PROJECTS
REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS WE’VE DONE
FUEL BLENDING FACILITY SPCC PLAN REVISIONS AND UPGRADE, HOUSTON, TEXAS
WA revised and upgraded a Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) plan for a small fuel blending facility located within a larger bulk fuel storage facility. WA conducted a regulatory compliance analysis of the prior SPCC plan and found deficiencies relative to documentation of storage and pumping equipment and product flow lines, as well as incorrect descriptions of the local drainage features to where regulated products would flow in the event of a release. Improvements to site placarding and emergency response notification were also implemented. WA upgraded drawings to provide greater clarity on probable release points and release flow paths for emergency response personnel.
VAPOR BARRIER AND METHANE VENT SYSTEM FOR HIGH-RISE APARTMENT BUILDING, HOUSTON, TEXAS
WA designed a vapor barrier and methane vent system embedded within the foundation system of a new high-rise apartment building in downtown Houston. The site was a Leaking Petroleum Storage Tank (LPST) site under the authority of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Long-term monitoring of the site indicated that hydrocarbon levels had naturally attenuated to below TCEQ acceptable concentrations, yet there still existed a biogenic methane plume in the subgrade that developed as a result of anaerobic bacteria metabolic breakdown of hydrocarbons. TCEQ granted closure but stipulated in the closure certificate that a vapor barrier/gas vent system was required for construction of structures over the plume. WA is conducting post-construction monitoring for methane emissions.
GALVESTON INCINERATOR ASBESTOS ABATEMENT AND DEMOLITION CONSULTING, GALVESTON, TEXAS
WA provided asbestos abatement and demolition consulting to the City of Galveston for a Post-Ike Recovery project funded by the General Land Office through HUD CDBG funding. The project consisted of pre-demolition asbestos abatement and demolition of a municipal waste incinerator that was severely damaged and structurally unstable from normal weathering exacerbated by Hurricane Ike. WA conducted asbestos inspection and testing services and was part of the City’s review committee for evaluating contractors’ bids. WA worked with City personnel, the City’s engineering consultant, and the selected contractor to develop an abatement and demolition plan that was compliant with OSHA confined space entry regulations, Texas Department of State Health Services abatement regulations, and EPA asbestos fiber emissions regulations. WA provided abatement monitoring services.
GAS PIPELINE HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILL DESIGN, QUANTITATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT, CONTINGENCY PLANNING, AND PERMITTING, CHAMBERS AND HARRIS COUNTIES, TEXAS
WA put together a team of Subject Matter Experts (SME) for design, quantitative risk assessment, contingency planning, and Section 408 permitting for four horizontal directional drill (HDD) projects for new gas pipelines crossing the Trinity River and the Houston Ship Channel. The SMEs consisted of civil and geotechnical engineers, pipeline engineers, risk assessors, drillers, geologists, and environmental compliance specialists. WA developed the contingency plans and Corps 408 permits and assisted with providing input parameters to the risk assessor for the quantitative risk assessment (QRA). The QRA method had never been applied to the design and construction phases of an HDD project and was a significant improvement over qualitative risk assessments in that the overall design and construction program risks were expressed in potential dollars lost rather than subjective qualifiers, such as high, medium, or low risk. WA provided project tracking, documents control and quality assurance review, and team coordination services.
HOUSTON AIRPORT SYSTEMS
In concert with RS&H, WA is executing various Houston Airport Systems (HAS) environmental projects and providing consulting services for development programs at Bush, Hobby, and Ellington Airports. Projects include Phase I and II ESAs, Affected Property Assessment Reports, TCEQ Self Implementation Notices, Remedial Action Plans, Municipal Setting Designations, remedial action monitoring, and proposed water plant upgrades. WA is providing coordination between various parties on behalf of HAS and RS&H, including Houston Public Works and Engineering Department, Houston Brownfields Redevelopment Program, TCEQ, end-user airline companies, and other engineering and consulting firms providing services to HAS and the airlines. WA is directing drilling, soil and groundwater sampling, analytical testing, and regulatory analysis tasks as part of these programs and providing technical consultation to civil design firms with respect to the impacts of the environmental issues on their design and construction approaches and schedules.
PROPOSED PLEASURE ISLAND BEACHFRONT PARK WETLANDS DELINEATION, PORT ARTHUR, TX
WA conducted the wetlands delineation of a 65-acre, tidally-influenced marsh adjacent to Sabine Lake, portions of which are being considered for development into a beachfront park. WA provided cost estimates for procurement of wetlands bank functional credit units to assist the City of Port Arthur with strategic planning and will provide the Corps 404 permitting services.
DISASTER RECOVERY ENVIRONMENTAL SUPPORT SERVICES
WA is currently supporting various State, County, and Local public agencies with consulting for disaster recovery projects, including: (1) Waste Incinerator Asbestos and Demolition Consulting Services; (2) Airport Wastewater Treatment Plant Asbestos and Lead-Based Paint Surveys; (3) Water Plant Phase I and II ESAs, Asbestos and Lead-Based Paint Surveys and Abatement Plans, and Indoor Organic Vapor Survey; (4) Utility Corridor Improvements Phase I and II ESAs; (5) Multiple Census Tracts Phase I and II ESAs; and (6) Housing Authority Environmental Review Records (ERR).
Beside these projects, WA personnel have executed disaster recovery NEPA studies, wetlands delineations and salt marsh degradation surveys, threatened and endangered species surveys, a stream condition assessment, historical / cultural / archaeological surveys, a FEMA debris removal project, Corps 404 permitting, and interagency coordination.
CITY OF LEAGUE CITY ROBINSON BAYOU DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS
WA personnel supported Huitt-Zollars and the City of League City with wetlands mitigation monitoring of the Robinson Bayou mitigation plantings, developing the 2017 mitigation monitoring report for submission to the Corps of Engineers. WA personnel conducted and/or developed the wetlands delineation and hydrogeomorphic modeling, stream condition assessment, hist/cult survey, T&ES survey, wetlands mitigation plan, Corps 404 permitting, and mitigation monitoring. The project involved bank stabilization and channel redesign to minimize erosion potential through placement of gabions, rip rap, timber pile walls, and geotextiles; expansion of an erosional undercut into a velocity dissipation pool; and construction of wetlands. WA personnel worked closely with civil design and geotechnical engineers for development of the comprehensive remedial program.
ROBINSON BAYOU BEFORE
ROBINSON BAYOU AFTER