OWNER:
Conquista/Conoco
Falls City, Texas

ENGINEER:
Tensar Environmental Systems, Inc.

The Conquista Uranium Processing Plant had closed production and required closure of their uranium waste tailings impoundment. Conventional methods of closure of the soft saturated tailings had proved to be expensive and inefficient. Biaxial geogrids were placed over the tailings that would barely support a person’s weight. A 2-foot thickness of free draining sand was then placed on top of the geogrid, which provided a drainage medium and worked with the grid to provide stability and support for the final cap. The project was completed in 1992.