Client Login

Projects Managed by SMA Staff


Click on each tab to open for more information. Click tab again to close.


Petroleum Impacted Community

imageProject management of a multi-million dollar investigation / remediation of an area impacted by decades of petroleum marketing in the area. Releases from the petroleum facilities in the area have led to the accumulation of free product beneath a residential community. Key aspects of this project included:

  • Design and construction of a soil vapor extraction (SVE) system to mitigate vapors from intruding homes.
  • Investigation of the nature and extent of free product beneath the community, and investigation of the nature and extent of dissolved phase constituents in groundwater.
  • Conducted oversight of pilot testing to evaluate recovery of free product, and the design of a free product recovery system.

MIG/DeWane Landfill – Remedial Investigation (RI)
USEPA Superfund Site
Belvidere, IL

image A former municipal landfill occupying 50 acres received household, municipal, commercial, and industrial refuse for 20 years. A project team managed by an SMA Principal evaluated and mitigated the intrusion of methane gas that had migrated into an adjacent residential subdivision. The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) established a command center in the subdivision to direct emergency action activities.

SMA activities on this project included:

  • Installation of gas probes in the subdivision and vapor concentration monitoring.
  • Management of the emergency installation of a gas extraction system. The design, approval by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), and installation of this system was performed within eight weeks.
  • Performed in-house monitoring in conjunction with the IEPA field monitoring team.
  • Designed and installed emergency vapor mitigation systems in the basements of three houses within a nearby subdivision. Performed vapor monitoring in these homes to demonstrate that they could be lived in.
  • Reduced concentration of landfill gas within the subdivision to below acceptable levels within three weeks of system startup.
  • Performed routine operation, maintenance, and monitoring of the gas extraction system.

MIG/DeWane Landfill Superfund Site
Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study (RI/FS)
Belvidere, IL

imageA former municipal landfill occupying 50 acres received household, municipal, commercial, and industrial refuse for 20 years. After the landfill was abandoned, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) evaluated the site and noted potential exposure pathways of direct contact with surface water and groundwater. The landfill was subsequently placed on the National Priorities List (NPL). A Project Team managed by an SMA Principal conducted a $2,000,000+ Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS).

Activities at the Site included:

  • Field supervision and health/safety and directed subcontractor activities including soil boring; installation of gas probes, leachate wells and monitoring wells; laboratory analyses of solids, liquids, and gases; and laboratory validation.
  • Supervised/conducted Level B operations; and managed geophysical, hydrogeologic, and multi-media sampling investigations.
  • Development and preparation of the Feasibility/Study (FS).
  • Compiled and evaluated field data to interpret geologic, hydrogeologic, geophysical, and environmental conditions and prepared work plans and technical reports.

Confidential Client
Soil & Groundwater Investigation and Remediation
Petroleum Refinery

imageSMA is currently managing a multi-million dollar soil, groundwater, and LNAPL investigation and remediation project at a former petroleum refinery and distribution terminal in Illinois. Work is being performed pursuant to a Consent Order with the State of Illinois.

SMA activities on the Project include:

  • Investigative work across the 400 acre property including the completion of soil borings, nested groundwater monitoring wells, Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) borings, and Rapid Optical Screen Tool (ROST™) borings to define the extent of subsurface impacts, and to develop an area wide Conceptual Site Model (CSM).
  • Designed and performed interim remedial measures that have included groundwater pumping for hydraulic gradient control; LNAPL recovery using dual-phase extraction (DPE), vacuum enhanced skimming (VES), and skimmer pumps; soil vapor extraction (SVE); and soil excavation and disposal. DPE operation includes a fixed-based system and mobile unit.
  • Performing groundwater gauging and sampling for a monitoring well network consisting of over 300 monitoring wells. SMA is utilizing dedicated in-well pumps and low-flow sampling techniques for the collection of groundwater.
  • Defined the extent of LNAPL footprints and dissolved phase plumes. Performed evaluations to demonstrate stability of LNAPL and dissolved phase plumes.
  • Performed over 200 LNAPL transmissivity tests to evaluate the potential for free product recovery.
  • Performed operation, monitoring, and maintenance of all of the remediation systems.
  • To date, these recovery systems have removed more than 2 million gallons of free product.

Golden Castings Foundry Redevelopment
Indiana Bownfields Program
Columbus, Indiana

imageA 4.5-acre apartment development in Columbus, Indiana was historically utilized by a metals foundry and castings facility for unspecified waste storage between 1980 and 2003. The developer hired St. John – Mittelhauser & Associates, Inc. (SMA) to perform environmental investigations to delineate and characterize multiple chemical source areas; and then to contract and oversee the remediation of these areas through a combination of risk assessment, excavation and disposal of contaminant impacted soils, and the installation of vapor intrusion mitigation systems within 30,500 square feet of residential living space. The project is being completed in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s Voluntary Remediation Program, and the Indiana Brownfields Program.

