In Situ Source Control Remediation of High Explosives
Wilson S. Clayton, Aquifer Solutions, Inc., Evergreen, CO

How Will your Institutional Controls Be Working In 2035?
John G. Nevius, Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C., New York, NY

Urban River Restoration: Economic Opportunities and Regulatory Challenges

William R. Michaud, P.E., SRA International, Inc., 249 Town Hill Road, New Hartford, CT, 06057, Tel: 860-738-7501, Fax: 860-738-7550, Email: bill_michaud@sra.com
Heather Gewandter, SRA International, Inc., 2425 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA, 22201, Tel: 703-247-5700, Fax: 703-526-9826, Email: heather_gewandter@sra.com

Rivers have long been an essential element in the American urban landscape.  Urban rivers have provided power to our factories and avenues for shipping and commerce.  Urban rivers have provided recreational opportunities and, in many cases, have been integral to the very identity of our cities.  Urban rivers also carry the legacy of our industrial history, which has left behind contaminated sediments, degraded water quality, and lost habitat.  As cities seek to transition to new economic realities, this legacy often stands in the way.  The scientific and engineering challenges associated with assessing risk and cleaning up contaminated rivers are costly and, at times, seemingly insurmountable.  These challenges, moreover, are often exacerbated by the existence of multiple cleanup authorities and competing requirements.  In July 2002, the U.S. EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers entered into an agreement to facilitate cooperation between the two agencies, address these challenges, harness the economic incentives for cleanup, and encourage the public use and enjoyment of urban rivers.  EPA and the Corps designated eight demonstration pilots to evaluate different approaches for coordinating the planning and execution of urban river cleanup and restoration.  This paper will summarize the lessons learned from these and similar demonstration projects and will identify the approaches that have worked, the circumstances most amenable and likely to benefit from improved coordination, and remaining challenges.

In Situ Source Control Remediation of High Explosives

Wilson S. Clayton, Aquifer Solutions, Inc., 3081 Bergen Peak Dr., Evergreen, CO, 80439, Tel:  303-679-3143, Fax: 303-679-3269, Email: wclayton@aquifersolutions.com 
Dan Kwiecinski, MKM Engineers, Inc., 6000 Uptown Blvd., NE Suite 490, Albuquerque, NM 87110, Tel: 505-881-0123, Fax: 505-881-3005, Email: dan.kwiecinski@mkmengineers.com 
Tony Biggs, BWXT Pantex L.L.C., POBox 30020 Amarillo, TX 79120, Tel: 806-477-3203, Fax: 806-477-4174, Email: tbiggs@pantex.com 

This paper describes ongoing results of in situ source control interim corrective measure (ICM) pilot testing at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Pantex Plant, located in Amarillo, Texas. ICM pilot tests are ongoing at Pantex for two HE source control technologies, one targeted for vadose zone remediation and the other a groundwater reactive barrier. In situ ozone treatment of the vadose zone is being implemented as an ICM pilot test at Pantex in order to reduce the mass of HE constituents migrating vertically downward to the groundwater. Remediating the vadose zone soils and HE dissolved in vadose zone pore water is an important element of the overall source control program at the site. The in situ ozone system involves injection of ozone gas in to the vadose zone soils. Ozone gas (O3) is a strong oxidizer that is capable of completely degrading RDX and other HE constituents. Additionally, ozone degrades to oxygen gas which promotes biodegradation as a secondary treatment mechanism. Ozone injection was pulsed in order to maximize the benefit of biodegradation during the intervals between injection pulses. Current results are presented describing the ozone subsurface delivery radius of influence and the level of HE treatment obtained. A reactive barrier ICM pilot test using is also being implemented at Pantex as part of the source control measures. The reactive barrier is a chemical reduction barrier involving the injection into two wells of sodium dithionite that acts to reduce naturally occurring iron in the subsurface to Fe2+. The Fe2+ is immobilized within the aquifer matrix, and serves as a semi-permanent reductant that treats HE migrating in groundwater through the reactive zone. This project is the first field-scale application of ISRM technology for high explosives treatment. The field-scale design for ISRM implementation was based on site hydraulics, on reduction reaction stoichiometry, and on reactive transport characteristics of the sodium dithionite. Current results are presented describing the dithionite delivery radius of influence and the barrier performance.

How Will Your Institutional Controls Be Working In 2035?

John G. Nevius, Esq., P.E., Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C., 1251 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020-1128, Tel: 212-278-1508, Fax: 212- 278-1733, Email: jnevius@AndersonKill.com

Risk-based cleanups are on the rise.  Brownfield’s are a hot topic.  When leaving waste in-place how do you make sure land use controls will work and remain viable ten, twenty or thirty years from now?  How can you ensure that today’s Superfund site can be transformed into a real estate asset?

Many consulting firms and insurance companies offer liability transfer services and long-term O&M, but you or your client likely will still have to certify annually that controls are in place and working.  This presentation will discuss the legal and environmental landscape existing today with respect to Risk-Based Corrective Action (RBCA) and land use controls.  Will restrictions run with the land over time?  Who will enforce them and how?  How can municipalities shoulder the burden and should they?  What about environmental insurance?  What other services may be available to control potential migration address the public perception of risk?

Insurance policies relating to institutional or land use controls are just becoming available on the market.  Will the coverage work as advertised?  How can environmental professionals prepare a site so that conditions and investigations support a RBCA determination, effective liability transfer or an insurance underwriter’s analysis?  This presentation, by an experienced environmental attorney, will help answer these questions using real world examples.  Audience participation is encouraged.

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