GRB Environmental Services, Inc. has significant experience in monitoring and investigating landfills in New York State and other States. GRB wrote the Fresh Kills Landfill Post Closure Monitoring Plan, one of the most complicated post closure monitoring programs in New York State. This program virtually covered all environmental aspects of landfill monitoring under 6 NYCRR Part 360 regulations as well as wetlands (fresh and salt water), ecosystems, and marine environment monitoring. Recently, GRB has been selected to provide landfill post closure monitoring and O&M services for the US Navy at their Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland. A 15-acre municipal landfill, that has been properly closed, is currently in the post-closure monitoring phase.
GRB Environmental Services, Inc. and its personnel (GRB) have worked on numerous other municipal and hazardous waste landfills throughout the New York in conformance with 6NYCRR Part 360 regulations and NYSDEC TAGMs including:
· Fresh Kills Landfill
· Brookfield Landfill
· Pennsylvania Avenue Landfill
· Fountain Avenue Landfill
· Edgemere Landfill
· Roslyn Beacon Hill Landfill
· Blydenburgh Landfill
· Old Ticonderoga Landfill
· Pelham Bay Landfill
· Town of Babylon Landfill
· Whitestown Landfill
· German Flatts, Illion, Mohawk Landfill
· Town of Salina Landfill
· Town of DeWitt Landfill
· Conklin Dump Landfill
· Amenia Landfill
· Northsea Landfill
New York City Department of Sanitation
GRB and its personnel have worked on 5 of the NYCDOS’s major landfills throughout the boroughs: Brookfield Landfill, Edgemere Landfill, Pennsylvania Avenue, Fountain Avenue, Fresh Kills Landfill, and Pelham Bay Landfill. GRB’s Richard Barbour and Rose Russo developed and implemented the hydrogeologic studies and monitoring programs at Fountain Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, and Edgemere Landfills in accordance with 6NYCRR Part 360 on behalf of the New York City Department of Sanitation.
The Edgemere Landfill is 173 acres and began operations 1938. At its peak it was receiving upwards to 900 tons per day. During the 1970s, waste oil was routinely disposed of at the site and used to control dust along roadways. Five thousand 55-gallon drums containing paint pigments and waste solvents were disposed at the site from local industries in one central area (stacked two high) at the site. The site is located on the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, NY and extends 3,200 feet into Jamaica Bay.
Fountain Avenue Landfill is a 297-acre site that began operations in 1961. At its peak, the site was receiving 9,500 tons-per-day of municipal and D&D wastes. The site lies adjacent to the Pennsylvania Avenue Landfill along the north-northwest shore of Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn. Through the 1970s the landfill received waste oil to control dust along the roadways.
GRB personnel installed monitoring wells and sampled groundwater, soils, landfill waste, surface water and sediment to characterize existing conditions at each of the landfills. A detailed hydrogeologic study was performed to ascertain site stratigraphy, hydrochemistry, sedimentation environment, hydrogeology, and soil cation exchange capacity. A flow net analysis was performed on each landfill to quantify vertical and horizontal leakage of landfill leachate. Leachate production and water balance issues were resolved by employing the HELP model. The HELP model is a quasi-two-dimensional hydrologic model of water movement over, into, through, and out of landfills. Mr. Barbour worked closely with Paul Schroeder (HELP model developer) because it was the first application of the model in a real world situation. To identify major leachate outcrop discharges from the landfills, an aerial thermal infrared photography study was flown in late December.
The Pennsylvania Avenue Landfill began operations in 1956 and received municipal and D&D wastes. Prior to closing in 1975, the landfill received only construction wastes between 1968 and 1974. During the early 1970s, the landfill received large quantities of PCB laced waste oil, reportedly upwards to 5 million gallons.
GRB personnel installed monitoring wells and sampled groundwater, soils, landfill waste, surface water and sediment to characterize existing conditions at each of the landfills. A detailed hydrogeologic study was performed to ascertain site stratigraphy, hydrochemistry, sedimentation environment, hydrogeology, and soil cation exchange capacity. A flow net analysis was performed on each landfill to quantify vertical and horizontal leakage of landfill leachate. Leachate production and water balance issues were resolved by employing the HELP model. The HELP model is a quasi-two-dimensional hydrologic model of water movement over, into, through, and out of landfills. Mr. Barbour worked closely with Paul Schroeder (HELP model developer) because it was the first application of the model in a real world situation. To identify major leachate outcrop discharges from the landfills, an aerial thermal infrared photography study was flown in late December. Thirty-two leachate seeps were identified along the shorelines of the three landfills.
