Former Vangas Facility Phase II ESA, Fairbanks, Alaska

NORTECH continued to help Suburban Propane with their deliberative process of assessing, getting ADEC work plan approval, then cleaning up and relinquishing their leased property back to the ARRC by removing/disposing of a hazardous materials drum, installing three MWs and performing soil and water sampling to assess several locations on or adjacent to the lease lot, and then doing a Phase II report to identify what soil remediation work had be done to satisfy the Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conservation and the ARRC.

 Block 2 Contamination Delineation - Phase II ESA, Fairbanks, Alaska

NORTECH performed a Phase I as well as a limited Phase II ESA for the Blocks 2 & 3 area of downtown Fairbanks in 2001. The initial Phase II ESA effort allowed for some hazardous materials surveying of several of the property’s existing buildings, and uncovered the presence of TCE and other volatile organic contaminants in the site’s groundwater. Liability concerns relative to anticipated land purchases by the City warranted further, more detailed, investigation and delineation of the contamination. The City of Fairbanks hired NORTECH to perform a soil gas survey and groundwater investigation to assess and delineate soil and groundwater contamination in the Block 2 area. Block 2 was canvassed for property access and previous environmental reports were reviewed for historical information in planning the soil gas and monitoring well installation program. NORTECH's contamination investigation pinpointed the likely source for TCE contamination, found other localized areas of source contamination, and revealed that aging, underground wood-stave sewer pipes were conveying and leaking contamination under the City’s right-of-way. The results of this investigation assisted the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation with their area groundwater investigation toward identifying responsible parties and mitigating future property transfer liabilities.

 UAF Toolik Lake Diesel Spill Emergency Response, Corrective Action & Closure –    Toolik Lake, Alaska

Risk Management at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) requested NORTECH assist with spill response, assessment, and cleanup of a generator diesel spill at the Toolik Field Station (TFS) in Fall 2001. Stakeholders included UAF, the federal Bureau of Land Management, National Science Foundation, and others. UAF and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) approved a corrective action plan consisting of assessment, excavation and stockpiling of contaminated soil, and replacement with clean backfill. Due to the significant environmental sensitivity of the research site, UAF requested a corrective action goal of Non-Detect when removing diesel-contaminated soils, well below the ADEC's Arctic Zone cleanup criteria of 200 mg/kg. The remote nature of this arctic field station proved environmentally and logistically challenging. Over 2,200 cubic yards of contaminated soil were excavated over a 17,000 square-foot area, and stockpiled in a lined containment cell for future remediation. Complete removal and relocation of the TFS power generation facility and support equipment was necessary during the project. Remote coordination with ADEC, the analytical laboratory, and the University was integral to the completion of the cleanup excavations, confirmation sampling, and backfill efforts. Response fieldwork was completed in less than 30 days, well within University expectations, and before winter closed out further operations. (2001-2002)

Phase II Environmental Investigations

The NORTECH Team has performed several dozen Phase II ESAs, some of which have stemmed from earlier Phase I projects, and others which cropped up because of an identified need to more completely assess and evaluate the contaminated condition of a property. In accomplishing this work we have a full complement of site characterization field sampling equipment and hardware available to complete all anticipated site characterization requirements; including ppm and ppb photo-ionization VOC detectors, multiple gas specific meters with interchangeable sensors for a majority of contaminates, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) parameters (CO, CO2, temp and relative humidity) combustible gas meters, pressure gauges, turbidity, Hanby kits, radiation detectors, x-ray fluorescence lead in paint, soils and air, real time and passive monitors, physical parameters instrumentation, site surveying and field GIS equipment, pH, conductivity, flow, water level, and water surface and sub-surface hand and electric sampling equipment. Available equipment includes some backup and duplicate equipment capability in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau.