Location:
Earth Tech is providing engineering and environmental services for one of the major railway companies in North America. Projects include environmental site assessments, permitting, remedial design and implementation, rail yard mapping and stormwater management. Earth Tech also performed quality assurance / quality control review of stormwater pollution prevention plans for completeness, accuracy and errors and omissions. Environmental permitting was performed for more than 20 projects. Permits included air, stormwater and remediation system installation and operation. In addition, Earth Tech is implementing the client’s Audit Program at over 14 key operational facilities in North America.
Phase I environmental site assessments were conducted on 28 non-operating properties that were identified through review of lease agreements and by those that were believed to have elevated risks of environmental impact. Earth Tech developed a standardized report format and quality assurance process that minimized client review time and maximized efficiencies with report production and report use. The work included the provision of detailed chronological information about both the subject properties and all adjacent properties. Earth Tech also conducted thorough interviews with railroad employees, current and former leaseholders and their employees, adjacent property owners and operators and long-time residents of the areas being studied.
Earth Tech provided a fast-track design of large bioslurping remediation systems at two of the client’s rail yards. This innovative groundwater extraction technique is a more aggressive approach than traditional methods for oil recovery. The technology will achieve cleanup in a much shorter timeframe than conventional methods, thus saving the client more than $500,000 in system operation and maintenance.
Earth Tech routinely assumes a client advocacy role for its clients by viewing project requirements and anticipating outcomes from the client's perspective. This assures that the client's interests are maximized in a cost-effective and focused manner. For example, knowing that the client wanted to expedite the closure of a diesel fuel spill at one of its rail yard, Earth Tech had the regulatory jurisdiction of the spill case transferred to the government program that provides the most flexibility in achieving case closure. That transfer will result in case closure at a lower cost and shorter timeframe, as desired by the client.
Earth Tech also assessed closure options and regulatory strategy for closure of a former oil skimming pond that had been part of a permitted national pollution discharge elimination system. The strategy developed allowed the closure to be addressed as part of an overall site remediation strategy, thus saving the client an estimated $200,000 in mobilization, excavation, disposal and backfill cost.
Drainage and wastewater studies were completed by Earth Tech at two large rail yard facilities and topographic maps were prepared for two rail yards totaling nearly seven miles in length. The mapping included locating, verifying and mapping existing underground utilities and evaluating drainage areas and sewer capacities to define drainage system inadequacies for 10 and 25-year storm events. Earth Tech evaluated compliance with stormwater and wastewater discharge requirements at all yard outlets and prepared recommendations and cost estimates for correcting deficiencies.
