Post by melody on Feb 3, 2015 14:17:28 GMT -5
Joint Legislative Conservation Committee
2/2/15, 12:00 p.m., Room 8E-A East Wing
By Matt Hess, PLS
The committee held an Environmental Issues Forum on the MKB Company’s history, the erosion control system known as Diamond Sock, and how compost-filled mesh filters are changing the way runoff and soil erosion are mitigated in oil and natural gas operations.
Chairman Hutchinson introduced James Carlin, Director of Business Development for MKB Company. He said the company is a State College-based producer of an erosion control system known as the Diamond Sock and explained that the Diamond Sock is an organic compost-filled mesh tube used to filter sediment from runoff water near industrial sites.
Chairman Hutchinson noted that compost filters are considered a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection best management practice and have become a preferred method of erosion control during well pad operations in the Marcellus Shale formation.
Carlin gave an overview of the company and credited the success of the business to four factors: high quality products, selling only through distribution, localized manufacturing, and in-house logistics. Carlin said the company has 13 direct employees and since 2011, has produced more than 750 miles of compost filter sock, with sales doubling over the past year alone.
Carlin also provided a description of the Diamond Sock. “It’s just a mesh tube, a long tube of mesh fabric and in it goes aged hardwood. That’s it. There’s no additives, no additional pieces, nothing. This is actually a photodegradable product so in a span of three or five years it will break down to paper and just kind of dissipate,” he stated. “The idea is we don’t want to be just a filter; we want to slow the water down, when you slow water down the sediment in it will settle out. At the same time it does filter…we filter water three to five times faster than Silt Fence can. The product sits lower to the ground because water doesn’t have to rise as high plus we’ll filter it in the sock.”
Carlin emphasized that Diamond Sock has been primarily used for pipelines and well pads at natural gas sites but the product is also used in home development, cell phone tower construction, and highway improvements. “It’s not that Silt Fence isn’t a good technology. In the right places and applied the right ways it’s a fine technology; the problem is it rarely is due to the complexities of doing the installation properly,” he stated. “My product lays on the ground, that’s it. Let mother nature put in on the ground we’re good to go.” Carlin noted that Diamond Sock can be filled using track blower or laying out pallets of mulch and because it’s an all natural product there’s nothing that can’t be left onsite.
Carlin also lauded the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for acknowledging the effectiveness of the Diamond Sock. “The product has been in the field a number of years and the State of Pennsylvania has been a true advocate of this product. Pennsylvania is three to five years ahead of every other state in the understanding of how this product works and its benefit,” he stated. “That endorsement essentially of the technology by the State of Pennsylvania has allowed us to use that to move into other states. We’re driving Maryland, West Virginia, and Ohio and those endorsements and test results from the DEP have been vital for us to be able to do that.”
Chairman Hutchinson questioned how long the hardwood chips are aged. Carlin explained that the material has to age six to nine months and needs to be turned regularly. He noted that MKB generally buys it from suppliers.
Sen. Scavello questioned if the Diamond Sock stays in onsite after a project is finished. Carlin said “it depends” and indicated that most companies spread the mulch and remove the fabric. “It can sustain itself in the field a long time; we recommend you pull the fabric, you can leave the mulch behind,” he stated.
Chairman Hutchinson noted that the next Environmental Issues Forum will be held Monday March 2 and feature a presentation by Trout Unlimited.
2/2/15, 12:00 p.m., Room 8E-A East Wing
By Matt Hess, PLS
The committee held an Environmental Issues Forum on the MKB Company’s history, the erosion control system known as Diamond Sock, and how compost-filled mesh filters are changing the way runoff and soil erosion are mitigated in oil and natural gas operations.
Chairman Hutchinson introduced James Carlin, Director of Business Development for MKB Company. He said the company is a State College-based producer of an erosion control system known as the Diamond Sock and explained that the Diamond Sock is an organic compost-filled mesh tube used to filter sediment from runoff water near industrial sites.
Chairman Hutchinson noted that compost filters are considered a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection best management practice and have become a preferred method of erosion control during well pad operations in the Marcellus Shale formation.
Carlin gave an overview of the company and credited the success of the business to four factors: high quality products, selling only through distribution, localized manufacturing, and in-house logistics. Carlin said the company has 13 direct employees and since 2011, has produced more than 750 miles of compost filter sock, with sales doubling over the past year alone.
Carlin also provided a description of the Diamond Sock. “It’s just a mesh tube, a long tube of mesh fabric and in it goes aged hardwood. That’s it. There’s no additives, no additional pieces, nothing. This is actually a photodegradable product so in a span of three or five years it will break down to paper and just kind of dissipate,” he stated. “The idea is we don’t want to be just a filter; we want to slow the water down, when you slow water down the sediment in it will settle out. At the same time it does filter…we filter water three to five times faster than Silt Fence can. The product sits lower to the ground because water doesn’t have to rise as high plus we’ll filter it in the sock.”
Carlin emphasized that Diamond Sock has been primarily used for pipelines and well pads at natural gas sites but the product is also used in home development, cell phone tower construction, and highway improvements. “It’s not that Silt Fence isn’t a good technology. In the right places and applied the right ways it’s a fine technology; the problem is it rarely is due to the complexities of doing the installation properly,” he stated. “My product lays on the ground, that’s it. Let mother nature put in on the ground we’re good to go.” Carlin noted that Diamond Sock can be filled using track blower or laying out pallets of mulch and because it’s an all natural product there’s nothing that can’t be left onsite.
Carlin also lauded the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for acknowledging the effectiveness of the Diamond Sock. “The product has been in the field a number of years and the State of Pennsylvania has been a true advocate of this product. Pennsylvania is three to five years ahead of every other state in the understanding of how this product works and its benefit,” he stated. “That endorsement essentially of the technology by the State of Pennsylvania has allowed us to use that to move into other states. We’re driving Maryland, West Virginia, and Ohio and those endorsements and test results from the DEP have been vital for us to be able to do that.”
Chairman Hutchinson questioned how long the hardwood chips are aged. Carlin explained that the material has to age six to nine months and needs to be turned regularly. He noted that MKB generally buys it from suppliers.
Sen. Scavello questioned if the Diamond Sock stays in onsite after a project is finished. Carlin said “it depends” and indicated that most companies spread the mulch and remove the fabric. “It can sustain itself in the field a long time; we recommend you pull the fabric, you can leave the mulch behind,” he stated.
Chairman Hutchinson noted that the next Environmental Issues Forum will be held Monday March 2 and feature a presentation by Trout Unlimited.