SMA activities on the project include:

  • The advancement of more than 70 on-Site soil borings to characterize the nature and extent of soils impacted primarily with metals including lead, arsenic, thallium and antimony.
  • Soil sampling at 12 off-Site locations to identify background concentrations of lead and arsenic within the local area.
  • A Site-specific risk assessment to evaluate human and ecological health risks associated with soils impacted with semi-volatile organic compounds and metals.
  • Excavation and off-Site disposal of approximately 1,500 tons of soil impacted with metals at concentrations exceeding health protective levels for residential land use.
  • Installation of 30,500 square feet of vapor intrusion mitigation systems, comprised of both passive barriers and active sub-slab depressurization systems, to mitigate potential vapor intrusion exposures associated with trichloroethylene (TCE) impacts to groundwater
  • SMA determined that the TCE impacts originated from an off-Site source.

Syndicated Systems, Inc.
IDEM Voluntary Remediation Program
Middelbury, IN

SMA was retained to evaluate and address historical soil and groundwater contamination at a large retail shelving manufacturing facility in northern Indiana. The areas of concern consisted of several former lagoons and ponds, which had reportedly received plating, paint, and solvent wastes materials from the facility prior to 1975. The site had elevated concentrations of VOCs (TCE, 111-TCA, cis-1,2-DCE) in groundwater that are flowing to off-site areas and discharging to a local river. The chlorinated solvent impacts were documented to encompass nearly a square mile footprint beneath both the facility and neighboring off-Site properties. The Site has received a Convenant-Not-to-Sue and a Certificate of Closure from the State of Indiana.

SMA activities on the Project included:

  • The principal hydrogeologist of SMA directed field tracer testing, and performed groundwater modeling analysis of the tracer testing to identify the interstitial groundwater velocity within the aquifer sediments at the site.
  • Soil and groundwater sampling demonstrated that the mobility of metals, was too low to pose a risk to potential off-Site groundwater receptors.
  • Transitioned from the use of a groundwater pump & treat system (implemented by a prior consultant) to in-Situ biological reduction of chlorinated solvents in groundwater, which resulted in significant cost savings to the client for the treatment of groundwater impacts.
  • A Site-specific risk assessment of potential contaminant exposure routes associated with residual chlorinated solvents in groundwater subsequent to remedial activities. The risk assessment included extensive vapor intrusion testing both on- and off-Site, including properties used for residential purposes. The assessment confirmed that residual groundwater impacts within the area do not pose human or ecological health risks in the future.
  • A groundwater plume stability demonstration for residual chlorinated solvents impacts in groundwater.
  • Technical support in the execution of institutional controls, including both environmental restrictive covenants (ERCs) and (EROs), to protect against the future use of groundwater within impacted areas in the future.
  • Performed aquifer modeling to identify the ability of the PRB to treat VOCs migrating through it during large-scale de-watering at a construction immediately downgradient of the PRB.
Aurora Municipal Airport
DPE Remediation System Design and Operation
Sugar Grove, IL

imageSMA provided project management for a soil and groundwater remediation project at an aviation gasoline LUST Site. SMA performed a remedial investigation to define the extent of Light Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (LNAPL) and impacted groundwater and soil; and designed a remedial system consisting of a dual phase extraction (DPE) system. Key aspects of the project included:

  • LNAPL, soil vapor, and groundwater (via submersible pump) were recovered via DPE technology.
  • Reached asymptotic removal rates and removed 4,200 pounds of product within the first 7 months of DPE operation. Removal of residual contamination in soil continued by operating the DPE system in a pulse-mode.
  • Recovered groundwater was treated through an air stripper prior to being discharged to a storm sewer under an NPDES discharge permit.
  • Project included subsurface investigation, quarterly groundwater sampling and reporting, monthly operation and maintenance of the DPE system, and NPDES reporting.
  • Completed remediation of LNAPL and impacted soil.
  • Impacted groundwater is being addressed by Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA).
  • Client was reimbursed for 95% of total corrective action costs incurred from the beginning of the project to the present.
  • Submitted a Corrective Action Completion Report to the Illinois EPA, and approval of the No Further Remediation Letter is pending.

