benefits as compared to riprap and hard armor. Benefits of vegetated TRMs include but are not limited to: * Aesthetics * Safety (vegetation is softer to land in than rock) * Easier accessibility and maintenance * Temperature of runoff (pollution of waterbodies with heated runoff can occur with riprap and hard armors) * Temperature of land (vegetated swales are cooler than hard armor channels that create heat islands) * Stormwater quality improvements have been quantified with vegetated swales due to natural filtration properties * Infiltration occurs with vegetation to keep water within the watershed * Carbon sequestration comes with vegetation * Pollinator corridors and wildlife habitat are common with vegetated TRMs * TRMs require less destructive installation * TRMs installations return sites to preconstruction vegetated conditions unlike imported rock or unnatural hard armor options Shipping and installation of TRMs require significantly less transportation and use of heavy machinery. Despite all these benefits, vegetated TRM solutions generally are much less expensive than installed riprap or hard armor solutions. HECPs and RECPs are commonly used during final landfill capping processes that require erosion control and revegetation. Steeper and longer landfill slopes are matched with solutions that are suitable for the design requirements, which are commonly RECPs. However, SRFRs and other sediment control products are also common tools used at landfills especially with increased slope lengths. SRFRs help break up the effective slope length and reduce concentrated flow conditions from developing on the landfill slopes. Concentrated flow channels at landfills may also utilize filtering SRFRs (those with a flow rate of at least 35 gallons per minute/square foot [1,420 lpm/m2]) to help remove contaminants and reduce flow velocity as a secondary benefit. Landfills use a variety of erosion control, sediment control and revegetation solutions. Thus, several different products provided by ECTC members are frequently used at landfills throughout their life cycle. Please contact Jon Curry (jcurry@ erosioncouncil.org), ECTC executive director, with any questions or comments regarding this article. He will be sure to communicate your questions or comments to ECTC membership and provide a timely response. G FIGURE 1 (TOP) Aspen excelsior erosion control blankets (ECBs) protect a landfill cap shortly after installation. The ECBs control soil erosion caused by wind and water and hasten revegetation. FIGURE 2 (BOTTOM) Vegetation through Aspen excelsior erosion control blankets (ECBs) protecting a landfill cap shortly after installation. Photos courtesy of American Excelsior Co. >> For more, search ECTC at GeosyntheticsMagazine.com. GeosyntheticsMagazine.com 39http://www.GeosyntheticsMagazine.com http://www.GeosyntheticsMagazine.com