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Rehabilitation: Once an area of a pit is depleted of gravel and is not needed for processing or stockpiling, it is ready to be rehabilitated. It can now accommodate the topsoil and subsoil to be stripped from a different extraction area. This avoids having to leave the soil in a stockpile over time which can be detrimental to the soils overall capabilities.
It also saves us costs since materials are handled (i.e. picked up and put down) only once. By rehabilitating progressively, we return areas of our operation back to suitable after-uses sooner and thereby minimize the time that an area is disturbed. We grade the land, replace the subsoil and topsoil and, with help from our neighbouring farmers, bring the soil back into agricultural production.
The general slope of the land is typically very natural looking. This is because we have basically uncovered the natural landscape that was here before the glaciers left this gravel deposit only a few thousand years ago.
The fact that progressive rehabilitation takes place on a property does not necessarily shorten the overall life of a gravel operation. It will return portions of the property to another use sooner and make the operation more efficient, economical and more environmentally friendly. It gives nature a head start rather than having to wait until the entire area is extracted before beginning the rehabilitation process.
These are the main reasons that progressive rehabilitation makes sense.
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