Former Dry Cleaning Operation
Electrical Resistive Heating
Western Springs, IL

imagePCE was discharged to a sanitary line by a drycleaners within the shopping center and was subsequently released through a break in the sewer line. PCE concentrations in soil were as high as 13,000 mg/kg. Remediation attempts by prior consultants were unsuccessful due to the contamination being in tight clays. SMA personnel managed and performed oversight of the installation of an Electrical Resistive Heating (ERH) system to successfully remediate the soils.

SMA activities on the project included:

  • Design, installation oversight, and operation of the ERH remediation system, which uses electricity to resistively heat soils at the site.
  • After 5 months of remediation system operation, analysis of 58 soil borings demonstrated that approximately 95% of the PCE had been removed.
  • Obtained a No Further Remediation (NFR) letter from the Illinois EPA Site Remediation Program (SRP) for the site.

Former Chrome Crankshaft of Illinois
Illinois Site Remediation Program
Chicago, IL

imageSMA performed investigations, decommissioning and demolition oversight, and remediation at a former electroplating facility in Chicago, Illinois. The facility performed hard chromium plating of locomotive crankshafts and grinding them to specification for the railroad industry for over 40 years.

SMA activities on the project included:

  • The site was enrolled in the Illinois Site Remediation Program (SRP).
  • Performed ASTM Phase I environmental site assessments of the facility and an adjacent property.
  • Performed investigations to define the extent of chromium, other metals, and organics in soil and groundwater. Created 3D visualizations to evaluate the extent of contaminated soil and calculated volumes of soil to be remediated.
  • Prepared all investigation reports, Remedial Objective Reports (ROR), Remedial Action Plan (RAP), and Remedial Action Completion Reports (RACR) for the facility and adjacent property.
  • Assisted the client in developing remediation cost options to facilitate the purchase of the adjacent property.
  • Developed specifications and performed oversight of the decommissioning and demolition of the facility buildings, soil remediation
  • Constructed an engineered barrier and storm water retention basin.
  • Approximately 6,400 tons of soils exceeding the characteristic hazardous waste limit for chromium were remediated via stabilization to render them non-hazardous for offsite landfill disposal.
  • SMA obtained No Further Remediation Letters were issued by Illinois EPA for both properties.

Riverside Groundwater Contamination Site
NPL Listing
Indianapolis, IN

image SMA represents a stakeholder in the development of the 16Tech corridor on the near northwest side of Indianapolis. The municipal water supply for the City of Indianapolis is provided by Citizen’s Energy Group (CEG), which operates an extensive well-field at the confluence of Fall Creek and the White River. The wells completed within the well field are completed in the alluvium associated with the river and creek, and in the carbonate bedrock.The 16Tech development is located within the CEG well field area.

Portions of the well-field have experienced impacts by chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) since at least the 1980’s. The source of these impacts is likely from current andformer sources that may be as far as miles from the well-field. Cumulatively, the 19 CEG production wells pump approximately 14.5 million gallons of groundwater per day to be processed for drinking water. Historically, the CVOC plume has had little to no impact to the finished water of the system, but the well-field received a Hazardous Ranking System (HRS) score greater than 28.5. As a result, both the USEPA and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) proposed listing the site on the National Priorities List.

SMA Activities at the Site included:

  • Expert technical review for legal counsel on the project.
  • Providing evidence that the hydrogeology effectively divided the well-field into distinct hydrostratigraphic and geographic zones, only one of which had significant impacts by chlorinated solvents.
  • Statistical analysis of the historical monitoring well data which showed that the concentrations within the well-field were decreasing naturally, without creating an area-wide Superfund site that would subject the area to stigma and economic harm.
  • Developed historical documentation to show that a number of nearby (and adjacent) properties had known and unaddressed CVOC contamination that could be migrating onto the CEG property.

As a result of this work, the IDEM has decided to withdraw their support for the listing of the site on the NPL. The decision regarding the potential NPL listing from the USEPA is still pending.

Confidential Client
Voluntary Remediation Program
Brookville, Indiana

image SMA conducted site investigations and groundwater sampling under the Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP) for a site in Brookville, Indiana that is impacted with trichloroethene (TCE). The site is in close proximity to private wells and the Whitewater River. The source area on-site has impacted the Whitewater River alluvium with TCE.