Additionally for the Edgemere Landfill, GRB personnel were responsible for determining the regulatory requirements and preparation of required permit applications and supporting documents for landfill remedial closure design. GRB identified required regulatory actions (i.e., notices and permits, documentation, schedules) and their impacts on established project goals and compliance schedules set forth in the Remedial Action Plan. GRB prepared the following reports: 1) Regulatory Review Report, 2) Permit Application Technical Memorandum, and 3) a Regulatory Requirements Report.
Further, Mr. Barbour also developed and implemented the Edgemere RI/FS investigation including the interim remedial action requiring the excavation and disposal of 5,000 fifty-five gallon drums of hazardous paint sludges and solvent wastes from the landfill neck area.
NYSDEC Inactive Hazardous Waste Landfills
To date, GRB has performed 10 landfill studies for the NYSDEC at the following sites:
· Blydenburgh Landfill
· Old Ticonderoga Landfill
· Town of Babylon Landfill
· Whitestown Landfill
· German Flatts, Illion, Mohawk Landfill
· Town of Salina Landfill
· Town of DeWitt Landfill
· Conklin Dump Landfill
· Amenia Landfill
· Northsea Landfill
Nassau County Department of Public Works
For Nassau County DPW’s Roslyn Beacon Hill Landfill, Mr. Barbour of GRB prepared a Part 360 variance report for the closure of the 27-acre landfill. The report evaluated existing site conditions, and assessed and recommended variances to Part 360 closure requirements to properly close the landfill in a cost and environmental effective manner. Variance applied for included the following:
· Combining existing cover material and classifying it as a cap having equivalent leachate control measures as a Part 360 cap;
· Reducing slope requirement from 4% to 3%;
· Eliminating active landfill gas collection system;
· Eliminating landfill gas collection layer;
All recommendations provided in the report were accepted by the NYSDEC resulting in a 60% cost savings ($2 million) to Nassau County.
Fresh Kills Landfill
GRB is providing professional services to support the New York City Department of Sanitation for further operation improvements, permitting, closure, and long term monitoring of the Fresh Kills landfill. GRB is responsible for the following tasks: 1) Prepared the Post Closure Environmental Monitoring Program, 2) Identify all permits, certifications and notifications required for the successful permitting of the Fresh Kills Landfill. 3) Prepare a Regulatory requirements Report that will identify and discuss in detail the technical and administrative requirements for permit application, certification or notification required. 4) Establish a line of communication between permitting agencies and the NYCDOS in an effort to establish a professional rapport as it relates to permitting. 5) Meet key regulatory personnel who have technical and administrative influence over the permitting process. 6) To review and evaluate pertinent NYCDOS studies, reports, plans and databases to comprehensively ascertain current information and their suitability as supporting documentation for permit submittals. 7) Establish a permit document database. 8) Determine and recommend additional data gathering activities required to fill data gaps to support the preparation of permit applications and variances. 9) Prepare initial, revised and final permit applications and all supporting documentation, and 10) To track and respond to agency inquiries during agency permit reviews. GRB also prepared the SPDES long term monitoring program; performed a detailed review and comment on the EIS; and is providing overall quality assurance on technical documents to assure consistency and accuracy between all landfill studies.
Further, GRB played a key role in evaluating and developing the Fresh Kills end-use program that is currently under assessment.
Pennsylvania Avenue Landfill
The 110-acre Pennsylvania Avenue Landfill is a NYSDEC inactive hazardous waste site that was owned and operated by the New York City Department of Sanitation. During the 1970s, millions of gallons of PCB laced waste oil was reportedly illegally disposed at the site as a dust suppressant. GRB personnel were responsible for work plan development, remedial investigations, regulatory negotiations, and enforcement support. The work plan was designed to ascertain site hydrogeology which was complicated by the fact that the site was developed as a peninsula out into Jamaica Bay on tidal marsh deposits, the presence of C&D material, and the abundance of methane gas. Cut and/or fill landfill techniques were employed in the early stages of landfill development. Such activities created “windows” in the underlying confining tidal marsh deposits which provided a direct pathway of PCB laced leachate to recharge groundwater. The oil soaked leachate upwelled along the western shoreline and created an oil film on the surface of the water. GRB personnel performed a site reconnaissance and discovered that hard patches of oil soaked sediments developed along the shoreline and out into the Bay over a period of years from upwelling activities. An oil boom was placed in an effort to skim the oil film.
Numerous groundwater-monitoring wells were installed along the landfill boundary and shoreline. In order to characterize the presence of landfill mounding, several wells were installed in the center of the landfill, which consisted of 90 feet of waste material. The western central well installed at the landfill’s apex exhibited floating product, which was reminisce of the historic PCB waste oil applications. The placement of the central wells determined that an 11-foot leachate mound existed within the landfill that provided enough head to drive contaminants below the tidal marsh windows. These same wells were utilized for a tidal influence study to ascertain the landward extent the tides influenced groundwater flow beneath the landfill. The HELP model was employed to develop a water balance in an effort to characterize leachate generation which was the main concern for contaminate migration. The model was also used to develop conceptual landfill capping design. The modeling efforts of GRB personnel demonstrated that a 10-7cm/sec cap was required in order to effectively eliminate over 95% of the leachate and to essentially eradicate the presence of the leachate mound.
