Environmental Services

Transcription

1 Environmental Services The capabilities and services of the PS&S Environmental Department encompass virtually the entire range of environmental engineering, science and planning concerns. Experience on past projects spans all of the major interdisciplinary fields needed to carry a project from development of existing baseline conditions, to evaluation of environmental impacts of the proposed action, through public hearing preparation and participation. PS&S maintains a full complement of environmental engineers, scientists, planners, geologists, and hydro-geologists who coordinate their work with PS&S Geotechnical, Civil, Sanitary, Structural, Mechanical and Electrical engineers to provide multidisciplinary resources to satisfy project-specific requirements. PS&S has extensive experience in working with Federal, State, Regional County, and Municipal environmental regulatory agencies. PS&S has obtained environmental permits for numerous projects from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and County and Municipal agencies. Some of these permits have been obtained on accelerated schedules due to the existence of Administrative Consent Orders (ACO) imposed on Clients for whom we work. Typical permits/approvals obtained include Remedial Investigation/Remedial Action Workplan and Report approvals, Sanitary Landfill Closure/Post-Closure Care Plan Approvals, Solid Waste Facility (SWF) Permits, Waterfront Development Permit (WDP), USACE Section 404 and Section 10 permits, Tidal and Freshwater Wetlands Permits, NJPDES Permits for wastewater treatment plants and industrial process stream discharges and storm water discharges, Treatment Works Approvals (TWAs) and Air Quality Permits. To serve the individual needs of our Clients, the Environmental Department has been organized into three (3) separate but integrated operating units, the Division of Environmental Compliance, the Division of Air Quality and the Division of Environmental Permitting and Planning. The following sections highlight some of the services and fields of expertise offered by each Division. Division of Environmental Compliance PS&S has proven experience taking a previously disturbed, dormant or underutilized site and transforming it to a productive use. PS&S begins by conducting the initial site remedial investigations and providing an assessment of the areas of concern. To address adverse site conditions, PS&S will design suitable corrective action programs within New Jersey s regulatory framework. PS&S knowledge of environmental regulations, regulatory cleanup standards, and familiarity with the regulatory review process has proven to be extremely beneficial to our Clients in achieving timely approval from the appropriate regulatory agencies on remedial measures that are both environmentally sound and cost effective. PS&S also provides technical assistance for implementing contaminant recovery systems and longterm water quality monitoring, and conducts contamination studies, including subsurface investigations, engineering design, and development of monitoring and recovery systems for hydrocarbon spills and various groundwater contamination problems at industrial and landfill sites for inorganic and organic contaminated groundwater and subsequent treatment and disposal of the groundwater. The techniques routinely applied to groundwater investigations include aquifer test design, monitoring and interpretation, and hydrodynamic contaminant transport analyses. PS&S has performed numerous environmental evaluations and investigations for Clients concerned with potential contamination on commercial and industrial property, including buildings associated with the property. These site evaluations have included audits of materials regulated under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and/or Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) Title III reporting requirements. When environmental testing is recommended or requested, PS&S has provided these services through certified laboratories. PS&S has conducted numerous subsurface investigations related to underground storage tanks, groundwater development, groundwater contamination, groundwater treatment and site detoxification. PS&S extensive experience in groundwater evaluations and contamination studies includes studies involving spills or leakage of oil, chemicals, and/or industrial wastes into groundwaters or surface waters. PS&S has provided services relating to the investigation of hydro-geological aspects of contamination problems, and prepared conceptual designs for cleanup procedures. PS&S maintains a training program for personnel including geologists, engineers, and scientists dealing with hazardous waste sites. PS&S field personnel are required to have the initial forty (40) hour health and safety training course in accordance with 29 CFR and to maintain their certification with the eight (8) hour refresher course given annually.

2 Environmental Services Division of Air Quality PS&S provides a wide range of services in all facets of air quality including data collection, processing, and interpretation in support of permitting, regulatory compliance, and health risk assessment studies for many different types of facilities and operations. PS&S also provides expert testimony. Clients have included chemical, pharmaceutical, electric power, transportation, and metallurgical industries, as well as numerous public and governmental agencies. PS&S provides Air Quality Services in: Permitting & Regulatory Assessments Landfill Gas Venting System Design, Permitting and Control Atmospheric Dispersion Modeling Emission Inventories and Emission Estimation Air Sampling and Monitoring Programs Emission Control Air Toxics Health Risk Assessment Indoor Air Quality Noise Current federal New Source Performance Standards subject modern landfill to stringent air quality criteria. PS&S capabilities include landfill gas (LFG) generation estimates, LFG surveys, analytical sampling and testing programs, and air quality permitting services. Division of Environmental Permitting and Planning PS&S has comprehensive and extensive experience in solid waste management, environmental planning studies, assessments, and impact statements. Projects have been completed for both public and private Clients and range in size from one to thousands of acres. As part of the studies, assessments and impact statements, expert testimony at public meetings and hearings, along with technical support during litigation, has also been provided. In addition to solid waste management, planning studies, assessments and impact statements, PS&S has also developed extensive experience in the preparation of technical documentation for Federal, State, Regional County, and Municipal permits and approvals. A continuing relationship with the USACE, USEPA, NYSDEC and County Soil Conservation Districts has been established as a result of our extensive permitting experiences. Specific professional studies that provide support documentation for permitting and regulatory compliance assessments are also completed by PS&S. These studies typically include air quality measurements and modeling, noise measurements, wetlands identification and delineation, threatened and endangered species analysis, wetlands mitigation and quality evaluation plans, coordination of bioassay, elutriate testing and benthic analyses for dredging operations, environmental sampling of soils, and surface and groundwater sampling. Important specialized experience in the area of wetlands has also been developed by PS&S. Pioneering techniques in remote sensing and resource evaluations have been used on major projects for the benefit of public and private Clients.

