AMEC-AMEC-BCI was contracted by CF Industries, Inc. to evaluate and design recharge ditch systems for their existing 15,000-acre phosphate mine as well as their proposed 6,500-acre reserve expansion. The recharge ditch system is necessary to avoid impacts to the surficial groundwater table within wetlands and off-site properties during mining operations. The objective was to design a recharge system that would maintain surficial aquifer groundwater levels adjacent to the mine pit within the seasonal high and low groundwater levels. 
Mining
AMEC-BCI is also recognized in the industry for our expertise in Florida stream and wetland science and engineering. This knowledge has been routinely coupled with our modeling expertise in the design of reclamation and restoration plans which have helped our mining clients maximize the economic potential of their reserve holdings while providing a high level of assurance to regulatory agencies in support of their permitting decisions.
AMEC-AMEC-BCI was contracted by CF Industries, Inc. to evaluate and design recharge ditch systems for their existing 15,000-acre phosphate mine as well as their proposed 6,500-acre reserve expansion. The recharge ditch system is necessary to avoid impacts to the surficial groundwater table within wetlands and off-site properties during mining operations. The objective was to design a recharge system that would maintain surficial aquifer groundwater levels adjacent to the mine pit within the seasonal high and low groundwater levels. 
AMEC-BCI was selected to conduct a pre-development phosphorous and nitrogen load assessment of CF Industries’ land holdings in support of NPDES permit revisions. The evaluation included quantification of pre-development run-off yield volumes to offsitesystems. This component of the project included evaluation of both USGS gauging data and results from an integrated surface-groundwater model for the property.
AMEC-BCI developed and validated a long-term water balance model for a major Central Florida phosphate mining and beneficiation facility. The model included random rainfall record generation capabilities which can be run for multiple scenarios to develop probabilistic predictions of NPDES discharge volumes, water use rates, and storage capacity optimization evaluations. The model includes representation of all relevant water sources including precipitation, groundwater wells, and alternate supplies such as reclaimed waste water effluent sources.
Mosaic Fertilizer was requested by the FDEP to submit a proposal to evaluate an elevated iron condition within a mined-out area adjacent to Mizelle Creek at their Kingsford Facility. A limited hydrological and hydrogeological investigation suggests existing conditions within the area illustrate excessive iron concentrations based on the Florida State Surface Water Quality Criteria summarized in FAC 62-302.530. These conditions suggest potential affects to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) discharge point within the Mizelle Creek, Outfall D-002.
AMEC-BCI was retained by a private property developer to conduct a Phase I Environmental Assessment and Limited Surface Water Quality Assessment of two parcels of land located in Polk and Hardee counties, Florida. One parcel was 107 acres and the other was 1,211 acres and both had been formerly mined for phosphate and been subject to reclamation.
AMEC-BCI staff members provided a comprehensive ecosystem restoration plan for a 15,000-acre surface mine and are continuing to provide support and site-specific assistance to the client as the project unfolds. AMEC-BCI work included plans and specifications for hydrology, soils, geomorphology, floral communities, potential for fire-management, and wildlife corridors. This was the first phosphate-mine restoration plan to utilize natural-channel design principals as the central basis for creating new streams. This approach relied heavily on identifying fluvial processes that effect stream dimensions and designing to create a stream channel that is in-regime with its watershed (a.k.a. natural channel design via use of fluvial geomorphology).
This project incorporates an alternative mitigation strategy for wetlands impacted during construction of the Polk Parkway. Rather than replace impacted wetlands in a disjointed setting, AMEC-BCI was contracted to design mitigation for the wetlands in extensive, adjacent habitats managed for long-term viability and protection. Hundreds of acres of forested and herbaceous wetlands are being built in the northernmost sub-basin of the Peace River Watershed. The bulk of the mitigation will occur on minescarred land located at the Tenoroc Fish Management Area, a former phosphate mine, to enhance regional outdoor and recreational opportunities.
AMEC-BCI conducted a Resource Evaluation to review and summarize available data and make observations and recommendations regarding the likelihood of existing recoverable limestone resources at the Newala project site located near the town of Vincent, Shelby County, Alabama. The study included a review of the Geologic Survey of Alabama publications and records, published geologic data, data supplied by White Rock Quarries (WRQ), and data that AMEC-BCI collected from core logging and sampling in Alabama.
