The Challenge
The client, a gas and electric utility company servicing New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, is investigating and remediating approximately 50 former manufactured gas plant (MGP) sites across their system. A new sanitary sewer line needed to be installed in a residential area adjacent to a historical MGP site with benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX); polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); cyanide; and coal-tar residuals in subsurface soils. Some of these constituents had also been detected in groundwater monitoring wells present on the site.
Client Challenge
A long-time client and major petroleum marketer is pursuing a real estate transaction that would result in the sale of more than 1,200 active retail service station properties across the United States. As a requirement of the sales agreement, the client needed to conduct a Phase I environmental site assessment (ESA) for each site within an 11-week period. The properties ranged in size and geography, including service stations along major toll roads and interstates, rural roads, and busy, urban locations.
Client Challenge
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation administers an environmental remediation and restoration contract across its nine regions throughout the state. NYSDEC uses this contracting mechanism to issue task orders to selected consultants on an on-call basis to address cleanup issues at diverse project sites. GES, currently serving under its third consecutive contract, is active in seven regions, including the metropolitan areas of New York City, Long Island, Rochester, Syracuse, and Buffalo.
Client Challenge
An underground petroleum pipeline release on the airside of one of the nation’s largest airports posed extensive challenges and risks. The airport, operated by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ), is situated along wetlands in a densely populated and industrialized area. Geological complexity includes hydraulically-dredged sediments placed on native silts and tidally-influenced groundwater. The release volume (over 300,000 gallons of gasoline) and four-acre areal distribution added to project complexity.
Client Challenge
An effective response to a pipeline release requires extensive pre-planning, clear lines of communication, and a team that is well-trained and ready to act with the right set of tools. When a local farmer struck a high-pressure underground petroleum pipeline while laying a tile drainage system, the midstream pipeline owner initiated its response team, including GES as prime environmental consultant.