3 Overview of Site Investigation/Remediation Services PS&S provides extensive multi-disciplinary environmental, engineering and design services to site investigation/remediation/ redevelopment needs of our clients. A summary of these services is provided below. Preliminary Site Assessment PS&S has performed numerous Preliminary Site Assessments to establish site conditions for a wide range of existing facilities, including operational and former manufacturing facilities, bulk chemical and petroleum product storage and distribution facilities, and solid and hazardous waste landfills. PS&S tailors its work scope to meet regulatory agency and/or client objectives. The preliminary assessment typically includes a review of available site history, uses, previous operations in order to identify areas of concern. PS&S employs both traditional and innovative field screening methods to characterize soils and groundwater, including hydropunch, geoprobe, and soil vapor analysis. For example, following a Phase I site assessment, PS&S conducted an extensive soil sampling program and installed and sampled over 20 groundwater monitoring wells as part of an extensive hydrogeologic evaluation to delineate both the free product plume and the contaminated groundwater at a former chemical distribution facility. PS&S also conducted an extensive hydrogeologic investigation of a multi-aquifer groundwater system at the site of a former research and development facility to delineate volatile organic contamination of both the shallow and regional bedrock aquifer. An innovative closed-loop groundwater recovery, treatment, and discharge system was ultimately designed, constructed, and implemented. Remedial Investigation Remedial investigations have been conducted in connection with Administrative Consent Orders issued by state regulatory agencies (NYSDEC, NJDEP, etc.) and the USEPA, voluntary cleanup actions, environmental assessments for real estate transactions; underground storage tank closures; and waterfront development projects. As levels of agency involvement vary depending on the purpose of an investigation, PS&S adapts reporting protocols to be responsive to the agency element involved. Following the identification of significant environmental contamination on a property, the basic goal of the investigation is to define the horizontal and vertical extent of the contamination identified. PS&S designs sitespecific programs to achieve this goal. Services provided by PS&S include the design and implementation of soil boring programs to acquire soil samples for laboratory analyses and hydrogeologic investigations to determine, through laboratory analysis of groundwater samples, the extent and configuration of contaminant plumes in the groundwater beneath the subject site. Feasibility Study Remedial action selection is the most cost-sensitive aspect of a remediation program. PS&S assessment of a remedial action starts with an understanding of the future land use goal (e.g., commercial, industrial, open space, or residential). PS&S assists clients in developing, or reviewing, a program to provide a balance between a low cost investigation, and gathering enough information to make informed remedial action decisions. PS&S then assesses remedial alternatives to meet the land use goal. If, for example, the future land use is to be industrial, PS&S would promote, to the degree possible, the use of presumptive remedies, hot spot removal, and institutional and engineering controls to minimize remediation costs. As an example, PS&S may conduct statistical evaluations of contaminant concentrations relative to area background conditions to successfully justify practical clean up levels or to support alternate means of mitigating site contamination (e.g. encapsulation of contaminated soils). Remedial action alternatives may include, but not be limited to:

