ENVIRONMENTAL Project Experience - Due Diligence

Phase I / II Environmental Site Assessment

CR 466A Road Widening Project, Lake County, FL

E Sciences completed a Phase I ESA for a parcel of land being acquired for road-widening purposes.  Debris piles of concrete, asphalt, scrap wood, PVC pipe, cinder block, limestone rock, and scrap metal were identified as a REC in the Phase I ESA report.   E Sciences recommended that a Phase II ESA be completed to identify the contents of the debris piles.  Soil laboratory analytical results of the suspect debris piles identified the presence of arsenic at a concentration above the SCTL of 2.1 mg/.  E Sciences recommended the excavation and removal of the debris piles or covering the debris piles with a minimum of 2 feet of clean fill material as an engineering control.

Phase I / II Environmental Site Assessment

Former Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, Lake County, FL

E Sciences completed a Phase I ESA peer review for this former concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) in 2008.  Our peer review identified a groundwater exceedence relating to phosphorous exceeding the FGCTLs at various locations across the 350 acre parcel.  In regards to these exceedences, E Sciences performed the installation and sampling of twenty direct-push (DP) temporary groundwater monitoring wells.  After review of this analytical data, we pinpointed select areas of the site for the installation of nine (9) shallow groundwater monitoring wells for confirmatory and future monitoring.

Phase I / II Environmental Site Assessment

Former Auto Sales Lot, Seminole County, FL

E Sciences completed a Phase I ESA which identified RECs on the site which included; a 500-gallon aboveground oil tank with petroleum staining at the base of the tank which was stored on an impervious surface; an approximate 2’x 2’opening in the floor near the center of the auto detail shop; three (3) hydraulic lifts located within the auto repair facilities; and a septic system and associated drain field area. To address the identified RECs, E Sciences conducted a Phase II ESA which included soil and groundwater sampling activities. E Sciences identified evidence of petroleum-impacted soil and groundwater and recommended additional cleanup efforts.

Phase I / II Environmental Site Assessment

Environmentally Sensitive Lands, Lake County, FL

Working under time restrictions to meet a property closing deadline, E Sciences reacted quickly and expeditiously to complete the necessary ecological and environmental activities and reports in order for Lake County to purchase a 136 acre piece of environmentally sensitive land adjacent to Lake May, near Eustis, FL.  During completion of a Phase I ESA, an irrigation pumping station was observed on site with what appeared to be petroleum-stained soils near the engine block.  Phase II soil and groundwater sampling confirmed petroleum-impacted soils existed.  The engine block was dismantled and 29 tones of petroleum-impacted soil was removed and transported off-site.  No Further Action (NFA) was recommended and the property transaction proceeded as scheduled.

Phase I / II Environmental Site Assessment

Wastewater Treatment Field, Lake County, FL

E Sciences performed a Phase I ESA at a Site that consisted of ±143 acres that were being used by a municipality as a wastewater treatment facility (WWTF). The Parks & Recreation Department was considering purchasing this property for a proposed recreational complex. E Sciences identified RECs associated with current and historical activities on-site and on the adjoining City Dump property and a Phase II ESA was recommended. E Sciences completed a Phase II ESA which included soil and groundwater sampling. Various recommendations were made by E Sciences that allowed the recreational complex to proceed with development as scheduled.

Phase I / II Environmental Site Assessment

Manufacturing Facility, Orange County, FL

E Sciences completed a Phase I ESA for a manufacturer of paper container products, located on ± 9.0-acres located within the Central Florida Industrial Park. E Sciences identified data failures during the historic review of the Site including: historical aerials not being available between certain periods of time, historical city directories not covering the area for certain years, and historic information pertaining to the former site occupant such as waste management practices and the inconclusive nature of the sanitary sewer/septic disposal system. E Sciences considered the potential presence of the drainfield to be a REC, since historic operations at the facility included the use of solvents and petroleum products. Phase II activities were performed that included soil and groundwater sampling. Working with the buyers and sellers attorneys, E Sciences was able to expedite the sampling to allow the property transaction to occur within the due diligence period.

Phase I Environmental Site Assessment

Historic Train Station, West Palm Beach County, FL

A Phase I ESA was performed at the circa-1926 Seaboard Train Station in the West Palm Beach Community Redevelopment Area for approval of a grant and financial assistance for pedestrian enhancements for transit riders. Based on the earliest historic documentation of the site (1915 Sanborn Map), the property was developed with dwellings, a grocery store, apartment buildings and a public school building. The property remained generally unchanged until a 1926 map indicating the absence of the former structures and only the Seaboard Train Station. Continuing historic research revealed all potential sources of environmental concerns, including two groundwater monitoring wells and a UST dating from the 1915 era.

