In the spring of 2011, officials at the Indiana Veterans Home in Lafayette, IN decided to repair a severe slope failure that had occurred on the property. The failure left them with a severe 1.8: 1 slope to repair.

Since a plan had not been in place for preserving the topsoil , the soil on the site was lacking the nutrients needed for successful plant growth and sustainability. Willows were dotted around th site, but struggled due to the poor quality soil. PennDOT had seeded the area three times with inadequate results. The Engineering Architecture Design Services (EADS) Group asked Triton Environmental of Pittsburgh, PA for assistance.

The Coal Basin project area is located in the White River National Forest, northwest of Redstone, Colorado. A combination of surface mined areas, haul roads, and refuse piles has augmented sedimentation into the Dutch Creek and receiving watercourses such as Coal Creek and Crystal Creek. The owner of this property had intentions to conduct Land Development activities and therefore needed to restore and vegetate the site.