UniversityExpansionProject

BloomsburgUniversityofPennsylvania

MatthewTallent
ConnorNoll
CathrineRinnier

CoverLetter:BSGFundingforBloomsburgUniversityExpansionProject

MatthewTallent,ConnorNoll,Catherine
Rinnier
373E.3rdStreet
Bloomsburg,PA17815

mtallent610@gmail.com

4846207798

December1st,2015

DavidL.Soltz
400E.2ndSt
Bloomsburg,PA17815

DearDr.Soltz,

IamsubmittingourproposalfortheBloomsburgUniversityExpansionProjectonbehalfofthe
BloomsburgSoilsGroup.

TheBloomsburgSoilsGroupiswellversedinthefieldofsoilresourcesmanagement.Our
knowledgeinthesoilsfieldincludesbutisnotlimitedtolanduseplanninginrelationtosoil
series,soiltesting,andknowingtheproperapplicationsandlimitationstocertainsoilseries.In
additiontoourknowledgeinsoilresourcesmanagementwehaveawellroundedandthorough
understandingofenvironmentalplanningandgeographicinformationsystems.

ThisopportunityinmakingthenewcornerstoneoftheBloomsburgCommunitywouldbea
projectwewouldtakegreatpridein.Itwouldbeasignificantoccasionforourgrouptoapply
ourknowledgeandfurtherouroccupationalcomprehension.Beingabletoworkwithaland
parcelwhichincludesdiversefeaturessuchaswetlands,lakes,farmfields,andotherlandusesis
achallengeweareexcitedtoapplyourskillsto.

Attachedisourwrittenproposalofourfindingsonthislandparcellookingtobedeveloped.We
haveworkedextensivelytoalsosupplyyouwithfacts,figures,gismaps,andarchitectural
conceptdrawings.Ifyouhaveanyfurtherquestionspleasecontactmeattheprovidedphone
numberoremailaddress.Thankyouforconsideringusforthisgreatproject.

Sincerely,
MatthewTallent,ConnorNoll,CathrineRinner
StaffSoilScientists
BloomsburgUniversity


SectionOne
Location
Theareaofinterestis790.0acreslocatedinthetownshipofBloomsburginColumbiaCounty,
Pennsylvania.ThetownofBloomsburgislocatedwestofthecenterofColumbiaCounty,along
thenorthbankoftheSusquehannaRiverandontheeastsideofFishingCreek.Theareaof
interestislocatedinthenorthwestcornerofthetownship.ColumbiaCountyislocatedinthe
northeastPennsylvaniawithatotalof490sq.miles(WebSoilSurvey).
FromthecityofPhiladelphiatotheareaofinterestisapproximately138miles,whichwould
takeapproximatelyonehourand20minutes.ToreachtheareaofinteresttakeI76Westoutof
PhiladelphiathenI476NorththeI80Westgettingoffatexit236AontoPA487toitslocation.
InthisregionofPennsylvaniaitgets40inchesofrainperyear.Whichis3inchesoftheaverage
of37intheUnitedStates.Theaveragesnowfallis33incheswhilethenation'saverageis25
inches.Theannualaveragetemperatureis47.8degreesFahrenheit,whichiscooler,thanthe
annualaveragetemperatureoftheUnitedStates,whichis54.5degreesFahrenheit.
SoilSeries
ThethreemainsoilseriesintheareaofinterestareWeikert,Hartleton,andAllenwood.Weikert
makesofthelargestportionoftheareaofinterest.Weikertsoilseriestakesupatotalof41.8
percentoftheareaofinterest,whichis329.7acres.Thesecondlargestsoilseriesintheareaof
interestisHartleton.Harletontakesup17.2percentoftheareaofinterest,whichisalso136
acres.ThethirdlargestsoilseriesisAllenwood.Allenwoodtakesup12.8percentoftheareaof
interest,whichis100.5acres(WebSoilSurvey).

