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Environmental Services

Environmental services consist of a broad range of services generally having to do with the assessment, monitoring, and remedy of environmental media suspected to be or contaminated with chemicals.

Property transfer assessments, or Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), can be conducted to evaluate the environmental condition of a property in advance of a sale or purchase, to set a baseline of conditions prior to a lease, or to evaluate the condition of a property after a lease has terminated. EnviroLogic Resources conducts these assessments using standards developed by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). The EnviroLogic Resources team has conducted these types of assessments for real estate developers, ports authorities, financial institutions, and industry at diverse types of facilities.

In response to environmental conditions observed during a Phase I ESA or a known release event, often times soil or ground-water contamination investigations are initiated to evaluate the nature and extent of the potential problem. EnviroLogic Resources has conducted these types of investigations at numerous sites involving a variety of chemicals. The strategy employed by EnviroLogic Resources for these investigations is focused on the collection of those data critical to developing an understanding of the risk posed by the site and evaluating potential remedial approaches.

Data collection at a petroleum release site included evaluation of indigenous microorganisms. The results of the evaluation showed that indigenous microorganisms were capable of - and in the process of - biologically degrading the petroleum. The regulatory agency agreed that long-term monitoring and active remediation were unnecessary, saving the client thousands of dollars.

A tool often used to help formulate monitoring or remedial approaches is ground-water flow and transport modeling. Modeling can be used in a variety of ways to help reduce overall project costs. Chemical concentrations at compliance points can be reliably estimated with a model to support human health risk evaluations. Or, a model can be used to reduce the capital costs of a remedial system by accurately portraying the ground-water flow regime, minimizing the number of wells required to remedy the problem. Additionally, modeling can be used to simulate and evaluate the hydraulic interaction between ground-water and river systems. EnviroLogic Resources staff members have been involved in these types of modeling projects and have used several accepted model codes to achieve results. An important but generally overlooked component of a successful environmental project is data management. Smooth data handling generates a data set of known quality and can speed the technical evaluations - the important part of the project! The development and evaluation of data management systems has been a significant part of the experience base of the EnviroLogic Resources team.

Risk assessment can be one of the most important aspects of a soil or ground-water contamination investigation. State regulators are more receptive to these types of analyses than in years past and the results of an evaluation of risk to human health or to ecosystems are becoming the basis for many decisions made in the environmental cleanup process. EnviroLogic Resources personnel have been involved in numerous risk assessments to support land-use decisions.

At a site contaminated with carcinogenic polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a risk assessment was performed using the specific exposure scenarios that would be expected for the proposed development - an out-patient medical facility. Site chemical data and the results of vapor modeling were used as inputs to the risk calculation. The results showed that remediation of surficial soil would be sufficient to mitigate exposures during construction - the only pathway with significant risk.

If the end result in the soil or ground-water investigation is that some form of remediation will be required, the EnviroLogic Resources team can provide remedial engineering. Soil remedial approaches composed of bioremediation (bioventing, land farming, and ex situ treatment), soil vapor extraction, solidification, soil washing, thermal desorption, incineration, as well as the more traditional excavation and disposal have been evaluated, reviewed, or implemented by EnviroLogic Resources staff.

In ground water, remedial options consisting of air sparging, vacuum enhanced recovery, funnel-and-gate and reactive-wall systems, slurry walls, in situ active and passive bioremediation, phytoremediation, hydraulic control, and pump-and-treat systems have been evaluated, reviewed, or implemented. In addition, aboveground treatment components consisting of gravity separation, filtration, air stripping, cavitation, biological action, and carbon adsorption have been evaluated, reviewed, or implemented.

No one remedial approach can be applied to every site, rather site conditions may favor one or more remedial systems and it takes an experienced project team to select the most favorable approach for the conditions at hand.

EnviroLogic Resources personnel have been involved with compliance with many regulatory programs through the years - from Federal regulatory programs such as:

Clean Water Act
RCRA
CERCLA
NEPA
Clean Air Act

Applicable State regulatory programs such as:

Oregon UST regulations
Oregon Cleanup Laws
Oregon TURHWRA
MTCA
California Title 22
CEQA (SEPA)
California UST programs
Numerous county programs

There are many commonalities among these regulatory programs - the objectives and general approach, for instance. But it is also key to be able to understand the subtle differences in the components of the programs and the way they are implemented by each agency. EnviroLogic Resources can help provide this understanding.

A contaminated site was successfully directed through a regulatory morass involving the USEPA, Cal/EPA, a State water quality agency, and the county to achieve an effective investigative and remedial approach. The differing agendas of each agency were identified and a program was developed that gained approval without performing unnecessary tasks.

EnviroLogic Resources provides litigation support services to our clients through their attorneys. The development of sound technical arguments to support client positions is based on thorough understanding of the regulatory and technical issues at hand. The staff at EnviroLogic Resources is experienced in preserving confidentiality and understands attorney/client privileges and document retention issues. EnviroLogic Resources is adept at providing fast-track litigation support services without compromising thoroughness and creativity. In today’s business and regulatory environment, solving complex technical problems and resolving legal and administrative disputes related to environmental issues requires the knowledge and skills of recognized experts. EnviroLogic Resources can provide this expertise.

EnviroLogic Resources staff are experts in environmental project management. Communication is the key to successful implementation and completion of complex environmental projects.

EnviroLogic Resources staff members have successfully managed small, short-duration projects, as well as large, multi-million-dollar investigative and remedial programs.