SMA has performed the following activities at the site:

  • Defined the nature and extent of TCE impacts on site within the unsaturated alluvial sediments.
  • Installed on-site and off-site groundwater monitoring wells to delineate the extent of TCE impacts in groundwater.
  • Worked with the Franklin County Water District to identify all groundwater users in the area around the site that could be impacted by TCE.
  • Worked with the client legal counsel to implement an area-wide groundwater Environmental Restrictive Ordinance (ERO) that will prohibit future groundwater use in the area of the site where TCE impacts are or may occur.
  • Calibrated a groundwater flow and solute transport model that simulates existing hydraulic conditions during operation of the process water wells at the site (which capture a significant portion of the TCE in groundwater) and then predicted the TCE transport to the Whitewater River in the event that the facility closes and the process water pumping stops.
  • Prepared and submitted a Site Investigation Report/Remediation Work Plan to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management that provided details of the site investigations and proposed remedial activities that would result in receiving a Covenant-Not-To-Sue for the site.

Anderson Redevelopment Commission Site
Remediation of the TCE Degreaser Source Area
Former GM Plant 7
U.S. EPA Region 5, RCRA Corrective Action
Anderson, Indiana

image The Anderson Redevelopment Commission (ARC) has hired SMA to complete the investigations to delineate/characterize the TCE source area and oversee the electrical resistance heating (ERH) remediation of the source area at the former General Motors (GM) Plant 7 site. This work is being performed to complete the obligations for the RCRA Corrective Action at the former GM site in Anderson, and is governed by a consent order with U.S. EPA Region 5 that requires the soil and groundwater remediation. ERH was selected as the remedial technology because of its ability to remediate fine-grained soils and saturated zone soils (below the water table) to low cleanup levels for chlorinated solvents, even when DNAPL is present. The negotiated clean-up objective for TCE in the soil is 15 mg/kg.

Specific activities which SMA has completed on the project include:

  • The horizontal and vertical delineation of the TCE source area to the cleanup objectives agreed to by U.S. EPA.The source area investigation resulted in an ERH treatment volume of over 15,000 cubic yards with an estimated 6,200 pounds of VOCs in the treatment area, the majority of which is TCE. This work is being performed in compliance with the U.S. EPA Region 5 model QAPP.
  • Developed a Request for Proposal (RFP) for ERH technology vendors and reviewed their bids to perform and guarantee the remediation of the source area to the cleanup objectives.
  • Contracted, managed the selected ERH contractor to perform the source area remediation.

Future SMA activities on the project include:

  • Confirmation sampling of the source area to ensure the ERH contractor has met the cleanup objective for TCE.
  • Subsequent groundwater monitoring after completion of the ERH project.
  • Successful demonstration of plume stability to U.S. EPA once the groundwater concentrations have met the cleanup objectives at the property boundary.

CBS Corporation Site
Indiana Voluntary Remediation Program Site
Madison, Indiana

image The Madison, Indiana site is a former bulk storage terminal that had a series of 20,000 to 50,000 gallon above ground tanks that primarily stored a variety of petroleum products and distillates. One tank was also used to store chlorinated solvents. On-loading and off-loading handling practices to these tanks resulted in releases of petroleum hydrocarbons, petroleum distillates, and chlorinated solvents at the site. The site is located along the Ohio River and is situated between two municipal water well fields that serve the City of Madison and a State Hospital. SMA reviewed previous reports generated by the prior consultants and devised a scope of work that would be used to define the limits of the source areas and developed a site conceptual model to obtain a better understanding of site subsurface transport processes.

SMA activities at the Site include:

  • Completion of the CVOC and petroleum hydrocarbon source area delineation activities.
  • Performed a cost evaluation of applicable remediation technologies.
  • Selected electrical resistance heating (ERH), solvent vapor extraction (SVE), and air-sparging.
  • Submitted an IDEM approved interim RWP, which contains a complete delineation of the CVOC occurrence at the site in soil and groundwater.
  • Performed soil and groundwater modeling to develop non-default soil migration to groundwater cleanup objectives for the site.
  • Remediated the CVOC source area soils through use of ERH of the fine grained over-bank deposits and SVE of the coarse grained alluvium.
  • The ERH portion of the remediation has been completed while the SVE remediation is still on-going.
  • To reduce the timeframe of the SVE remediation, this system has been supplemented with four air-sparge wells that increase the air movement in an area where the unsaturated alluvial sediments are relatively thin.
  • Additional investigations have been undertaken to address the non-chlorinated VOC impacts to the site soil and groundwater.
  • Submitted a final RWP to IDEM that contains a complete delineation of the non-chlorinated VOC impacts and proposes that no remedial measures are necessary as the non-chlorinated VOCs are not migrating off-site. The non-chlorinated VOC plume will be allowed to naturally attenuate without causing ecological damage to the Ohio River.