Old Ticonderoga Landfill
The Old Ticonderoga Landfill is a NYSDEC inactive hazardous waste site for which GRB performed a Phase 2 site investigation. The site is located in Essex County, New York and reportedly was originally a lead mine. The land parcel investigated occupied 50 acres. The site was used as a municipal waste landfill from the late 1950s to 1969. The owners also used the site to conduct a metal salvage business that accepted transformers containing PCBs. The PCB transformer oil was drained and burned on site. The main focus of the investigation was PCBs due to site history and the presence of large capacitors and transformers. Aroclor-1260 was detected in concentrations upwards to 1,400,000 ppb in site soils. Earlier testing showed evidence of Aroclor 1242 at a concentration of 590,000 ppb and Aroclor 1254 at 8,700,000 ppb. The data suggested that PCB’s had migrated off-site.
GRB performed the site investigation under a contract with the NYSDEC. GRB was responsible for the following:
· Work plan development and implementation,
· Air quality survey
· Radiation survey
· Geophysical survey
· Drilling, well installation and development
· The performance of a hydrogeologic investigation
· Groundwater, soil, surface water, and sediment monitoring
· Well survey
· Preparation of a site investigation report
GRB installed monitoring wells to develop a groundwater contour map in order to ascertain groundwater flow direction. Three wells were installed, developed, and surveyed. One round of groundwater samples were procured in accordance with the work plan, as well as 14 soil samples, five surface water and five sediment samples of a stream which traversed the site.
A micro-Roentgen radiation monitor (model RM-750) was utilized to perform the site wide radiation survey. Activity at the site varied from 1 to 60 microroentgens/hour, which was found to be elevated over background levels.
GRB Environmental Services, Inc. and its personnel (GRB) have worked on numerous other municipal and hazardous waste landfills throughout the New York in conformance with 6NYCRR Part 360 regulations and NYSDEC TAGMs including:
· Fresh Kills Landfill
· Brookfield Landfill
· Pennsylvania Avenue Landfill
· Fountain Avenue Landfill
· Edgemere Landfill
· Roslyn Beacon Hill Landfill
· Blydenburgh Landfill
· Old Ticonderoga Landfill
· Pelham Bay Landfill
· Town of Babylon Landfill
· Whitestown Landfill
· German Flatts, Illion, Mohawk Landfill
· Town of Salina Landfill
· Town of DeWitt Landfill
· Conklin Dump Landfill
· Amenia Landfill
· Northsea Landfill
New York City Department of Sanitation
GRB and its personnel have worked on 5 of the NYCDOS’s major landfills throughout the boroughs: Brookfield Landfill, Edgemere Landfill, Pennsylvania Avenue, Fountain Avenue, Fresh Kills Landfill, and Pelham Bay Landfill. GRB’s Richard Barbour and Rose Russo developed and implemented the hydrogeologic studies and monitoring programs at Fountain Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, and Edgemere Landfills in accordance with 6NYCRR Part 360 on behalf of the New York City Department of Sanitation.
The Edgemere Landfill is 173 acres and began operations 1938. At its peak it was receiving upwards to 900 tons per day. During the 1970s, waste oil was routinely disposed of at the site and used to control dust along roadways. Five thousand 55-gallon drums containing paint pigments and waste solvents were disposed at the site from local industries in one central area (stacked two high) at the site. The site is located on the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, NY and extends 3,200 feet into Jamaica Bay.
Fountain Avenue Landfill is a 297-acre site that began operations in 1961. At its peak, the site was receiving 9,500 tons-per-day of municipal and D&D wastes. The site lies adjacent to the Pennsylvania Avenue Landfill along the north-northwest shore of Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn. Through the 1970s the landfill received waste oil to control dust along the roadways.
GRB personnel installed monitoring wells and sampled groundwater, soils, landfill waste, surface water and sediment to characterize existing conditions at each of the landfills. A detailed hydrogeologic study was performed to ascertain site stratigraphy, hydrochemistry, sedimentation environment, hydrogeology, and soil cation exchange capacity. A flow net analysis was performed on each landfill to quantify vertical and horizontal leakage of landfill leachate. Leachate production and water balance issues were resolved by employing the HELP model. The HELP model is a quasi-two-dimensional hydrologic model of water movement over, into, through, and out of landfills. Mr. Barbour worked closely with Paul Schroeder (HELP model developer) because it was the first application of the model in a real world situation. To identify major leachate outcrop discharges from the landfills, an aerial thermal infrared photography study was flown in late December.
