Brownfield Reclamation (C.A. Chier Resource Center Site) Summary There were no economic benefits for Badger Mining Corporation to build on this site. Quite the contrary. The additional time, effort, and cost needed to complete all of the investigation, design, permitting, and added construction costs were a definite disadvantage to the site. But sometimes the best solution is the most costly. In this case we were able to take a site that was a detriment to the environment and turn it into a real winning situation. Badger Mining won by getting a great building in a great location. The City of Berlin won by having an eyesore transformed into a really nice city entrance. The wildlife benefited by the additional habitat and management provided at both the construction site and borrow site. And the environment benefited by having an abandoned and dilapidated landfill closed and put to a beneficial use. As a result, BMC won:
Condition of the property before BMC bought it PROJECT OVERVIEW Badger Mining Corporation wished to construct a new corporate center allowing segregated office locations to come together. It would also allow BMC to move back to the city of its origin Berlin, WI. A property at the South entrance to the City of Berlin was discovered. A site of approximately 15 acres nestled between Highway 49 and the Fox River. It’s North boundary a small navigable water named Winchel Springs Creek and the South and West boundaries were the Fox River and associated wetlands. A great location, but the site needed some major help! During the 1960’s approximately half of the property was filled in with by-products from local foundries. The owner of the site at this time obtained site closure following a lengthy legal battle with the state. The site eventually fell into disrepair and was labeled by the Department of Natural Resources as an abandoned landfill. When Badger Mining Corporation decided to purchase the property in the late 1980’s, the vegetation on the site was sparse at best, and the sides were sloughing down into the wetland. Winchel Springs Creek was choked with material and had severe erosion problems on both banks. The only goal at this time was to build a new resource center on this site that would improve the site, and make a good looking entrance into the City of Berlin. This site was purchased with full knowledge of what we were getting into. Site Stabilization Special care was taken in the shaping and stabilization of the site along the Fox River. Not only did we not want to fill in any of the River, but we also wanted to provide a place for the fisherman that frequent this site. Therefore the rip rap was placed in a tiered fashion, giving the fisherman a level and convenient place from which to try their luck. In addition, a boat landing was added to the site as an extension of one of the parking lots for the building. The permitting process included several branches of the Department of Natural Resources, including Waste Management, Water Resources, Fisheries, and Wildlife. Permitting also included the Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Berlin. In the case of Winchel Springs Creek we had to obtain permission from adjoining landowners to complete work on their properties, and convince them that it would all be completed at no cost to them. Badger Mining would cover all expenses. All waste was pulled out of the wetlands and back onto the fill area. All perimeter areas were rip rapped. Winchel Springs Creek was cleaned out and its banks were stabilized with rip rap. Capping A spin off benefit of this hauling project is that the site where the fill was borrowed from was also developed into wildlife habitat. Reclamation of this site included a fish and recreation pond approximately 4 acres in size with a maximum depth of 14 feet, and a small island. Next to the recreation pond a 2 acre shallow wetland with a maximum depth of 4 feet was created. The acreage around the pond and wetland was planted to wildlife nesting habitat and winter cover. Once the landfill was capped it needed to be seeded. The seeding mixture included a normal bluegrass lawn mixture for around the building. . The seeding mixture also included 2 acres of shortgrass prairie and prairie flowers. The City of Berlin liked the site so much that they requested, and were granted permission to, move the welcome sign for the city onto our property. Storm Water Control Wildlife Habitat Management On this property is the outlet of the wetland area to the Fox River. This is the outlet for an expansive wetland that walleye use for spawning areas. In the early part of the century the Army Corps of Engineers dredged the Fox River and the resulting spoil banks inhibits flow through the wetland. Therefore a cooperative effort was taken with Walleyes for Tomorrow and the Izzak Walton League to excavate and stabilize areas of the dredge piles allowing flow to increase through the wetlands, improving the wetland for spawning walleyes and other wildlife. Associates from the site are working on a comprehensive wildlife management plan for the entire site. This plan is comprehensive, including many practices such as: controlled burning for the prairie areas, which can be used as an educational tool for others interested in prairie landscaping; additional wildlife houses and monitoring; feeding and watering stations to provide for the wildlife as well as luring them into areas easily viewed from the building, and many other things. |
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