The new unit was designed for DRAGIN Drilling and is the only one of its kind in the US. The rig itself is a modified CME-95; a drill rig manufactured by the St. Louis-based Central Mine Equipment Company. This unit was designed to tackle deep and large diameter auger drilling projects. The primary modification made to the CME-95 was to increase the rotary toque by approximately 20%. Applications include deep auger drilling (up to depths of 350 feet using 4.25-inch hollow-stem augers) for the delineation of deep contaminate plumes and investigation of new water supplies. This feature has been of particular importance for the ongoing mediation work at the Massachusetts Military Reservation on Cape Cod.

The second modification of importance was the re-designing of the upright frame. The new design allows for the use of a 24-inch O.D. hollow-stem auger. Applications for this feature and specialty equipment include landfill gas vent well and large diameter recovery well installations. DRAGIN Drilling continues to be the sole provider of this 24-inch auger drilling service.

Carrie Collins, President of DRAGIN Drilling, said that the $340,000 drill rig is used primarily for the drilling and installation of deep environmental monitoring wells and landfill gas vent wells. "The nature and types of drilling projects that we undertake require extra power, and this unit offers exactly that," she said. "We've been able to use this truck-mounted unit to reach depths of 100 feet at a local landfill without complications die to leachate or wall-sloughing, something a conventional bucket rig has difficulties accomplishing even with up to 40% more time on the job."

"What makes our services unique is that other auger rigs, even other Central Mine Equipment rigs, are not built to accept this size auger. Other attempts at using a 24-inch auger with conventional drills has proven to be a safety hazard as well as extremely inefficient," she said, "But it is something we have perfected."

DRAGIN Drilling is a SOMWBA-Certified, Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE), and Disadvantage Business Enterprise (DBE) drilling company. The company's name was originally created as an acronym to describe its scope of services, 'Deep Remedial And Groundwater Investigation Needs.' A custom-designed fleet accommodates virtually every drilling need. Unique capabilities include auger drilling to depths of up to 350 feet; screened auger sampling; collection of both discrete water and soil samples from a single borehole; 24-inch landfill auger drilling; all-terrain drilling; angle drilling, and more. DRAGIN Drilling is one of the only drilling firms in the US with 24-inch auger capability.

Their services have been used by the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority, the Massachusetts Highway Department, the Massachusetts Military Reservation, the South Weymounth Naval Air Station, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the City of Boston's Central Artery, and others. For further information contact National Driller.