Case Studies
Brownfield Cleanup Program - Redevelopment and Certification
Situation
An 16,287 square foot piece of urban land comprised of adjoining 100 year old dilapidated buildings including a former dry cleaner situated in Manhattan was sitting unoccupied for numerous years. A developer wanted to purchase and redevelop the property; however, soil and groundwater contamination attributable to the former dry cleaner was identified during pre-purchase environmental investigations. The presence of perchloroethene (PCE) contamination prevented the property owner from selling and the owner could not afford to conduct the cleanup.
Solution
CA RICH worked with the developer and applied to the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) as a “Volunteer”. A BCP Volunteer is not responsible for remediating any off-site contamination. CA RICH expedited the BCP Application process and by the time the BCP Application was approved by NYSDEC, remediation had begun. This expedited submission by CA RICH enabled the developer to meet their own deadlines and receive the Certificate of Completion within a year from the time of acceptance. As the Property was fully-remediated under NYSDEC review, the developer also qualified for generous tax credits.
Preventative Maintenance Programs - Tenant Inspection Program
Situation
Our Client, a commercial landlord who owns multi-tenanted industrial and commercial properties, was concerned that certain tenant’s operations may have been polluting his property, exposing him to potential liability and extensive cleanup. He asked CA RICH to develop a preventative maintenance program to protect against unnecessary costs and the potential for pollution.
Solution
CA RICH developed a cost-effective multifaceted program incorporating education, inspection and reporting. Targeted tenant properties were initially assessed to determine their processes, chemical usage, waste disposal habits, current permits, and fire safety procedures. Each business was then given a customized report citing critical needs with a specific list of necessary materials and where they could be obtained. Annually, each tenant receives an unannounced visit to check on adherence and maintenance.
This landlord has enjoyed a noticeable improvement in tenant housekeeping practices overall, since the tenants are aware they are being monitored. Tenants with poor practices have left and been replaced. This particular program was designed to be treated as a common area maintenance (CAM) charge, similar to landscaping and snow removal. In addition, when the landlord recently refinanced one of these multi-tenanted buildings, the lender’s Phase I assessment requirement was waived due to CA RICH’s ongoing Environmental Maintenance Program.
Voluntary Cleanup Program
Situation
A Municipality had undertaken a Voluntary Cleanup with the State of New York a number of years earlier for a site designated for industrial uses. Ultimately, the Buyer (redeveloper) included food services, which required modifications to the original Remedial Action Plan. Because the buyer was eager to close the deal, the work needed to be expedited.
Solution
In situations like this there are multiple reviewing authorities, including State Environmental and Health Departments, each of which need to approve the Remedial Action Plan and its execution. In addition, during the work, contaminated soils related to the removal of underground storage tanks were discovered, which involved the County Health Department. To expedite the project, CA RICH’s Project Manager emphasized continued communications with each level of governing authority, thus ensuring they were fully aware of the progress, had clear expectations and requirements, and received complete documentation. This effectively reduced the amount of double-checking each agency would typically have needed, speeding their review and issuance of a “No Further Action” letter. In addition, CA RICH recognized that the disposal of hazardous waste could be treated as a capital improvement and filed the necessary paperwork to save the Client 7 1/4% tax on the job cost.
Groundwater Management Program - Multiple Audiences with Multiple Agendas
Situation
An affluent community, experiencing a real estate development boom, wanted to develop an aquifer map that would help planning authorities revise zoning to protect and preserve their future water resources. The Planning Board and Engineer, as well as numerous local citizens became keenly interested in the project, thus raising its profile publicly.
Solution
During the discovery process, CA RICH recognized early on that although the Town had asked for a specific scope and solution, it really needed a more comprehensive review to meet their goal of guiding their future development. In addition to mapping their aquifers and sensitive areas for water resource purposes, there was a need to know the future availability of water, the impact of existing and planned developments, the status of existing water sources, potential threats to sustainable potability of those sources, the extent of ‘capture zones’ around municipal well fields to ensure future spills could be addressed in an emergency fashion, and the feasibility of setting aside open space areas to protect both sensitive recharge areas and underlying groundwater resources for many years to come.
Using existing documentation, CA RICH performed surveys to identify problems with existing wells. The Town was then divided into four sections, showing areas that could support additional development, those that could not support additional development, areas where there was not enough water to support existing infrastructures and recommendations on supplementing the existing water supply. Armed with this documentation, the Town negotiated a supply of new water from a private entity that owned a major property, supplementing the existing water deficiencies identified by the development plan proposals under consideration.
Litigation Support - Tax Certiorari & Expert Witness
Situation
CA RICH’s client owned contaminated property requiring a multi-year cleanup. The Town offered a tax reduction due to the reduced property value for one calendar year; however, our client deserved a multi-year deduction.