Former Norman’s Cleaners Site
Remediation of the PCE in Soil and Groundwater
California Regional Water Quality Board
Eureka, California

imageSMA personnel were hired by Environmental Business Solutions, Inc. (EBS) and West Environmental, Inc. (West) to help them remediate the former Norman’s Cleaner site in Eureka, California through use of electrical resistance heating (ERH). SMA’s role on the project has been to obtain the most cost effective and functional ERH design for the remediation of tetrachloroethylene (PCE) at the site. SMA was selected for design oversight due to the success of the previous 11 ERH projects that we have completed. SMA has worked closely with EBS/West and the ERH contractor to implement the ERH design.

The PCE releases at the facility have impacted subsurface soil and groundwater at the site and the groundwater has migrated beneath the street adjacent to the facility. The ERH system will remediate site soils and groundwater to the cleanup objectives. The ERH system is installed both on site and in the adjacent street to perform heating there. The ERH system has operation of the ERH system is on-going and the remediation is nearing completion.

SMA activities on the project include:

  • Provided technical oversight on the ERH system design.
  • Approved the final ERH design.
  • Oversight of the ERH installation and operation.
  • Development of the confirmation sampling plans.

Former Pest Control Storage Facility Site
IDEM RCRA Corrective Action
Hammond, Indiana

imageA Project Team managed by current SMA employees was retained by a confidential client to provide environmental services at their Hammond, Indiana facility. The Project Team was contacted in response to correspondence the client received from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) concerning an inspection of stored materials at their facility.

The client operates a small pest control company that had stored pesticide products in storage buildings on an adjacent property since the 1970s. During storage, the pesticide containers began to deteriorate, releasing material into the environment. Several pesticide containers and released materials were observed in the storage buildings during an IDEM inspection. Under an agreed order, IDEM declared the footprint of the storage buildings a Hazardous Waste Management Unit (HWMU) and requested that the unit be closed appropriately.

The SMA Project Team’s activities have included:

  • Directed and documented the removal and management of the pesticide materials contained in the storage buildings.
  • Developed and implemented a RCRA Closure Work Plan, including a Health & Safety Plan and Quality Assurance Project Plan.
  • Delineated the extent of soil contamination. The constituents of concern include organochlorine pesticides, pentachlorophenol, arsenic, cyanide, and lead.
  • Evaluated the groundwater quality and flow direction through monitoring well installation and sampling, and preparation of groundwater flow maps.
  • Collaboratively worked with legal counsel for the client and represented the client in conference calls and meetings with IDEM.
  • Negotiated with IDEM and the City of Hammond the closure of the HWMU through the installation of a cap, which also serves as a parking lot for the client’s employees, to prevent infiltration of surface water and leaching of the residual contaminants into groundwater. Prepared the cap design which was included in the RCRA Closure Plan submitted to and approved by IDEM.The cap was constructed between December 2014 and January 2015.
  • Negotiated an Alternate Concentration Limit (ACL) with IDEM for dissolved arsenic in groundwater at the site that is protective of the Grand Calumet River, the only exposure pathway.
  • Negotiated a two year plume stabilization monitoring period and a minimum two year plume stability demonstration monitoring period with IDEM, included in the Post-Closure Permit Application submitted in December 2015.
  • Currently in year two of the stabilization monitoring period.

Indiana Steel & Wire Company Site
Indiana VRP
Muncie, Indiana

imageSMA provides hydrogeologic oversight of soil and groundwater investigation and remediation activities for the former Indiana Steel & Wire (IS&W) facility site in Muncie, Indiana. The steel manufacturing of wire began at the IS&W facility in 1902 and continued in constant operation through 2004. In addition to steel wire fabrication the facility performed a variety of different types of metal plating operations. The plating operations included: electroforming, galvanizing and copper-cyanide plating. The facility also performed sodium cyanide heat treating. Widespread soil contamination had resulted from operations within multiple process units and sewer leaks, disposal into a pit, disposal into a former rock quarry, and disposal at three landfills on site. Extensive groundwater contamination of zinc, ammonia, chlorides, sulfates, cyanide, copper, fluoride, lead and nickel resulted from the releases at the operational units.

SMA work at the site has included:

  • Hydrologic modeling to evaluate the potential for scouring and adverse effects of closing the units in a floodplain.
  • Ecological risk assessment was performed to develop a list of closure options for a landfill and a quarry containing wastewater treatment sludge.
  • To prevent additional releases, approximately 50,000 linear feet of process sewer were lined.
  • Three landfills at the site that were open dumps at one time were capped and closed.
  • Groundwater characterization and development of a conceptual design for the groundwater remediation system using whole-site groundwater flow and solute transport modeling.
  • Designed and installed a groundwater containment system that consisted of 26 recovery wells and a treatment plant, which went on line in 1998 and has averaged between 2,200 and 600 pounds of zinc recovered per month (recovery has gone down over time).
  • Whole-site groundwater flow and solute transport model was also used to predict dewatering from beneath the plant building, and to develop surface water-derived groundwater protection standards under the risk assessment.
  • SMA submitted a 10-year Hydrogeologic Review Report to IDEM that analyzed the site and recommended that approximately one-half of the groundwater remediation system at the site should be shut down, which was approved by IDEM.
  • SMA is conducting on-going groundwater remediation activities at the site.

