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Description of Typical Geotechnical Drilling Operations


This document, developed by Western Federal Lands, provides a description of the typical geotechnical drilling equipment, operations, and procedures used on Western Federal Lands projects. Geotechnical drilling provides subsurface information while collecting soil/rock samples and conducting in-place soil/rock field testing. The drilling operations may consist of several different types of drilling methods and equipment.

There is a wide variety of drilling equipment to support the geotechnical field investigations that Western Federal Lands conducts. The drilling equipment includes truck-mounted geotechnical drills, track-mounted geotechnical drills, and skid-mounted geotechnical drills. The typical geotechnical drilling equipment is described in the attached document, and pictures of the equipment are also included.

For the proposed geotechnical investigation activities for the Olympic Hot Springs Road, a truck-mounted rig would likely be used for the proposed boring locations adjacent to the current road in the area near the temporary bailey bridge at Sanders Creek where there is still vehicle access from the road. See Figure 1 in the attached document.

For the proposed boring locations beginning on the south side of Sanders Creek to the area north of the Elwha Ranger Station, it is likely that a skid-mounted, portable geotechnical drill would be used. See Figure 4 in the attached document. A track-mounted drill may also be used. See Figures 2 and 3 in the attached document.

While some trees and understory vegetation removal and trampling would occur, as well as some soil compaction, the up to 1-mile long and 10-foot wide swath of land would not be completely cleared, graded, leveled, or bulldozed. Also, the skid-mounted/portable and track-mounted drill rigs may be flown in by helicopter onto the Olympic Hot Springs Road on the south side of the washout. The off-road rig may not traverse, in a linear fashion, the entire 1-mile swath. It may go into the area from the road and come out further down the road - this has yet to be determined.
 
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