AMEC-BCI has provided services to Nu-West Industries at their Conda Phosphate Operations, in Soda Springs, Idaho for more than 10 years. Work at the site included the design, permitting and construction oversight of the first phase (125 acre cell) of a new gypsum disposal stack to manage the 1,800-acre-feet of gypsum slurry produced yearly at the site. AMEC-BCI is currently working on the design of the second phase of the stack, which will ultimately encompass approximately 300 acres. The gypsum stack was the first constructed in Idaho using the current Florida rules for gypsum stack construction.
Non-mandatory reclamation is a reimbursement program for owners of land that was mined prior to mandatory reclamation rules and is overseen by the state. This mine-scarred land program assists owners in reclamation of old lands and in obtaining reimbursement by the state.
AMEC-BCI was hired by CF Industries to design a stream construction demonstration project at their mine in Hardee County, Florida. AMEC-BCI was selected because failure was not an option and the project needed to be built quickly and at a very high level of sophisticated detail. AMEC-BCI’s stream team selected the project location at the company’s property and designed the total reconstruction of a 1,000 foot long headwater stream channel and its terrestrial valley floodplain. The design was consistent with the general principals of the NRCS’s National Engineering Handbook Chapter 654 Stream Restoration, but simple devotion to the national guidance would have failed to provide some of the unique aspects of peninsular Florida’s fluvial forms.
AMEC-BCI completed detailed event and continuous modeling of a 120,000-acre mine property to support Life-of-Mine permit approval through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The project demonstrates AMEC-BCI’s ability to provide comprehensive hydrologic, hydraulic and integrated modeling, GIS database development, reclamation and mine planning, and regulatory permitting services.
Palm Beach Aggregates, Inc. (PBA) operates a six-acre limestone aggregate mine in Loxahatchee, Florida. Approximately 1,218 acres of this property is referred to as the Lazy F Property, which is located north of State Road 80 and east of the South Florida Water Management District’s (SFWMD) Loxahatchee L-8 Canal. In 2005 and 2006, PBA placed approximately 8 to 10 feet of hydraulic fill on the Lazy F Property, intending to improve the site for planned residential development.
AMEC-BCI was hired by The Quikrete Companies, Inc. to perform a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) on an area for potential development for an ongoing mining operation. The project required soil characterization and land-use criteria and development requirements.
The Florida Institute of Phosphate Research (FIPR) project was aimed at defining the detailed hydrologic function of above ground clay settling areas and the development of reclamation and modeling guidelines for the phosphate industry. The project goal was to improve the predictability of hydrologic function. The project considered long-term changes in topography and surface roughness as a result of clay consolidation and cracking. The four sites studied were of different physical character. Each site was instrumented with numerous monitoring platforms that continually recorded water level information in all depressions, surficial aquifer data, and comprehensive weather information.
Exxon Mobil Corporation retained AMEC-BCI in September 1996 to manage the 11,000 acre Ft. Meade Mine, where mining operations stopped in 1993. AMEC-BCI was responsible for environmental compliance and management of the mandatory reclamation activities. Our contract included completing daily inspections of critical surface water management structures, collecting weekly composite water samples at discharge points, and conducting weekly dam inspections.
AMEC-BCI completed a limestone reserves evaluation of a 1,630-acre parcel located in southeastern Jefferson County, owned by the Foley Timber and Land Company. The evaluation was completed for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) as part of an appraisal of the area for acquisition to connect two existing parcels of prime black bear habitat. AMEC-BCI 's field activities included site reconnaissance, mapping an existing quarry at the site, interviewing three nearby mining operators, identifying drill hole locations, collecting limestone samples (12 bore holes and over 500' of core), and submittal of the samples for laboratory analysis.
AMEC-BCI was retained by ER Jahna to develop a new 15,000-acre sand mine in the Green Swamp, an area of critical environmental concern. The development of the new mine required comprehensive environmental and wetland assessments. To begin the project, AMEC-BCI developed detailed, thematic GIS coverage to determine the amount of hydrologic, environmental and mine/reclamation planning needed. In addition, comprehensive geotechnical evaluations were conducted to establish the extent and characterization of the resources available.