Consider how much plastic silt fencing is needed to prevent sedimentation from nearly 5 miles of rights of way (ROW) construction. Eliminating the need for that fencing, and the challenge of disposing it responsibly after the ROW work is done, amounts to a lot of green — saving money, reducing waste and protecting air and water quality.

Alabama Power saved more than $1 million on construction costs by using natural mulch berms — instead of plastic silt fencing — while preparing 4.6 miles of transmission line ROW at the new 30,000-acre Novelis site in north Baldwin County.

Silt fencing is typically required to help prevent erosion and reduce construction runoff that can adversely affect nearby streams or rivers. But using mulch berms instead, the company reaped multiple benefits for both the bottom line and the environment.

In addition to reducing the use of manufactured materials and cutting down on waste, the mulch berms made for a more aesthetic construction site, since they appear more natural on a hillside.

Alabama Power employees began installing mulch berms at the new Novelis site in March 2023. (Cliff Young / Alabama Power)

Preparing the ROW was the first step in developing the site of the new Novelis aluminum plant near Bay Minette, in Baldwin County.

Site work takes much time, work and expense, noted Paula Coker, Water Compliance team leader at Alabama Power. Indeed, Environmental Affairs (EA) employees at Alabama Power spent nearly three years doing behind-the-scenes research so the company could use mulch berms instead of silt fencing. Environmental Affairs Specialist Cliff Young spearheaded the idea of using mulch berms for company construction projects.

Using mulch berms at the Novelis megasite was a “big accomplishment” for Alabama Power, Coker said, because it is environmentally friendly and it saves money, both now and in the future.

She sees lots of potential for mulch berms.

“We can use mulch berms on multiple projects throughout the state,” noted Coker, a chemical engineering graduate of Auburn University. “This project was a good opportunity for us to put this to work.”

The need to clear the land for the Novelis project provided a perfect opportunity. Oftentimes, when land is cleared, tree stumps and other vegetation is burned. If burning isn’t allowed, the vegetation must be transported by truck for disposal in a landfill, which can be costly.

The natural mulch berm is a mixture of trees and other vegetation removed during “clearing and grubbing” operations. At the Novelis site, Alabama Power Transmission and Construction teams used bulldozers and other equipment to push up woody debris from the 300 feet wide, 4.6-mile-long ROW. After clearing, the company began building two transmission lines to serve Novelis.

Alabama Power strategically placed the mulch berms so that sediment does not run into streams and lakes. (Cliff Young / Alabama Power)

Wood chipping and mulching is done onsite. “We are leaving the berms in place and, over time, the sediment will fill them in,” Coker said. “Eventually they will break down and become part of the landscape.”

Mulch berms have many advantages over silt fencing, which often requires a lot of maintenance when it is torn or knocked over.

“You can’t run construction equipment over fencing,” Coker pointed out. “With the mulch berm, there is virtually no maintenance if it’s installed correctly. You must dispose of silt fence, which fills landfills. Also, CO2 emissions have been reduced since we’re not using trucks to drive to a landfill to dispose of the mulch.”

Alabama Power’s EA team uses best management practices for erosion and sediment control, which is mandated by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM). Once the research proved the mulch berm concept, EA employees began pursuing its broader use, including gaining ADEM approvals. In March 2023, the company obtained permission to use mulch berms from ADEM’s Stormwater Division.

The acceptance of mulch berms as an approved, best management practice, not only benefits Alabama Power and its customers; the practice can now be adopted by other companies doing construction work.

Coker noted that the company employees Travis Midkiff and Paul Morris from Transmission Line Construction, along with Project Line Construction Supervisor Harold Duncan and Casey Allums, were instrumental in developing the mulch berm practice, putting it successfully to use.

Alabama Power’s construction activities are nearly complete at the Novelis site. “This is Alabama Power’s first big project to use the mulch berms,” Coker said. She believes mulch berms will continue to have many potential uses, for the company and for others across the state.

“Mulch berms are something we can use on multiple projects throughout Alabama, and this just happened to be a good opportunity for us to utilize it.”

“It’s a really big win,” she said.