KS Gleitlager USA, Inc.
Site Indiana Voluntary Cleanup Program
Greensburg, Indiana

image In 2004, KS Gleitlager USA (f/k/a KS Bearings), hired SMA to take over the role as project manager and lead investigator for their site in Greensburg, Indiana. The site is enrolled in the Indiana Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP). The previous consultant working on the site had struggled to determine source areas of TCE contamination at the site, and was in the process of implementing remedial measures. Subsequent investigative work performed by SMA identified approximately seven separate source areas of PCE and TCE impacts to soil and groundwater. SMA also identified a large area of surficial lead impacted soil, and surficial hexavalent chromium impacts to a drainage area. The groundwater impacts by PCE and TCE were delineated across the site, and adjacent properties.All work at the site was performed pursuant to an Agreed Order with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM).

Other SMA activities at the site included:

  • Submitting an IDEM approved RWP for the site.
  • The RWP included the development of site-specific cleanup goals for the chlorinated VOCs in soil.
  • Developed soil remedial measures consisting of a combination of electrical resistive heating (ERH) and excavation.
  • Developed groundwater remedial measures consisting of injections of emulsified edible oil for five separate plumes.
Remedial measures for the soil were conducted over a 21 month period.All of the soil areas requiring remediation have met the negotiated clean-up objectives. Groundwater remedial measures are still being undertaken, and SMA is currently in the process of demonstrating plume stability for two of the five plumes. Additional groundwater sampling is still required at the remaining three plumes before plume stability can be demonstrated.

Met-Coil Systems, LLC
Illinois Site Remediation Program
Lisle, Illinois

image In December 2000, the Illinois EPA identified approximately 3,000 private residences that were potentially affected by a 3-mile long groundwater plume of chlorinated solvents from the Lockformer facility in Lisle, IL. In 2001, Ron St. John, SMA, was identified as the Project Coordinator for both the U.S. EPA 106 Order, and the Illinois EPA Consent Order that governed the investigation and remediation work at Lockformer. Investigation activities included defining the extent of soil and groundwater contamination related to releases on the Lockformer site; and identifying other sources of chlorinated solvent contamination in the Silurian Dolomite aquifer in the general area.

SMA activities at the Site included:

  • Oversight on the installation and operation of all remediation systems.
  • Remediation through use of an Electrical Resistive Heating (ERH) system and a Soil Vapor Extraction (SVE) system. The ERH system remediated 34,000 yds3 of unsaturated, silty clay, glacial till occurring in the upper 30 feet at the site. A lower sand and gravel unit occurring from 30 to approximately 55 feet in depth was remediated through use of a 6.5-acre SVE system.
  • An additional 5-acres of sand at the south end of the site was also remediated with SVE.
  • Expert witness and testimony throughout the litigation process.
  • Contaminant transport and degradation modeling.
As a result, U.S. EPA has concluded their involvement in the project, and issued a letter of completion for the 106 Order.Following completion of the remediation activities, SMA demonstrated that concentrations of trichloroethene remaining in the soil will not result in impacts at the downgradient property boundary above the Illinois EPA-approved site-specific groundwater remediation objectives that have been developed for the Site. Through the use of institutional controls and engineered barriers and after 15 years of investigation, remediation, and settlement of lawsuits, the Illinois EPA issued a No Further Remediation letter on February 19, 2016, meaning that the site no longer poses a threat to human health or the environment and the property can be used again beneficially without the fear of additional Illinois EPA enforcement actions.

Monarch Textile Rental Services, Inc. Site
Source Area Investigation / Soil and Groundwater Remediation
South Bend, Indiana

image SMA was retained by Monarch Textile Rental Services, Inc. (Monarch) to take over the extent of contamination investigations and remedial activities for their site in South Bend, Indiana. Based on the initial site investigations by SMA, two source areas of tetrachloroethene (PCE) contamination were identified.

