After a forecast of significant snow and ice this past weekend, UCOR’s Landfill Operations initiated its winter storm recovery plan to get landfill operations on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) back up and running.
Prior to the storm, Landfill Operations implemented various recovery plan efforts to minimize damage, including covering selected waste on the sites, checking equipment, verifying management systems, supplying salt inventory, identifying hazards, staging PPE, creating call-in list for staff, minimizing onsite inventory of leachate and contact water, and more.
Over the weekend, personnel reaffirmed leachate levels and pump operations. Crews also responded to a back-up generator that lost power, which was promptly corrected.
Crews at EMWMF and ORRL also focused heavily on spreading deicer salt and performing walkdowns/inspections. Additionally, ORRL had to clear fallen trees on roadways, which included pathways to leachate systems and discharge tanks.
Despite the storm not delivering as forecasted, hazardous conditions were still created, prompting landfill operations to act all weekend.
Once Monday came around, crews were at it at 4:30 a.m. responding to alarms, assessing site conditions, clearing snow/ice and applying salt, removing fallen debris, and initiating repairs to get UCOR operations back and operational Tuesday morning.
The management of severe weather was successful. Without Waste Operations staff maintaining frequent communication, implementing appropriate responses, and ensuring that resources were available to respond to the sites, the landfills would not be back in operation so quickly.
Photos: From downed trees to frozen conditions, the weather over the weekend presented many challenges to keeping UCOR landfill operations going. Crews worked diligently to spread deicer, clear paths, and perform necessary repairs.