Weikerthavefourdifferentmapunitsrepresentedintheareaofinterest.AllfourareWeikert
channerysiltloam,moderatelyeroded.Theslopesofthesethreeunitsrangefrom0to80percent
(WebSoilSurvey).ThelargestmapunitofWeikertintheareaofinterestisWeikertchannery
siltloam,33to80percentslopes,moderatelyerodedmakingup17.2percentand135.5acres
(WebSoilSurvey).TheWeikertseriesparentmaterialisgrayandbrownacidresiduum
weatheredfromshaleandsiltstoneand/orfinegrainedsandstone.Itssoilserieswasdetermined
tobeaninceptisol.Thesurfacesoiltextureischannerysiltloamwhilethesubsoiltextureis
extremelychannerysiltloamandbedrock.Thissoilseriesisclearedandusedforcroplandand
pastureorisidle.Forestedareasaremixed,deciduoushardwoods(NationalCooperativeSoil
Survey).
Hartletonis17.2percentoftheareaofinterest,whichis136acres(WebSoilSurvey).Thereare
fivedifferentmapunitsofHartletonseriesintheareaofinterest.Theyareallchannerysiltloam
withslopesrangesfrom0to35percent(WebSoilSurvey).Theunitsalsorangefrom
moderatelyerodedtoseverelyeroded.ThelargestmapunitofHartletonisHartletonchannery
siltloam,3to12percentslopes,moderatelyeroded.Themapunitis13.0percentoftheareaof
interestand102.7acres(WebSoilSurvey).TheparentmaterialoftheHartletonseriesis
residuumweatheredfromsandstoneandshale.ThesoilorderofHartletonisAlfisol.Thesurface
textureischannerysiltloamandthesubsoiltexturerangesfromchannerysiltloam,very
channeryloam,weatheredbedrock.Mostareasareusedforcrops,pasture,orchardsandtruck
crops.Woodedareasaredominantlyinmixedoaks(NationalCooperativeSoilSurvey).
Allenwoodmakesup12.8percentoftheareaofinterest.ThetwomapunitnamesareAllenwood
siltloam,0to3percentslopesandAllenwoodsiltloam,3to12percentslopes,moderately

eroded(WebSoilSurvey).TheparentmaterialoftheAllenwoodseriesisoldtillderivedfrom
sedimentaryrock.ThesoilorderofAllenwoodwasdeterminedtobeanAlfisolduetoits
description.Thesurfacesoiltextureissiltloamwhilethesubsoiltextureissiltyclayloamand
verygravellysiltloam.MostoftheAllenwoodseriesarecultivatedtohay,smallgrainandother
crops.Someareasareinpastureandforest.Nativevegetationistheoakhickoryforest(National
CooperativeSoilSurvey).
Thesoilonthissectionofcampusisgenerallysiltloam.Themostcommonrockfragment
modifierischannery.Gravellyisalsoacommonrockfragmentmodifierforthesiltloamtexture.
Asmallerpercentageofsoiltextureistheareaofinterestissandyloamwithrockfragment
modifiersofgravellyandfine.AlargepercentageoftheWeikertserieshasatextureofslightly
decomposedplantmaterial(WebSoilSurvey).Therearemanydifferentslopesintheareaof
interest,whichcanrangefrom0to80percentslope.Eventhoughthereisalargerangemostof
theareaofinterestsslopestaysbelow35percentslope.Onlyfourmanyunitshaveslopes
rangingfrom35percentslopeandabove.Thecommonparentmaterialintheareaofinterestis
grayandbrownacidresiduumweatheredfromshaleandsiltstoneand/orfinegrainedsandstone,
whichisfoundintheWeikertseries.

TopThreeSoilSeries

Weikert

Hartleton

Allenwood

Percent
ofAOI

41.80%

17.20%

12.80%

Parent
Material

Grayandbrownacid
residuumweathered
fromshaleand
siltstoneand/orfine
grainedsandstone

Residuumweathered
fromsandstoneand
shale

Soil
Order

Inceptisol

Alfisol

Surface
Soil
Texture
Subsoil
Texture

Usesof
SoilType

Alfisol
channerysiltloam

Siltloam

extremelychannery
siltloam,bedrock

channerysiltloam,
verychanneryloam,
weatheredbedrock

Siltyclayloam,very
gravellysiltloam

Mostisclearedand
usedforcroplandand
pastureorisidle.
Forestedareasare
mixed,deciduous
hardwoods.

Mostareasareused
forcrops,pasture,
orchardsandtruck
crops.Woodedareas
aredominantlyin
mixedoaks.

