Client:
City Management Corporation
​
Location:
Sumpter Township, MI

Prime Consultant:
NTH Consultants, Ltd.

NTH Budget: 
$150,000

Carleton Farms Solid Waste Landfill
Innovative In-Place Landfill Liner Repair

Project Overview
NTH Consultants, Ltd. implemented a first in landfill liner repair using polyurea at Carleton Farms Landfill in Sumpter Township, MI. The design incorporated technical expertise of the Millgard Corporation (Livonia, MI) and Blastech Corporation (Brantford, Ontario). Several hundred thousand yards of landfill airspace were reclaimed, worth millions of dollars in revenue.

Project Scope
Guided by a intrinsically safe remote video camera, the NTH team successfully repaired a three-foot hole under 60 feet of refuse. Innovation marked each step of the project – from the pilot demonstrations designed to gain state approval from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to NTH’s approach to field implementation. Millgard refined the shaft excavation approach to include a modified auger with a smooth-walled pipe to “lead” the drill stem through the path of the original auger. Blastech developed a special application nozzle to distribute the polyurea laterally and underwater.

Modified drill shaft equipment excavated through 60 feet of waste to the repair elevation. Modified deep soil stabilization pump and tools cleaned the geosynthetic liner surface surrounding the damaged area and controlled undermining of the compacted clay liner below the synthetic membrane. A specially – designed polyurea application nozzle with a centering jig was lowered to the bottom of the hole and the material was pumped into place. Real-time video confirmed that the shaft was centered above the repair areas and that the polyurea flowed under and over the geomembrane.