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Cattails/reeds

673moto

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What’s the best way to yank out cattails or reeds without taking too much soil with it? ( tossing the green waste in a dumpster and those guys complain if there’s any dirt in the mix) maybe separate after the initial dig out? But how?
Using a mini excavator and skidsteer ...I can fab up something like a root rake bucket... just not sure what works best.
 

673moto

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Just a drainage ditch... nobody seems concerned(except the neighbors who complained about the road not draining during winter) even here in kalifornia.
 

CM1995

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Just a drainage ditch... nobody seems concerned(except the neighbors who complained about the road not draining during winter) even here in kalifornia.

A drainage ditch cost us $50K after the EPA got through with us when some silt left a retention pond and ended up in a ditch that drained into a 15" pipe under another contractors equipment yard, EPA claimed it was a "Water Way of the United States". In addition to the "water way" violation we had a "stained" silt fencing violation, not failed silt fencing just stained and an "inadequate" construction entrance.

The inadequate construction entrance fine went like this - the night before the spot inspection by the EPA alongside ADEM (Alabama dept of Enviro management) after it rained several inches and no-one was onsite on a dirt moving site for obvious reasons. Said state vehicle drove onto the muddy site via the construction entrance then went back out across construction entrance to the main road where they stopped to take pictures of their muddy tires on the asphalt and wrote us up for it. No BS embellishment that's exactly how they wrote it up.

We and the high priced lawyer went to that big federal building in Atlanta to plead our case only to be told by the EPA lawyer that they did not agree with our pleadings/argument/presentation and that's what court is for...:cool:

FWIW we put up some cheap Tractor Supply gates on both construction entrances and kept them locked to keep the State and Federal gov't from fining us by violating their own regulations..:cool:
 
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673moto

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Dang CM... that sounds like a nightmare!!
This really won’t be all like that (I hope!)
The drainage ditch is virtually dry at this point and it only “flows” down into the guys yard for a couple hundred feet.
My plan was to disturb the soil as little as possible. was hoping to be able to pull out the reeds and roots... maybe bolt some heavy rubber pads to excavator bucket and thumb edge and kinda pinch and yank?
Open to ideas
 

mowingman

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Better do it on a weekend, so no county or city officials can find out about it, and come out to stop/fine you.
 

673moto

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just Got back from talking with the county.
They say as long as I move less than 250yds they don’t care. ... however, they said it’s a weird gray area and they are working towards addressing it with future regulations.
Also told me to call the local county conservation branch (?) and ask them if the area in question is in any “protected” areas.
 

673moto

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How about a heavy duty brushcutter with a blade ?

but then they would come back ina matter of months, full force.
Guy wants them gone, roots and all so they stay gone at least through this next winter
 

digger doug

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but then they would come back ina matter of months, full force.
Guy wants them gone, roots and all so they stay gone at least through this next winter
I fully understand that leetle factoid.
But if he screws this up, he won't be in business anymore.
Maybe time to "No Quote" the job eh ?
 

673moto

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Well... called the conservationist branch of the county and I s*** you not, the lady went on vacation yesterday and won’t return until July!!
 

CM1995

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Alabama
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just Got back from talking with the county.
They say as long as I move less than 250yds they don’t care. ... however, they said it’s a weird gray area and they are working towards addressing it with future regulations.
Also told me to call the local county conservation branch (?) and ask them if the area in question is in any “protected” areas.

If there are cattails in the ditch then I bet a shiny nickel that it would classified as a Waterway of the United States under the jurisdiction of the EPA. ;)
 

John C.

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It's just a fact concerning digging in ditches if you read the article.
 

Bluox

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WA state
And the diking district around here digs thousands of yards of them out of their drains every year.
Bob
 

Camshawn

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Langley BC
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Municipality has to get permits from the environmental/ fisheries people to cut the grass and vegetation or clean out of any ditches that feed into a stream that is fish bearing. I am waiting for someone to give me grief for cutting the grass o the edge of the creek….I mean ditch in front of our place. Cam
 

John C.

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If the subject hadn't been brought up with the powers that be, probably no one would have known anything about it. Are there any salmon spawning there?
 
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