Mostofthesesoilsare
cultivatedtohay,small
grainandothercrops.
Someareasareinpasture
andforest.Native
vegetationisthe
oakhickoryforest.

channerysiltloam

Table1:Topthreesoilseriesintheareaofinterest

Oldtillderivedfrom
sedimentaryrock

Section2
SoilSeriesandLandUse
Asstatedabovethreesoilseriesdominatethisareaofinterest,thosebeing:Allenwood,
Harleton,andWeikert.Thesethreesoilseriesarewherewefoundtobestsuittheneedsofour
landuses.OurlandusesarepredominantlyintheAllenwoodsoilseries.TheAlumnivillage,
familyhomes,icearena,restaurant,parkinglots,lake,park/playground,andgolfdrivingrange
arealllocatedintheAllenwoodSeries.TheAllenwoodSeriesprovideswelldrainedsoils,with
mediumrunoffqualities,andslowtomoderatepermeability.Whenviewedonthewebsoils
surveyAeAortheAllenwoodserieshadthehighestratingoutofanysoilseriesforcommercial
buildingsaswellasdwellingswithbasements.Thesequalitiesarewhyweplacedourmost
limitedlandusesinthisarea.Sincethissoilseriesdoesnotholdwaterforlongspansoftimethis
meanstheshrinkswelleffectsoffreezingandthawingwillberelativelyminimalwhenin
comparisonwiththeothersoilseries.Itisagreatplacetoappropriatethehousestobecausethey
arerequiredtohavebasements.Basementsareusuallyalandusethatismostaffectedbyfreeze
thawconditionsofsoilswhichcanleadtocrackingandleakingintothestructure.Wealso
placedourcommercialbuildingsheresuchastheAlumniVillage,IceArena,andrestaurant.
ThesewereplacedontheAllenwoodseriesbecausealloftheotherserieswereverylimitedto
commercialbuildings.ThegolfrangeissuitablefortheAllenwoodseriesbecauseitonly
requiresacommercialbuildingandapieceofland.Thepieceoflandfortherangedoesnotneed
anycertainrequirementsthusitcanreallybeplacedanywhere.Wechosetoplaceitinthe
Allenwoodseriesforthecloseproximitytothealumnivillage.Theplaygroundwasplacedin
Allenwoodaswellhoweverthislanduseisdeemedassomewhatlimitedinthesoilseries.Itis

limitedduetoitsslowwatermovement,dustyquality,depthtosaturationzone,andgravel
content.Theseissuesarenotahugedeterrentfromdevelopinghereandcanbemitigated.
Replacingthesoiltoacertaindepthwithamoresuitablemediumforkidstoplayonsuchas
woodchipsisacommonsolution.TheparkinglotswereplacedintheHartletonandAllenwood
serieseventhoughtheyareverylimitedinthesespaces.Duetothefreezethawconditionsof
asphaltinPennsylvaniatheseuseswouldbelimitedanywherethatweappropriatedthem.The
effectsoffreezethawcanbemitigatedbyfrequentmaintenanceofpotholesandcracks.Thiswill
helpimprovetheconditionsandlongevityoftheparkinglots.Thefarm/pasturelandisbeing
placedintheHartletonsoilseriesasthissoilsmainuseisforcrops,pasture,truckcrops,and
orchards.LastlytheforestlandisbeingplacedintheWeikertsoilseries.Weikertsoilsareeither
usedforcroplandorjustremainsidleandisaccommodatingtodeciduoushardwoodswhichis
perfectforthePennsylvaniaarea.
WetlandPlanning
Wetlandsprovideaspecializedhabitatforcertainorganismsandhavemanybuilding
limitationswhichiswhyitisimportantthattheyareplannedforaccordingly.Therearetwo
sectionsinourareaofinterestthathavearatinggreaterthan50%thuswearedeemingthem
wetlands.Thesetwosectionsarethe(HS)HollySiltLoammapunitswhichhavehydricratings
of95%.Wetlandsprotectandimprovewaterqualitieswhichisimperativeaswesitinthe
ChesapeakeBayWatershed.Duetotheirpoorsoilqualitiesandimportancenicheinthe
ecosystemtheseportionsofthelandshouldbepreservedandnotbuilton.Tohelppreservethese
areasvegetativebufferswouldbeinstalledaroundthesurroundingareasofthewetlandsinorder
mitigateanyrunofforpollutionthatcouldleachin.