SMA activities at the Site include:

  • Source area investigations at the location of the former dry cleaning operations.
  • Groundwater investigations to delineate the extent of groundwater impacts downgradient from the site.
  • Installation of monitoring wells, and collection of indoor air and sub-slab soil gas samples.
  • Designed and installed a soil vapor extraction (SVE) system to remove the VOCs from the unsaturated soils.
  • Completed vertical profiles and acquired multiple discreet groundwater samples from each boring location.
  • tire vertical saturated thickness of the aquifer and multiple discreet samples are collected from each well using Hydrasleeves®.
  • Demonstrated that complete anaerobic, reductive dechlorination of PCE to ethene/ethane and other mineralized end-products was occurring at the site (utilizing the petroleum hydrocarbon as a carbon source).
  • Obtained IDEM approval of full-scale implementation of a biological groundwater remediation system at the site to address DNAPL in the source area below the water table and the plume downgradient of it.
The SMA activities saved Monarch a considerable amount of money by avoiding the performance of an expensive pilot test and more importantly, the cost of implementing other remedial technologies in the source area that would like cost an order of magnitude more than the biological remediation. The biological injections were conducted in March/April 2016 and subsequent groundwater sampling has shown significant decreases in the concentrations of PCE and its breakdown products in the groundwater samples.

Northside Sanitary Landfill Site
National Priority List
Zionsville, Indiana

image The 61 acre Northside Sanitary Landfill began accepting waste in the 1960s and operated until 1991. It accepted municipal solid waste, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste, and other forms of commercial and industrial waste. The site is being remediated pursuant to a federal court Consent Decree entered in 1991, which mandates the remediation of 29 individual constituents of concern including volatile organic compounds, semi-volatile organic compounds and priority pollutant metals. SMA was hired to perform project coordinator activities and oversee all investigation and remediation activities at the site.

SMA activities on the Project include:

  • Operation and maintenance of a combined groundwater and landfill leachate (GW/L) collection system.The collection system currently produces approximately two million gallons of GW/L annually and was designed to assure leachate derived from the landfill does not migrate to Finley Creek, which is situated immediately downgradient.
  • Operation and maintenance of a constructed treatment wetlands (CTW) to treat GW/L on-site to remediation standards.The CTW consists of two parallel wetland cells totaling approximately two acres. Supplemental treatment infrastructure managed by SMA also includes an aeration/sedimentation lagoon, nitrifying sand beds, and two infiltration basins to manage treated GW/L.
  • Inspection and maintenance of the landfill infrastructure. Routine activities include annual grass mowing; removal of trees and shrubs as needed; cap inspection for frost damage; drainage system inspection and maintenance; erosion damage inspection and repair; perimeter fence inspection and maintenance; and surface water controls inspection.
  • Annual groundwater and landfill gas vent monitoring to assess the effectiveness of remedial activities and evaluate the lifecycle of the closed landfill.SMA is also responsible for validation of all laboratory derived analytical data produced at the site, and for semi-annual progress reporting to both the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

Former Scott Manufacturing
Source Area Investigation / Soil and Groundwater Remediation
Scottsburg, Indiana

image SMA was retained by The City of Scottsburg, Indiana to perform extent of contamination investigations and remedial activities at a Brownfields site formerly occupied by Scott Manufacturing. Based on the initial site investigations, several source areas of 1,1,1-trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA) contamination was identified.

SMA activities at the Site included:

  • Source area investigation and remediation.
  • Groundwater investigations to delineate the extent of groundwater impacts downgradient from the site.
  • Installation of monitoring wells, and performance of biological injections in order to remediate groundwater contamination.
  • In situ chemical oxidation technology was used to treat contaminated soils onsite, which were analyzed to confirm that remediation goals were met, and left in-place.
  • Quarterly groundwater sampling results revealed 1,1,1-TCA contamination in groundwater in multiple directions from the site.
  • Biological injections to remediate groundwater in/near the source area.
For two years, on a quarterly basis, groundwater samples were collected, and by August 2016 over 90% of the 1,1,1-TCA contamination in groundwater had been remediated.

Former MGP Site
Electrical Resistance Heating and Multiphase Extraction Pilot Test
Streator, IL

image The former manufactured gas plant (MGP) occupied approximately 4.2 acres in the southeast corner of the 12.8-acre property that is located along a major river. The operations of the former MGP facility has left the Site subsurface with contamination comprised of a wide range of chemicals formed during the incomplete combustion of coal, oil and gas. These compounds range from VOCs such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) to polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Subsurface impact includes pervasive soil contamination, impacted groundwater, as well as pools of concentrated NAPLs.

A series of past remediation efforts have occurred at the Site such as the removal of buried former MGP equipment, excavation of soils and the installation of a 2.3-acre clay engineered barrier. An interceptor trench was also constructed along the downgradient Site boundarywhere contaminated groundwater entering this trench is collected and pumped to an onsite treatment building.

