Omni Terrain

Green over Gray Infrastructure

Omni Terrain™ is an ecologically-advanced solution for brownfield remediation and stormwater management. Standard brownfield remediation solutions rely on expensive excavation and hauling of contaminated materials. Typical stormwater management methods utilize below-grade vaults to hold water. And most landscapes serve only to meet a landscape ordinance. None of these routine approaches offer an intersectional approach to ecological restoration. Omni Terrain is different on all counts; it serves multiple ecological functions.

An Omni Terrain can be or include an engineered barrier, capping contaminated soils in situ, serving as a cost-effective remediation method. Simultaneously, it manages stormwater and supports a high-level of plant biodiversity. These multi-benefits make Omni Terrain a unique advanced tool and solution.

Central to the Omni Terrain’s success is Omni Infinity Media, an optimized engineered growing media. Typically, engineered growing media is a blended mix of geological aggregate and inert organic matter that mimic the physical and chemical properties of soil, but neglect the biological components essential for sustaining life. Omni developed an optimized growing media with a high-performing geological aggregate, targeted nutrients, and inoculated with beneficial microbial communities. This media, called Omni Infinity, replicates the natural biological processes of natural soils, resulting in a healthy, self-regenerative soil ecosystem.

By deploying these strategies, Omni has created an engineered media that exceeds environmental and performance standards. Omni Infinity meets clean soil testing standards without harvesting virgin topsoil; holds water longer than typical soils therefore protecting combined sewer systems from surges; holds more water than typical soils therefore reducing the overall volume of stormwater entering public infrastructure; and is a fraction of the weight of typical soil, thereby reducing hauling fees and energy.

In 2017 and 2018, Omni successfully implemented the Omni Terrain with engineered barriers on two projects in Chicago, each receiving No Further Remediation letters from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Omni Infinity is the first, and presently only, innovative soil approved for use by the City of Chicago, Fairfax County, Virginia, Metro Nashville Stormwater, Maryland Department of Environment, and the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, and it is in use at The Salt District in Chicago.

Omni Terrain is a game-changing solution. It is readily-accessible, fiscally-sensible, and ecologically-advanced, making environmentally sustainable development decisions economically viable.