ErosionPlanning
SoilErosion
IntheWeikertChannerySiltLoamwith20to35percentslopeshasatolerableamountof
erosionthatisonlyhalfoftheamountoferosionthattheareaexperiences.Usingthisareaasthe
preservedforestthetreesintheareawillnotbeenoughtopreventalloftheerosion.Toprevent
thisexcesserosionwearegoingtocreaterockwallthatcatchtheerosionthatiscreatedfrom
runoff.Thewallswithhavehighlywaterdependentplantsalongtheedges.Theywillbesloped
towardsthemiddleandamanmadestreambedwillbeplacedatthecenterofthecreatedcone
frombothsidestocreateanartificialstreamforexcesswaterduringaheavyrainstorm.Therock
wallsshouldcuttheerosionamountmorethanhalfmakingtheareanotahazardousparcelfor
erosion.Thelakeatthebottomoftheslopewillnotbecomepollutedfromtherunoff.Theimage
belowgivesanideaofhowtherockwallconceptwillwork.Butinsteadofhavingsmallshrubs
orplansbetweenthecontourstherewillbetrees.Thewallswillalsobemuchfurtherapart.

TheWeikertChannerySiltLoamwith12to20percentslopestheamountoferosionthat
thatlandexperiencesisnotmuchmorethanthelandcanhandle.Thisareaisbeingusedfor
cropsandcattle.Forthefarmingareawearegoingtouseacovercroptoreducetheamountof
erosioninthearea.Forthepastureareawearenotgoingtohaveanybarelandsurfaces.There
willbevegetationoneveryareaandgrasswillbereplacedregularly.Thiswillprotectthearea
fromthesmallamountoferosion.

ArchitecturalConceptDrawings

ThesearchitecturalconceptdrawingsweredoneinGoogleSketchupforeducationaluse
only.Incorporatedintothesedrawingsaretechniquestargetedtomitigatestormwaterrunoff.
ThefirstdrawingisofthefamilydwellingunitinwhichIdidnotdesignthecar,trees,person,
orfurnituretheywerealldownloadedfromthe3DGoogleWarehouse.Theywereinsertedfor
scaleoraestheticpurposes.Idesignedthestructureandattachedfeaturessuchasthedriveway,
gardenbedsetcThevillagehousehasagreenroofwhichisveryhelpfulatabsorbingstorm
water.Thereareguttersattachedtothegreenroofthusifthereistoomuchwateritcandraininto
therainbarrelsbelow.Rainbarrelscanhelpslowerosionratesandsavewateruseforsmall
dwellingunits.Lastlythishousehasapermeabledrivewayandwalkwaythatallowwaterto
permeatebackintotheEarth.

TheAlumniCafewasmoreofafuturisticdesignwithagardenareainthecenterofthe
structure.Thecafehasroofsthattiltupwardtocatchrainwateranddrainitintotherooftop
garden.Anyextrawaterwoulddrainintothecentralgardenwhichincludestreesandshrubsto
holdthesoiltogether.Thisstructurealsoutilizespermeablesidewalks.Thefurnitureaswellas
thetreesinthisstructureweretakenfromthe3DGoogleWarehouse.

ThelaststructureIdesignedforthisprojectwastheBloomsburgIceArena.This
structurefeaturesaslopedrooftopgardenwhichdrainsoutofthebackofthestructure.
PermeablewalkwayslinetheIceArena.Theparkinglotispitchedaswellalthoughitishardto
depictfromthepicture.Gardenbedslinetheparkinglotinordertoguideallthewatertothe
detentionpondinbackofthestructure.Thisdetentionpondisahugedeterrentinslowing
erosionratesandcapturingstormwaterrunoff.


Reference:
SoilSurveyStaff,NaturalResourcesConservationService,UnitedStatesDepartmentof
Agriculture.WebSoilSurvey.Availableonlineat

http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/
Accessed
[11/14/2015].
NationalCooperativeSoilSurvey(2005)
AllenwoodSeries.
RetrievedNovember2,2015,from
https://soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/A/ALLENWOOD.html
NationalCooperativeSoilSurvey(2005)
WeikertSeries.
RetrievedNovember2,2015,from
https://soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/W/WEIKERT.html
NationalCooperativeSoilSurvey(2005)
HartletonSeries.
RetrievedNovember2,2015,from
https://soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/H/HARTLETON.html
3d Google Warehouse Google Sketchup 2015
Protection Plan on Wetlands -
http://www2.epa.gov/wetlands

SoilSurveyStaff,NaturalResourcesConservationService,UnitedStatesDepartmentof
Agriculture.WebSoilSurvey.Availableonlineat

http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/
Accessed
[11/14/2015].
NationalCooperativeSoilSurvey(2005)
AllenwoodSeries.
RetrievedNovember2,2015,from
https://soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/A/ALLENWOOD.html
NationalCooperativeSoilSurvey(2005)
WeikertSeries.
RetrievedNovember2,2015,from
https://soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/W/WEIKERT.html