Engineered covers for mud pit closures Central Nevada Test Area, Nevada

Two abandoned drilling mud pits impacted with petroleum hydrocarbons were determined to require closure action at the Central Nevada Test Area. The UC-4 Mud Pit C is approximately 0.12 hectares (0.3 acres) and 1.2 meters (4 feet) in depth. The UC-1 Central Mud Pit (CMP) is approximately 1.54 hectares (3.8 acres) and 2.4 meters (8 feet) in depth. Both mud pits contain bentonite drilling muds with a thin dry crust, low shear strength, low permeability, and high moisture content. The following closure methodologies were evaluated: stabilization by mixing/injection with soil, fly ash, and lime; excavation and disposal; on-site drying; thermal destruction; wick drains; administrative closure (postings and land-use restrictions); and engineered covers. Based upon regulatory closure criteria, implementation, and cost considerations, the selected remedial alternative was the construction of an engineered cover. A multilayered cover with a geo-grid and geo-synthetic clay liner (GCL) was designed and constructed over the UC-4 Mud Pit C to evaluate the constructability and applicability of the design for the CMP cover. The geo-grid provided structural strength for equipment and material loads during cover construction, and the GCL was used as a moisture infiltration barrier. The design was determined to be constructable and applicable. To reduce project costs for the CMP cover, a vegetative cover was designed with drainage toward the center of the cover rather than the perimeter. The vegetative cover with the internal drainage design resulted in a fill volume reduction of approximately 63 percent compared to the multilayered cover design with a GCL