic compounds in the plant root zone) mechanisms provide for the insitu treatment of the landfill COCs, while phytostabilization (i.e., sequestration within the plant root zone) mechanisms provide for enhanced containment of metal COCs.

In order to obtain regulatory approval for the alternative landfill cover and preclude the need for a 10-7cm/sec low permeability liner, the design had to demonstrate equivalency with the state landfill closure regulations (6 NYCCR Part 360). Accordingly, the vegetation planting density for the landfill cover was designed to balance the water needs of the various plants with the evapotranspiration requirements to minimize infiltration.

In addition, the landfill cover was designed to minimize leachate generation even during plant dormancy periods, with residual water stored in the surface soil material. Through the completion of a detailed water-balance analysis and discussions with the state, Roux Associates demonstrated the water infiltration equivalency requirements of the state regulation were achieved, and the alternative cover design was therefore approved.

The cap vegetation includes numerous native species to promote ecological diversity and create a valuable wildlife habitat. The project was officially certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council in 2008 as part of the Wildlife at Work and Corporate Lands for Learning programs.

For more information regarding Roux Associates Engineered Natural Systems (ENS®) Services or to discuss a particular project, please click here.