Coastal Remediation related to accidental releases of petroleum products is largely addressed with offshore and on-shore strategies. The tools for each are significantly different. RECON is uniquely qualified to address on-shore remediation needs. With over 20 years of Gulf Coast Remediation experience, RECON has accumulated the experience, resources and manpower required to address even the most extensive coastal remediation projects. In general, the Gulf Coast is represented by three types of environments, each one requiring a unique remediation approach.

Beaches

Perhaps the most straightforward of the environments is the beach. Generally these are associated with a barrier island, and can be remediated by removal of contaminated materials. The remediation strategy must utilize equipment that minimizes the material removed, and as such small precision equipment that can remove fractions of inches is the most effective. These include four-wheel drive ATVs with snowplow attachments, small dozers and small maintainers. Once the impacted materials are windrowed they are loaded into vehicles with excavators. Off-road dumps shuttle materials from the point of excavation to a trans-loading facility. If the beach is remote (ie. no road access) the trans-loading facility is a hopper barge positioned at a canal. If the beach is not remote the material may be loaded directly into haul trucks over the road.

Marshes

The remediation of marshland is a delicate balance between short-term and long-term impact. Destruction of marsh resulting from mass removal or material handling strategies threatens the long-term health of both the environment and the community, and as a result any remediation option must minimize the removal of the marsh materials, but accelerate or make ingestible the released product. In short the natural biodegradation process must be assisted with enzyme application and addition of the optimum quantity of nutrients. To aid the local community impacted by the product release, RECON subcontracts the local Oyster Lugger Boats. The front deck and low draft of these boats make them ideal for mounting spray and mixing equipment. These boats are ideal for the task, and the captains have invaluable knowledge of the types and locations of local hazards. banks, Biloxi Style Shrimp Boats are used for application over larger areas. Each boat is rigged with batch mixing tanks, mixing equipment, and spray applicators powered by diesel pumps.

Levees and Ridges

Due to the critical nature of these structures removal of critical mass is counter productive. As with the marsh the in-situ treatment is the only option that protects the long-term health of the eco-system. The spray application of the enzymes and nutrients is complimented with shallow aeration done by hand and recompacted after aeration.