Solution
Working with the client’s attorney, CA RICH provided expert testimony to show that the property had been degraded at the beginning of the project, and each subsequent year until the project would be completed, at which point the original assessed value would be reinstated. The case was settled by the Appellate Court in favor of our client, the property owner, and this ruling set a referenced benchmark standard for future Tax Certiorari cases nationwide.
Remediation Services - Dry Cleaner -- New solution to old problem
Situation
A Dry Cleaner hired CA RICH to clean up the soil and the contaminated groundwater flowing beneath their property. CA RICH used a conventional cleanup technology – air sparging and soil vapor extraction – to address the problem. Most of the site responded positively, but one location continued to show contamination despite repeated applications.
Solution
CA RICH recommended injecting a chemical oxidant, permanganate, into the location. Although permanganate had been used for several years in the wastewater industry, it had limited trials in subsurface applications. While the owners were amenable, regulatory agencies expressed concern with an unproven technology in a populated residential suburban area that relied upon groundwater resources for drinking water purposes. CA RICH put together an education packet using case studies and vendor literature to convince the regulatory agencies that the technique would work without harming the surrounding ground water quality. This prescription, permanganate injection, effectively destroyed the contaminant in-place.
Real Property Transfers -- Remediation Work Resulting in Closure Letters
Situation
On many occasions, CA RICH is retained to assist in assessing, appraising and, if needed, remediating compromised real estate to complete a pending transaction. For example, CA RICH was hired through a seller’s attorney to clean storm drains and pools on a property being vacated. After the tenant moved his equipment, a dozen cesspools were discovered that required remediation. Due to specific financing requirements, the closing had to occur almost immediately, and the property had to be clean.
Solution
CA RICH was able to quickly source cleanup equipment to clean and test the pools within one day. The sample passed applicable standards and the sale was able to proceed.
Remediation in an Occupied Residential Building
Situation
One of the most prestigious real estate organizations in the northeast called upon CA RICH to expedite an investigation and hopefully mitigate mysterious intermittent oil seepages into the basement of one of their high-rise residential properties in Manhattan. The suspected source of the leak was an exterior buried tank vault located beneath an adjoining sidewalk, containing #6 heating oil, also called “black honey”. This type of heating oil is especially difficult to clean because of its thick, viscous, gooey nature. Not surprisingly, the Tenant Corporation demanded the least amount of disruption to this fully occupied and active, prestigious building.
Solution
CA RICH recommended design and installation of a unique interior oil recovery system to operate in-situ in the building’s deep sub-basement. The system incorporated dual-phase extraction equipment, combined with steam injection to thin the exterior oil, with a surfactant application to eliminate the dissolved component. To avoid disrupting the residents, system components were assembled inside the building, rather than placed in a typical pre-fabricated form. In an innovative step, CA RICH injected steam heat from the building’s heating system during off-peak hours to help mobilize the oil, at 9 different locations beneath the foundation. Once sufficient No. 6 oil product had been thinned and removed, the interior walls were sealed and the spill declared closed by both State and City regulatory agencies.
Air Testing of Commercial Buildings following 9/11
Situation
The dust cloud generated during the catastrophic collapse of the former World Trade Center and the buried fires that continued to smolder caused many local area businesses and residents to become increasingly concerned about air quality. CA RICH was called upon to evaluate the quality of indoor air and the adequacy of interior cleaning inside several privately-owned buildings in close proximity to Ground Zero. CA RICH was then asked to develop and determine an appropriate testing program to evaluate the indoor air quality at five mixed-use commercial properties that were in various stages of tenant reoccupation. The specifically-designed sampling protocols included testing for asbestos, volatile & semi-volatile classes of organics, dust, mercury, PCBs, lead, and carbon monoxide.
Solution
CA RICH immediately mobilized three OSHA-trained air sampling crews to collect interior and exterior (ambient) air samples, both at street level and up on building rooftops for background purposes. In this case, parameter detections were all below the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommended indoor air quality levels for the tested parameters. Note: typically, for indoor air in commercial office buildings, CA RICH utilizes OSHA permissible exposure limits (PELs) divided by a safety factor of 10. Based upon this approach, the indoor air quality in the tested spaces was found to be within acceptable parameters for occupant re-entry. In addition, the asbestos air sample results, when compared to EPA’s Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) regulation of 70 fibers per square millimeter, were all found to be far below this guidance level.
The initial review and design of the recommended sampling protocols, as well as implementation of the air tests, laboratory analyses, quality control, and reporting to the Client were all expedited and completed within six weeks after 9/11.