4 Overview of Site Investigation/Remediation Services continued Feasibility Study continued No Action; Institutional controls, deed notices, etc; Engineering controls, such as fencing and capping; Recycling and reuse; Excavation, transportation and off-site disposal; On-site treatment options, such as bioremediation and thermal desorption. In conjunction with our other in-house design disciplines, PS&S can also provides Value Engineering services, capital costs, operation and maintenance and life cycle costs, for proposed remedial alternatives. Limited Interim Remedial Measure A Limited Interim Remedial Measure (LIRM) typically means implementing a discrete action(s) to address emergency and/or non-emergency site conditions that can be undertaken without extensive investigation and evaluation. These activities can be conducted to prevent, mitigate, or remedy environmental conditions of concern or the effect of such conditions. Examples of LIRMs implemented by PS&S include removal of contaminant source areas prior to completing full contaminant delineation, removal and disposal of hot spot contaminant areas, and temporary capping to limit contact. PS&S staff have also overseen extensive cleanups of abandoned product and waste materials in abandoned sites to eliminate hazardous or potentially hazardous conditions or impacts to ecologically sensitive receptors. Remedial Design PS&S solves site remediation problems by developing cost effective solutions, and gaining regulatory approval for their implementation. A Remedial Action Workplan is developed to identify a cleanup goal or level, then describes the means to achieve that goal. Selection of the appropriate goal has a major impact on the cost of the remediation, the implementation schedule and future land use following the completion of the remediation. Client input at this stage is crucial in regard to identification of future land use goals, which is central to the selection of a remedial action goal. PS&S knowledge of environmental regulations and familiarity with cleanup standards has proven beneficial to our clients in achieving approval from the appropriate regulatory agencies on remedial measures that are both environmentally sound and cost effective. Innovative and developing site remediation technologies, such as soil washing, thermal desorption and bioremediation, as well as product recovery/recycling, are among the remediation technologies which PS&S has evaluated for its clients when developing remediation programs. In addition to regulatory agency requirements and proposed future uses, the following site-specific characteristics are considered in evaluation, selection and design of remedial systems. The Remediation objective. The cleanup criteria and system termination criteria will be proposed by PS&S and negotiated with the appropriate regulatory agency. Nature of contaminants released. An evaluation of the presence of Dense Non Aqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPLs) or Light Non Aqueous Phase Liquids (LNAPLs) would indicate that product recovery systems with petroleum/water separation and other unit processes may be installed. Distribution of contaminants in the subsurface. The distribution of contaminants will Influence the selection recovery well or recovery trench placement, depth, and pumping systems. Continuous versus pulsed pumping, dewatering and reinjection will be evaluated. Geology and hydrogeology. An evaluation of key parameters such as hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity will be performed. Aquifer testing may be performed to gain this information. A conceptual model of the contaminant as it exists in the physical environment is developed.

5 Overview of Site Investigation/Remediation Services continued Remedial Construction Oversight PS&S can perform on-site observation and documentation of the performance of remedial actions by contractors to assess whether the project is being performed according to the Remedial Action Work Plan and contract requirements. PS&S field representatives observe the remedial action, document the nature of the work being conducted, and document observed site conditions. PS&S personnel may also perform confirmatory quality assurance environmental sampling. Numerous environmental permit approvals are usually required prior to the start of a remedial action. A routine PS&S field task may involve documentation of project compliance with NJDEP permits/approvals and permit conditions. PS&S is currently completing monitoring of an extensive landfill closure/remediation/redevelopment project in Atlantic City, NJ. PS&S has also monitored the installation of soil vapor extraction and groundwater remediation systems. Operations, Monitoring and Maintenance In addition to services provided by licensed treatment work operators, PS&S provides monitoring of groundwater treatment systems that are part of on-going groundwater restoration programs. PS&S services include sampling of influent and effluent for laboratory analysis, visual observation of treatment works, and prepare monthly reports for submission to both the client and regulatory agencies. Data is typically entered into a long-term monitoring database. In addition, PS&S has provided real time observation of a LNAPL collection system via a remote telecommunications system. PS&S designed and provided oversight for a groundwater remediation system that included removal of LNAPL product. The system was installed on-site at a NYCDOS facility and was monitored via an automated system from PS&S s headquarters in Warren, New Jersey. PS&S conducted sampling and was responsible for the maintenance of the system.

6 List of Representative Clients Site Investigation and Remediation Services Following is a representative list of major site investigation and remediation projects, organized by category. Preliminary Site Assessment KeySpan, Linden (NJ) Cogeneration Plant Stoney-Mueller, Inc., Lyndhurst, NJ EnCap Golf Holdings, LLC, Hudson County, NJ Cherokee North Arlington, North Arlington, NJ Hoke, Inc., Cresskill, NJ JD Construction, South Hackensack, NJ Remedial Investigation Visy Paper, Staten Island, New York New York City Department of Sanitation (Multiple Facilities), Stoney-Mueller, Inc., Lyndhurst, NJ EnCap Golf Holdings, Hudson County, NJ Federal Business Centers, Edison, NJ JD Construction, South Hackensack, NJ Bergen County Utilities Authority, North Arlington, NJ Celotex Industrial Park, Edgewater, New Jersey Koh-I-Noor, Bloomsbury, NJ Former Airco Research Facility, Franklin Twp., NJ Feasibility Study New York City Department of Sanitation (Fresh Kills Landfill), Staten Island, NY Stoney-Mueller, Inc., Lyndhurst, NJ Bergen County Utilities Authority, North Arlington, NJ EnCap Golf Holdings, LLC, Hudson County, NJ Limited Interim Remedial Measure

7 List of Representative Clients Site Investigation and Remediation Services continued Remedial Design New York City Department of Sanitation (Fresh Kills Landfill), Staten Island, NY New York City Department of Sanitation (Multiple Facilities), Harrah s Hotel and Casino, Borgata Hotel and Casino, MGM/Mirage, Federal Business Centers, Edison, NJ Koh-I-Noor, Bloomsbury, NJ Remedial Construction Oversight New York City Department of Sanitation (Fresh Kills Landfill), Staten Island, NY New York City Department of Sanitation (Multiple Facilities), Harrah s Hotel and Casino, Borgata Hotel and Casino, MGM/Mirage, Koh-I-Noor, Bloomsbury, NJ Former Airco Research Facility, Franklin Twp., NJ Operations, Monitoring and Maintenance Federal Business Centers, Edison, NJ Harrah s Hotel and Casino,