SMA was retained to aide in the design, installation, operation, and maintenance of an ERH and MPE system that was used as a remediational feasibility pilot study for the site.

SMA activities on the pilot study consisted of:

  • Installation of ERH electrodes, temperature monitoring points, groundwater monitoring/sampling wells, and DNAPL measuring wells through the clay/silt overburden and into the bedrock which consists of sandstone and shale.
  • Operation and maintenance of the ERH electrode field which was used to heat the subsurface within the test area to over 100°C.
  • Operation and maintenance of the vapor/steam recovery system, which consisted of steam knock out tanks, vapor heat exchangers, granulated activated carbon vessels, and a thermal oxidizer.
  • Operation and maintenance of the liquid recovery system, which consisted of liquid heat exchangers, liquid knockout and holding tanks, and an oil-water separator.
  • Operation and maintenance of the LNAPL/DNAPL recovery system, which consisted of LNAPL vacuum stingers and DNAPL pumps.

Former RE Phelon Facility
Massachusetts Contingency Plan Cleanup
East Longmeadow, Massachusetts

The Carlin Combustion Technology, Inc. (Carlin) has manufactured a variety of furnace and boiler components from the late 1940’s to present at the East Longmeadow facility. From the late 1940’s to 1992, chlorinated solvents were used in degreasing operations in the facility to prepare parts for finishing. As part of due diligence for a property transfer in 2009, soil and groundwater sampling identified tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) impacts at the site. SMA was hired to perform project coordinator activities and oversee all investigations and remediation at the site. Activities at the site performed to date include:

  • Conducted multiple rounds of seasonal sub-slab soil gas sampling and indoor air sampling to demonstrate that safe working conditions existed for employees within the on-going Carlin manufacturing and office areas. The results of this work were approved by the buyers consulting representative. A subsequent risk assessment showed no threat to workers in the building and no mitigation system was required.
  • Did a review of the operational manufacturing history to identify possible areas where solvents could have been released to soil and groundwater. Did a well survey of commercial/industrial and residential well usage in the area surrounding the facility.
  • Performed a detailed source area location in soil and groundwater at the site that determined that nearly all of the PCE and TCE in groundwater at the site was the result of disposing of spills in a former drum storage area of the facility in an area along the south property line of the site.
  • Hydrogeologic conditions at the site have been defined and indicate that a surficial sand plain aquifer occurs across the area and to downgradient locations where groundwater discharges to a local brook. The water table occurs from about 5 to 7 feet in depth at the PCE/TCE source area and extends to a depth of 16 to 20 feet where an underlying glacial till occurs. The sand plain aquifer thickens downgradient of the source area toward the brook and is as much as 50 feet thick. SMA completed efforts to define the extent of groundwater PCE/TCE impacts downgradient of the site in the alluvial aquifer and in a deeper arkosic, metasediment bedrock aquifer. Both groundwater plumes extend to the brook approximately ½-mile away from the source area.
  • The area between the site and the brook is a mixture of commercial/industrial and residential properties. All the properties have had indoor vapor intrusion testing performed during winter and summer season conditions. Several commercial/industrial properties were excluded from having indoor exposure due to use of products within the facility that contained chlorinated solvents. One residence was determined to have indoor air concentrations in excess of the screening levels but subsequent risk assessment determined the values to not represent a condition requiring mitigation. Two commercial buildings did exhibit indoor vapors that required mitigation. Both buildings had multiple sub-slab collection points installed within the building perimeter and discharge blowers installed on the roof of the buildings. Subsequent indoor air monitoring at each of the commercial buildings where the mitigation systems have been installed have exhibited non-detectable concentrations of chlorinated solvents.
  • An extensive soil and groundwater characterization of the PCE/TCE source area was undertaken with the focus to provide sufficient data to assess cost options for remedial measures. A sizable area of dense, non-aqueous, phase liquid (DNAPL) was identified within the source area. A recovery program has been implemented to recover DNAPL.
  • A pilot test is currently being performed to evaluate the effectiveness of biological treatment as the sole treatment or a portion of the treatment for chlorinated solvent impacts in the source area and downgradient in groundwater.
  • SMA has performed a feasibility and cost estimate of applicable remedial options for the primary source area. The source area will remediated through installation of Waterloo Barrier™ through the unsaturated and saturated zone in the sand and the barrier will be seated into the underlying till. After installation of the Waterloo Barrier™ the source area will be dewatered down to the glacial till and soil vapor extraction (SVE) will be used in the sand within the source area to remediate the soils.