Itinerary:

9:00 am - 10:00 am -- drive to Lebanon County

10:00 am - 11:00 am -- tour Charmeuse Quarry

11:00 am - 12:00 pm -- lunch at local diner

12:00 pm - 2:30 pm -- travel to and tour landfill

2:30 pm - 3:45 pm -- travel to and tour Pennsy Supply Quarry

3:45 pm - 5:00 pm -- travel to and examine Rexmont Dam

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm -- dinner at hotel restaurant

6:00 pm -- check in at local hotel

6:30 pm -- evening meeting

Required Materials:

• Sturdy walking shoes
• Calculator
• Paper, Pencil
• Ruler
• Measuring tape
• Stop watch
• Compass
• Thermometer
• Hand-lens
• Rock hammer

Directions to Lebanon--Palmyra:back to top

Take 283 N to 72 N.  Follow 72 N to 422 W.  Follow 422 W to Charmeuse Quarry on right.  (est. travel time -- 1 hour)
 

Tour of Charmeuse and Pennsy Supply Quarries:  back to top
 
 

Lebanon County has been mined for it's natural geological resources for over 200 years.  The two quarries we will visit today are primarily limestone quarries.  Charmeuse is located in Palmyra, and Pennsy is located just outside of Myerstown (both in Lebanon County).

Lebanon County is rich in high-calcium limestone.  Both companies have established quarries here to access the limestone and to use it to produce crushed stone, asphalt, concrete, and blacktop to sell to both large companies and individual consumers.  The majority of the limestone sold by these two companies is in the form of aggregate (which would be any type of crushed or broken limestone rock that will be used in construction of roads, concrete, or railroad beds).  The limestone they are mining is called Annville limestone and was deposited here by the shallow marine environment that was located in this region about 450 million years ago.
 
 

On the tour of the two quarries, students will learn of hour tiered, open pit mining operations work.  We will examine the limestone being removed in the quarries and test some of its identifying properties (acid test).  We will also learn of the different sizes of rock manufactured by the companies and what these rocks are used for.  We can watch how the stone is mined, transferred to the processing machinery, run through the "crusher" and emptied into trucks to be delivered to customers.  Students can also observe the "lime" treated water that fills in the lower regions of the quarry if the water table is breached.  (The lime--buffer--is concentrated due to the limestone in the open pit.  This is what causes the blue-green color of the water in the above picture.)

Photo taken of Pennsy Supply processing machinery by Tricia Schafebook

Directions to and Tour of Greater Lebanon Refuse Authority Landfill:
back to top

Take 422 E to 72 N.  Turn left at Heisey's Diner -- Landfill is straight ahead.  Tours M-F 7 am - 4 pm, Saturdays 8 am - noon. (est. travel time -- 15 - 20 min.)
 

The Greater Lebanon Refuse Authority Landfill has been the only legal disposal facility in Lebanon County since 1959.  They have been a leader in landfill involvement in environmental concerns.  An example of this can be seen in their patent in a process to use old asphalt house shingles on light duty roadways.

©Greater Lebanon Refuse Authority Landfill

The Lebanon landfill has five constructed cells to store the county's 275 tons per day of waste.  One of these cells is full and there are about 16 more years worth of room in the other 4 cells.  There are also plans to construct 2 more cells.  Each cell is constructed of 6 to 9 alternating layers of clay, geosynthetic materials (i.e. netting, felt, plastic liner), and stone with drainage pipes for leachate.

Besides the landfill cells, there is a methane recovery plant (which takes the by-product of methane gas directly from the cells and converts it to electricity that is utilized by 120 homes daily),  a compost building (which is separated upon arrival at the plant), recycling building (which is separated upon arrival at the plant), and 14 ponds used as wetlands to naturally purify leachate from the landfill cells.  To further make sure that potable water is being discharged into the community's surface and ground water supplies, water is tested daily at 32 monitoring wells on the property, 10 surface locations, and 19 adjacent landowners.

Students will have an opportunity to tour the entire facility---recycling center, compost center, landfill cells, methane recovery plant, monitoring wells, and wetlands.  We will have a knowledgeable guide to lead our way.  We can even partake in the water sampling practices.  Students will discuss direction of ground and surface water flows to hypothesize where contamination would first occur and why.  We will also discuss the ethical land use tactics (like utilizing wetlands) in a "dirty" industry.

Directions to Pennsy Supply Quarry:  back to top

Take 72 S to 422 E.  Follow 422 E through Lebanon City to Prescott Road.  Turn right onto Prescott--Pennsy is immediately on your right. (est. travel time -- 15 - 20 min.)

Directions to and Examination of Rexmont Dam:  back to top

From Pennsy Supply, turn right out of parking lot onto Prescott Road (opposite direction from which you arrived).  Drive straight until you come to a T. (about 5 - 8 miles).  Turn right at T.  Continue straight until you get to Rexmont Road--turn left onto the road.  The dams are about .75 miles up the road. (est. travel time -- 15 min.)
 

Photo taken of upper Rexmont Dam by Tricia Schafebook
 

Rexmont Dams are located in Cornwall, PA (Lebanon County).  There are two dams--one lower (on the South side of Rexmont Road) and one upper (on the North side of Rexmont Road).  The 2 dams were constructed in the late 19th century to serve as a public drinking water source for Lebanon City (notice the metal pump sticking up out of the ground in the middle of the dry upper dam in the picture above). After a newer facility was constructed, the dams were used for recreational purposes.  In 1999, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection found the lower dam to be unstable.  Deciding it was cheaper and easier to destroy than to repair, the lower dam was removed about 2 years later.  After further investigation, the Commonwealth also believed that the lower section of the upper dam was in danger of being breached by the water that it was containing---see picture below to see if you think the base of the dam was weakening?--notice the base width of the earthen dam is about 50 meters wide--and still solid!

Photo taken of upper Rexmont Dam by Tricia Schafebook

After determining that the upper dam should be destroyed, also, the dam was breached (seen above) in the summer of 2002.  One aspect of the dam breach that upset citizens of the community was that 2002 was a severe drought year and instead of using the dam's water to irrigate surrounding farms, the government just allowed the water to slowly seep into the natural drainage basin of the small stream that fed the dam (and still flows through the area--see below).

Photo taken of upper Rexmont Dam by Tricia Schafebook

While here, students will have the opportunity to survey the earthen dam by measuring the width and examining for any weaken areas that may have existed.  We will have a first had look at how stream erosion occurs, also (see the great bank erosion in the outer edge of the meander in the center of the picture).  This is also a great place to conduct a stream survey (velocity, temp., depth, width, organisms, rock types).  Students will also examine the rock types used to construct the dam.

Evening Meeting:  back to top

We will discuss the limestones that are mined in Lebanon County through open mine methods and how the limestone is obtained.  We will also discuss the conservation methods being practiced at the Lebanon County landfill and what could happen if any of the systems there would fail.  Pertaining to the Landfill, we would also discuss why landfills are necessary today and what alternatives to waste disposal are used elsewhere.  Lastly, we will review our findings at Rexmont Dam. Using our stream survey findings we will later be able to compare this stream's characteristics to other streams in the region.  We will also discuss why dams are used and what some pros and cons surrounding them are.

Tomorrow we will be delving into Lebanon's iron mining history by visiting the oldest, intact iron furnace in the country.  We will wrap-up the day in the field with a tour of the local high school's planetarium equipment and facilities.---Once again, students should wear sturdy hiking shoes for the iron furnace and surrounding land.