Operating Engineer - Fall 2014

million cubic yards of dirt across 68
acres – as well as the tricky business of
draining an entire basin, de-watering
wells, securing a 72-inch-diameter
drainage pipe into the side of a mountain
and using dynamite to blast through
rock when it’s too difficult to break-up
with earth-moving equipment.
This is “land reclamation” at its finest,
and everybody is excited – everybody
– including environmentalists, utility
owners, unions and politicians, because
no one has been able to execute a dam
removal project of this size and actually
strengthen relationships between public
and private entities in the process. A
number of public agencies and private
sources are partnering to share the costs
and the utility will donate the land to
the Bureau of Land Management once
the project is completed.
Conservationists and fisherman are
also looking forward to the Carmel River
flowing freely again. The project will
reopen a seven mile stretch of historic
steelhead trout habitat, including three
potential spawning tributary creeks,
which were blocked for more than 90
years and led to a perilous decline in the
native fish population.
Surrounded by hills and valleys
covered in evergreens, the job site’s
scenic location has been a positive
for many Operating Engineers who
have grown accustomed to working on
busy freeways, with traffic flying by or
honking loudly as its halted.
“I love where it’s at,” said 13-year
member Mike Fritzler.
But the landscape has also provided
some interesting challenges. “Mud,
wet sand, rock,” were just some of the
elements Fritzler named off the top of
his head.
Apprentice Brandon Schumacher, a
local Marina resident, said, “I grew up
here looking at these mountains and
didn’t know there was a dam.”
The mountainous terrain
surrounding the dam caused some
initial difficulties before the job could
even start. Hauling in the equipment
around steep curves, up hills and
Apprentices Kristi Wilson
and Brandon Schumacher
operate the giant haul trucks
that carry the fill away from
the Carmel River.
through forests “was a feat of its own,”
said job site Master Mechanic Jeff
Brown.
This job has been “very cool,” the 24-
year member said, because it provides
“different challenges … uniqueness; it’s
not the usual thing, design-build.”
With so many challenges and
unknowns on a job of this size, no
two days are alike, explained 15-year
member Jerry Wilson, who has worked
on a dam job before, but never one
quite like this. He lives in Modesto,
135 miles away, and has no complaints
about leaving his house every morning
at 3 a.m. and getting home at 9 p.m. For
awhile, Wilson worked 12-hour night
shifts, seven days a week, claiming he is
a bit of a workaholic.
“I love what I do,” he said. “I’m not
on the same machine every day.”
The river rerouting phase is wrapping
up soon, with the third phase beginning
in spring 2015. That’s when Local 3
Operating Engineers will finally get to
take down that crumbling concrete dam
and see the river run free once again.
[below] Dozer Operator Jerry Wilson commutes almost 300 miles to work on the San
Clemente Dam project. [photo] Mandy McMillen/IUOE Local 3
[photo] Mandy McMillen/IUOE Local 3
Excavator Operator Chris Baldwin
loads haul trucks as part of the giant
San Clemente Dam removal project
in Carmel Valley.
What makes removing a 93-year-old,
106-foot-high dam difficult?
• Groundwater
• Bedrock
• Mud
• Wet sand
• Permitting processes
• Steelhead trout
• Red-legged frogs
• Hanging a 72-inch-diameter pipe
from the side of a mountain
• Hauling 50 pieces of heavy
equipment into mountainous,
forested terrain
• Strict timelines
• Taking down a mountain
• Using dynamite
• Visibility during night shifts
• No cell phone service
… But Operating Engineers Local 3
are up to the task!
Map: http://www.sanclementedamremoval.org
[photo] Mandy McMillen/IUOE Local 3
16 INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEER
FALL 2014 17