Northwest Environmental LLC of Rockaway, N.J., achieved success with Mayrich Construction Corp., Soil Safe Inc. and TRC Solutions Inc. on a first-of-a-kind soil disposal project between a Brownfield mixed-use real estate project and the Ferry Point Park project just minutes away in Bronx, N.Y. A Brownfield site is land that was previously used for industrial purposes or certain commercial uses that may contain contaminants but has potential to be reused once cleaned up.
The mixed-use real estate project located on the corner of 161st Street and Courtland Avenue is just a few blocks from the new Yankee Stadium. The development will consist of 323 apartments, a parking garage, and retail and office space. Approximately 40,000 tons (36,287 t) of soil had to be removed at this site in order for the new foundation to be constructed. Project managers concluded that hauling the soil to the Ferry Point Park site, a few minutes away would save time and money opposed to hauling the soil out of state.
Before soil could be removed, environmental scientists conducted an initial Phase II environmental site investigation. During this investigation, groundwater and soil samples were collected and to assess the subsurface conditions. Because of this outcome, the independent environmental monitor (IEM), who is hired by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, rejected the soil because it initially did not meet their soil acceptance protocol for Ferry Point. The IEM is a third party environmental monitoring and testing company that oversees the soil testing process and has the power to approve or reject soil being tested for Ferry Point.
The Ferry Point Park project, located next to the Whitestone Bridge and East River, has been accepting specific soil from local contractors in order to build a public world–class 18-hole golf course. TRC Solutions, an engineering, consulting, and construction management firm that provides integrated services to the environmental, energy, infrastructure and real estate markets, is heading the Ferry Point Park project in conjunction with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. TRC is working with the IEM to ensure that the soil sampling and analytical protocol is in compliance with the facility’s permit. The NYC Department of Parks and Recreation along with the IEM has very precise and tight regulations on what soil can be used for the project and have never accepted soil from a Brownfield site until now.
Soil Safe, a turnkey soil recycling and testing company located in Logan Township, N.J., along with Northwest Environmental, was brought into the project by Mayrich Construction Company to coordinate the site management and retest the soil. Mayrich Construction is handling the excavating, shoring and pouring of the concrete foundation forms for the project.
“We were hired to not only retest the soil but to find the best alternative solutions for the soil disposal,” said Jim Grant, program director of Soil Safe.
During the retesting phase and with strict oversight from TRC, Soil Safe developed a very specific, detailed custom test plan to delineate the exact soils onsite.
“This is a first of a kind test plan and was only used on the soil that had an indication it would be accepted by Ferry Point,” said Grant. “The first soil tests showed contamination in certain lots and we were not required to retest that section. Our goal was to show the IEM that the clean soil did in fact meet Ferry Point’s soil protocol.”
Soil Safe developed the custom test plan for the clean soil within a month and received approval by the IEM.
“I was able to work very closely with TRC in developing the test plan,” said Grant. “This ensured that all of the specific requirements were outlined in the plan and that we wouldn’t be wasting anyone’s time throughout the approval process.”
Soil Safe and Northwest were then allowed to conduct the soil sampling event. The soil sampling event consisted of advancing test pits to visually characterize the soil and to collect waste classification soil samples at the site that will later be analyzed in a lab to determine if the soil is acceptable for Ferry Point. The analytical results showed that the material sampled from specific designated lots was acceptable for the Ferry Point Park site.
“We made the entire testing process completely transparent,” said Grant. “This transparency allowed all parties involved to monitor every part of the testing process, which kept us on the same page throughout the project.”
The IEM approved the acceptance of approximately 20,000 tons (18,143 t) of suitable material into Ferry Point. The other 20,000 yd. (18,288 m) of contaminated soil will be transported to Soil Safe or an alternate facility for proper disposal.
“All material managed by Northwest was taken to either Soil Safe or Ferry Point for disposal,” said Josh Jackson, vice president of Northwest Environmental.
“The testing and approval process was the first hurdle, the second hurdle was getting the material to the proper locations,” said Grant. “Northwest was already in the loop and was able to start the site management and hauling services as soon as we had approval.”
Northwest is providing site management services to ensure each truck is receiving correct material.
“We had 34 trucks the first few days of the project and have two different loading areas,” said Chris Scalero, project manager of Northwest Environmental. “One loading area is for the clean soil, the other is for contaminated soil. These two segregated lots need to be monitored to ensure there is no cross contamination.”
Northwest’s site management service protects its clients from liability soil misplacements. Each truckload of material is required to have a manifest that both the driver and the facility/project manager sign, ensuring that the material is placed at the correct facility or project.
“The manifest for this project had to be approved by a number of parties to make sure everyone was on the same page,” said Scalero.
“These types of projects take a tremendous amount of coordination between all of the parties involved, especially when you’re working in an urban area like the Bronx,” said Grant. “Northwest took a difficult site management situation and made it manageable. Their knowledge and expertise made it happen on the job site.”
With the success of this project, Northwest and Soil Safe are looking forward to their next challenging job.
“We formed a great relationship with TRC and the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, and were able to save the project a substantial amount of time and money with this strategy,” said Jackson.
Northwest consists of a qualified and educated team of professionals ranging from civil engineers to environmental soil engineers. These professionals provide services such as site management, soil sampling, creation of sampling plans and in-house data analysis, to name a few.
Northwest Environmental focuses on environmental soil remediation and provides a number of construction and environmental services such as soil/media removal, excavation protection systems, onsite remediation, consolidation, containment and capping, groundwater collection systems, UST remediation among others. Northwest has the capability and expertise to handle contracts of any size and complexity.
For more information, call 973/784-4655 or visit www.northwestnj.com.
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