Soil and Groundwater Assessment

Mass Transit Facility, Broward County, FL

E Sciences conducted an extensive soil and groundwater assessment at a mass transit bus facility to accompany a State Rehabilitation Funding Allocation (SRFA) application submitted to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection proposing a funding allocation between the Broward County and the State of Florida. During source removal activities administered under the FDEP's Petroleum Preapproval Program, an ineligible discharge of petroleum product was observed seeping into the excavated area. FDEP ordered the facility to conduct a site assessment and provided an opportunity to negotiate an SRFA agreement. The source of the discharge appeared to be the stormwater draining system near the bus maintenance and bus wash areas. In order to precisely determine the source, E Sciences developed a detailed map of subsurface connectivity between the oil/water separators, holding tanks, stormwater systems, floor drains, and the bus wash. Various geophysical assessment techniques were used to map the system, including electromagnetic and ground penetrating radar, utility location services, dye tests, historic plan reviews, regulatory file review, and interviews with prior employees. A comprehensive sampling routine was also necessary due to suspect product discharge of waste oil. More than 50 soil samples and 18 groundwater samples were analyzed for various potential contaminants of concern. Fluorescent lighting was used as a field screening tool to evaluate the presence of heavy petroleum and to complement the organic vapor analyzer readings. Areas with elevated total recoverable petroleum hydrocarbons were evaluated using fractionation in order to more accurately define soils exceeding cleanup target levels. Alternative leachability cleanup target levels were developed using the FDEP Technical Report, Development of Cleanup Target Levels for Chapter 62-777. Other complicating factors included the need to permit drilling in the Florida Department of Transportation/CSX Railway right-of-way, resolve outstanding utility easement property issues and coordinate with a concurrent stormwater drainage/permitting project. E Sciences continues to conduct ongoing groundwater monitoring for arsenic, has completed a source removal, and assisted the client with negotiating the terms of the SRFA agreement.

Environmental Support for Streetscape Enhancement

 Community Redevelopment Agency, Broward County, FL

E Sciences is implementing soil and groundwater sampling along a 1.25-mile corridor to support the Community Redevelopment Agency with implementation of a streetscape project. The corridor contains 36 sampling locations of known historic sites including dry cleaning facilities, gasoline stations, junk yards, and an incinerator ash landfill. Prior to implementation of sampling, E Sciences worked with the Florida Development of Environmental Protection to negotiate a scope of analytical services, including reconciliation of the proposed subsurface structure locations (drainage structures, light fixtures) identified on construction plans with the existing corridor conditions and proximity to potentially contaminated areas. Due to the unusually high numbers of utilities anticipated to be located in close proximity to the drilling areas, E Sciences engaged a private utility location contractor to locate underground utilities using ground penetrating radar and electromagnetic surveys. A Maintenance of Traffic Plan was prepared for the local municipally prior to field activities. E Sciences also provided environmental and bidding specification language outlining requirements for managing contaminated soils or groundwater, for inclusion into the bid and contract documents for the project.

Marina Full-Site Environmental Characterization

 Broward County, FL

In response to a Florida Department of Environmental Protection Consent Order, an operational marina in Dania Beach was obligated to conduct a full-site characterization of metals, petroleum, and solvents found in the sediment, soil and groundwater as a result of historic boat maintenance and repair activities. E Sciences installed groundwater monitoring wells, collected soil samples from various potential source areas and conducted sediment sampling inside the boat basin and Dania Cutoff Canal. Initial sampling was conducted by utilizing ponar from a boat and revealed minimal soil and groundwater impacts which could be managed without active remediation. However, analytical results from sediment sampling indicated metals concentrations in excess of background values and numerical values as outlines in FDEP's Sediment Quality Assessment Guidelines. These concentrations were determined to potentially pose a risk to the ecosystem and active remediation was warranted. In response, E Sciences conducted a full characterization of the extent of sediment impacts, utilizing vibracore technology on a specialized watercraft to obtain sediment core samples to five feet below the basin bottom in a grid patter. Laboratory analysis and reporting to the FDEP included a remedial dredging plan.