Environmental Investigation and Remediation of a Hazardous Waste Site: Part 1 – Background and History Leading to Contract Award - a PDH Online Course for Engineers, Surveyors and Architects

Environmental Investigation and Remediation of a Hazardous Waste Site

Part 1 – Background and History Leading to Contract Award

Course Outline

This course, Part 1: Background and History Leading to Contract Award, starts by reviewing the history of waste disposal practices in the US and the gradual emergence of governing environmental regulations. The following topics are examined:

Physical description of the waste disposal site,
History of waste disposal at the site over a period of twenty years,
Decommissioning and abandonment of the waste disposal site,
Growing public and regulatory concern for groundwater, surface water and soil contamination from the buried waste, and
Changes in the regulatory climate since the decommissioning of the waste disposal site.

Following this introductory background, the course shifts to a set of initial meetings and written exchanges that took place between the owner of the disposal site and the regulatory agencies. These meetings, in which the regulatory agencies expressed their concerns and the ensuing exchange of correspondence, led the owner to prepare and issue a “Request for Proposals (RFP)” that was distributed to a number of qualified engineering consulting firms. The proposals were evaluated, a contract was awarded and contract negotiations were initiated with the successful bidder. The initial technical approach proposed by the winning environmental consulting firm is presented. Because lengthy contract negotiations became necessary to resolve technical, budgetary and liability issues, which are typically involved in the implementation of this type of environmental projects, a revised scope of work was formulated. The process of contract negotiation is discussed and the clauses that were agreed-upon and adopted are presented in summary form. A comparison between the proposed initial scope of work and the final scope of work provides a concrete example of how changes are made and adjusted to by both parties once a contract award has been successfully negotiated. It is only then that technical work on the project can be initiated.

A glossary of terms and acronyms used throughout this course follows the conclusion section, at the end of this presentation. This glossary will assist the student understand the terminology used throughout the course series.

This course includes a multiple choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the end of Part 1, the student will have gained some insight into land burial as a waste disposal practice that was prevalent in the 1960s and 1970s. Although acceptable at the time, these land burial activities have proven to be sources of groundwater, surface water and soil contamination and a health risk to the public. The student will also be able to develop a sense of the pressures brought to bear on the owners of such waste disposal sites by the regulatory agencies responsible for safeguarding public health and safety. Ever since the 1980s, the owners of these waste disposal sites have approached the regulatory demands with caution because they have to spend time and money on what they consider to be a non-productive aspect of their business. Therefore it is important that all work that is proposed and implemented at such waste disposal sites be carried out in the most economic and efficient manner possible. On the other hand, the owners have no other choice but to comply with the prevailing regulations and implement appropriate remedial actions.

At the onset, the student will be introduced to the:

History of waste disposal practices in the US,
Development of the legislation that governs the disposal of low-level radioactive waste,
Development of the legislation that governs the disposal of hazardous chemicals,
Regulatory safeguards that are meant to protect human health and the environment.

In responding to a Request for Proposals (RFP) the student will also learn how to:

Prepare a competitive scope of technical work,
Develop a reasonable implementation schedule,
Prepare for the phase of contract negotiation,
Modify the initial proposed scope of work,
Revise and update the implementation schedule, and
Use a set of standard terms and conditions to arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement.

The student will also find out that the negotiations usually encompass not only the technical scope of work, schedule, and cost but also important warrantees and legal liability considerations. These concerns are eventually resolved and the process is concluded to the mutual satisfaction of the two parties. At this point technical work on the project can start in earnest.

Intended Audience

This series of courses is intended for environmental engineers, environmental scientists, geotechnical engineers, civil engineers, engineering geologists, environmental geologists, hydrologists and other individuals who are interested to learn how environmental investigations are conducted.

Benefit to Attendees

Students who take this series of courses will learn how environmental problems are investigated; feasibility studies conducted and engineered remediation implemented. These steps are taken to prevent the spread and migration of contaminants to the accessible environment, thus protecting the health and safety of the population and stopping the otherwise inevitable and continual degradation of the environment.

Course Introduction

A Research Institute (“Institute”) had for many years used a variety of radioactive materials and numerous hazardous chemicals in conducting experiments in their laboratories. In order to dispose of the waste products of this research, the Institute operated a small shallow land burial facility on the grounds of its research campus. The liquid and solid wastes were placed in various types of containers which were then placed in narrow parallel trenches dug into the soil to a maximum depth of about 8 to 12 feet below the ground surface. Once a trench was nearly filled, dirt was placed over the waste, compacted, graded, fertilized and seeded. In areas where parts of older trenches subsided, due to breakage of containers or compaction of the waste, additional dirt was placed in the sunken areas and these parts were re-graded and re-seeded. In this case, the site itself slopes gently downhill, so that surface water would run off the burial area and into the woods down-slope of the landfill. The site is located in a part of the U.S. that receives a moderate amount of rainfall per year.

Shallow land burial at the site was carried out by the Institute for a period of 20 years, from the 1960s to the 1980s. The entire research facility is under a system of controlled access and admission to the research campus is through a guarded gate. In addition, the waste disposal site itself is fenced, padlocked and posted as shown on Figure 1.

Figure 1: Waste disposal site owned by the Research Institute

At this point it is important to note that shallow land burial of radioactive and chemical wastes at this site was conducted in accordance with the accepted federal and state standards that were in force during the time of its operation. The Institute was never cited for improper disposal practices or other violations. Both the Institute and the Regulatory Agencies agreed that the site was managed and operated properly. After the site was decommissioned in the 1980s, only minor maintenance was completed, and the site and fence became overgrown with vegetation.

Since the late 1980s, however, public awareness of the dangers of contamination from landfills of all types was growing throughout the country. In response to this heightened awareness, regulatory agencies charged with the protection of public health and safety became increasingly concerned that disposal practices that were once considered acceptable may have long-term negative impacts on groundwater, surface water and soil. The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) started to issue drinking water standards that specified minimum acceptable levels for a number of common industrial chemicals, including some radioisotopes. Federal and state legislations were promulgated requiring environmental regulatory agencies throughout the US to investigate operating, decommissioned and abandoned landfills of all types. The Superfund program was initiated at the federal level to help fund the cleanup of abandoned hazardous waste landfills of all types.

Course Content

The course content is in the following PDF file:

Environmental Investigation and Remediation of a Hazardous Waste Site: Part 1 – Background and History Leading to Contract Award

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.

Course Summary

The disposal of hazardous waste in shallow trenches within the Institute’s campus was conducted in accordance with the prevailing federal and state standards and regulations of the time (1960s and 1970s). This did not, however, prevent the State Environmental Regulators in the 1990s from requiring the Institute to prepare an investigation plan to assess existing conditions at its decommissioned waste disposal site. This course has taken you through:

A brief history of waste disposal at the burial site,
The changes in public awareness leading to federal legislation regarding waste disposal,
Initial concerns expressed by the State Radiation Protection Agency,
The contents of the Request for Proposals issued by the Institute,
Observations made during the pre-proposal site visit,
The technical approach presented in the successful proposal,
A clarification of the Regulators' concerns at an initial coordination meeting,
Preparation and submittal of a revised scope and schedule of work, and
Negotiation of satisfactory Terms and Conditions for a final contract.

At this point, work began in earnest at the site. The results of the compilation and review of existing information are presented in the second course of this series entitled: “Part 2 – Analysis of Existing Information and Regulatory Concerns”. The project plans and procedures that were developed to guide the implementation of new field activities, including those prepared to address requirements of the Quality Assurance Plan and the Health and Safety Plan are presented in the third course of this series.

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.