Volunteer Erosion Control

AN EMPHASIS ON REDUCING SEDIMENT POLLUTION

Every time a construction project removes vegetation and exposes top soil, it sets up a scenario that can end with sediment clogging local rivers, creeks and lakes.

“Back in the ’90s, it became a big deal that sediment was considered pollution and communities started trying to keep it under control and out of waterways,” explained Robbie Toole, president of Volunteer Erosion Control in Knoxville, Tenn.

The emphasis on reducing sediment pollution is how Toole’s business was born. He had his first hands-on experience with erosion and sediment control when he started working for a conservation group after he graduated from The University of Tennessee with a degree in environmental studies.

During his tenure there, he saw just how necessary it was to keep sediment out of East Tennessee’s waterways.

“When you clear and grub an area, you’re taking all the vegetation cover off of the soil, and once that soil is exposed to rain impact, it becomes susceptible to runoff, and the sediment becomes suspended in the water,” Toole said.

“Everything drains to our rivers, creeks and lakes, and sediment pollutes them and makes it harder for aquatic species to survive.”

Sediment can clog fish gills and make it difficult for aquatic animals to see their food, and the nutrients in the sediment can cause algae to bloom. When the latter happens, the algae takes the oxygen out of the water, suffocating the inhabitants. When topsoil is removed from the ground and dumped into waterways, it also means there are fewer nutrients remaining in the soil.

Farmers today have to add more and more nutrients to the soil in order to have fertile ground, in part because of sediment run-off.

Toole pointed out that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spends millions every year dredging water to remove sediment in order to mitigate the effects.

“It’s a huge cost to the public,” Toole said.

A BETTER APPROACHA better approach to minimizing sediment pollution is a proactive one, and that’s where Volunteer Erosion Control comes into the picture. Toole’s company goes onto a jobsite and restores the removed vegetation and fixes any other erosion and sediment issues that may have been caused by construction.

“Any time a construction project digs something up, we restore it back to the way it was,” he said.

COMMUNITY AND BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS

Most of Volunteer Erosion’s customers are utility companies, though Toole has also worked with homeowners who have property by lakes, stabilizing the eroding shores. He has also partnered with Knox County’s Environmental Stewardship Program to aid homeowners experiencing issues with sediment runoff.

In 2012, Toole partnered with Erosion Supply in 2012, a company owned by Mike Barto. While Volunteer Erosion provides services for sediment and erosion control, Erosion Supply provides the materials.

These materials include new, more porous surfaces to be used for sidewalks, driveways and other paved areas. Porous paving materials allow water to seep down into the ground, rather than run off into waterways-the materials also filter the water so that it no longer contains sediment if it flows into a body of water, Barto said.

A PASSION FOR HIS BUSINESS

When Toole talks about new ways to reduce sediment pollution, and why preventing the pollution is so vital to the environment, his passion is obvious. His enthusiasm for owning a company that uses construction equipment was also a little obvious; his family has been in the construction business for five decades.

A DEVELOPING LOYALTY TO CAT® MACHINES

“I grew up around heavy equipment my whole life. Even at 10 years old, I was operating dozers,” Toole said.

But it was the day that his family bought a D6 high-track dozer that he became loyal to Cat® machines.

“That D6 was the nicest thing I’d ever seen and I’ve wanted Cat machines ever since. When I started my business, the first place I went, naturally, was to Stowers,” Toole said. He bought a 287 compact track loader in 2005, and continues to buy Cat machines for his business, including a 305E2 CR mini hydraulic excavator that he purchased in the summer of 2015.

IT’S ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP

Toole also has bought several other products from Stowers to aid with sediment and erosion control jobs, including a FINN B260 straw blower and FINN T60 hydroseeder, as well as several walk-behind loaders. While he can buy these products elsewhere, Toole said he appreciates the relationship he has with Stowers.

“Stowers works on establishing relationships with customers so it’s not always about product and price, but the relationship. It makes it really easy to call the guys up and know that it’s taken care of,” Toole said.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

This story first appeared in the Fall 2015 issue of On The Job magazine, a national magazine for those who own or

rent building construction products and compact construction equipment. Download the story as it appeared in the magazine.Visit Volunteer Erosion Control’s website to learn more about the services the company provides.