The Pennsylvania Avenue Landfill began operations in 1956 and received municipal and D&D wastes. Prior to closing in 1975, the landfill received only construction wastes between 1968 and 1974. During the early 1970s, the landfill received large quantities of PCB laced waste oil, reportedly upwards to 5 million gallons.
GRB personnel installed monitoring wells and sampled groundwater, soils, landfill waste, surface water and sediment to characterize existing conditions at each of the landfills. A detailed hydrogeologic study was performed to ascertain site stratigraphy, hydrochemistry, sedimentation environment, hydrogeology, and soil cation exchange capacity. A flow net analysis was performed on each landfill to quantify vertical and horizontal leakage of landfill leachate. Leachate production and water balance issues were resolved by employing the HELP model. The HELP model is a quasi-two-dimensional hydrologic model of water movement over, into, through, and out of landfills. Mr. Barbour worked closely with Paul Schroeder (HELP model developer) because it was the first application of the model in a real world situation. To identify major leachate outcrop discharges from the landfills, an aerial thermal infrared photography study was flown in late December. Thirty-two leachate seeps were identified along the shorelines of the three landfills.
Additionally for the Edgemere Landfill, GRB personnel were responsible for determining the regulatory requirements and preparation of required permit applications and supporting documents for landfill remedial closure design. GRB identified required regulatory actions (i.e., notices and permits, documentation, schedules) and their impacts on established project goals and compliance schedules set forth in the Remedial Action Plan. GRB prepared the following reports: 1) Regulatory Review Report, 2) Permit Application Technical Memorandum, and 3) a Regulatory Requirements Report.
Further, Mr. Barbour also developed and implemented the Edgemere RI/FS investigation including the interim remedial action requiring the excavation and disposal of 5,000 fifty-five gallon drums of hazardous paint sludges and solvent wastes from the landfill neck area.
NYSDEC Inactive Hazardous Waste Landfills
To date, GRB has performed 10 landfill studies for the NYSDEC at the following sites:
· Blydenburgh Landfill
· Old Ticonderoga Landfill
· Town of Babylon Landfill
· Whitestown Landfill
· German Flatts, Illion, Mohawk Landfill
· Town of Salina Landfill
· Town of DeWitt Landfill
· Conklin Dump Landfill
· Amenia Landfill
· Northsea Landfill
Nassau County Department of Public Works
For Nassau County DPW’s Roslyn Beacon Hill Landfill, Mr. Barbour of GRB prepared a Part 360 variance report for the closure of the 27-acre landfill. The report evaluated existing site conditions, and assessed and recommended variances to Part 360 closure requirements to properly close the landfill in a cost and environmental effective manner. Variance applied for included the following:
· Combining existing cover material and classifying it as a cap having equivalent leachate control measures as a Part 360 cap;
· Reducing slope requirement from 4% to 3%;
· Eliminating active landfill gas collection system;
· Eliminating landfill gas collection layer;
All recommendations provided in the report were accepted by the NYSDEC resulting in a 60% cost savings ($2 million) to Nassau County.
Fresh Kills Landfill
GRB is providing professional services to support the New York City Department of Sanitation for further operation improvements, permitting, closure, and long term monitoring of the Fresh Kills landfill. GRB is responsible for the following tasks: 1) Prepared the Post Closure Environmental Monitoring Program, 2) Identify all permits, certifications and notifications required for the successful permitting of the Fresh Kills Landfill. 3) Prepare a Regulatory requirements Report that will identify and discuss in detail the technical and administrative requirements for permit application, certification or notification required. 4) Establish a line of communication between permitting agencies and the NYCDOS in an effort to establish a professional rapport as it relates to permitting. 5) Meet key regulatory personnel who have technical and administrative influence over the permitting process. 6) To review and evaluate pertinent NYCDOS studies, reports, plans and databases to comprehensively ascertain current information and their suitability as supporting documentation for permit submittals. 7) Establish a permit document database. 8) Determine and recommend additional data gathering activities required to fill data gaps to support the preparation of permit applications and variances. 9) Prepare initial, revised and final permit applications and all supporting documentation, and 10) To track and respond to agency inquiries during agency permit reviews. GRB also prepared the SPDES long term monitoring program; performed a detailed review and comment on the EIS; and is providing overall quality assurance on technical documents to assure consistency and accuracy between all landfill studies.
Further, GRB played a key role in evaluating and developing the Fresh Kills end-use program that is currently under assessment.
Pennsylvania Avenue Landfill
The 110-acre Pennsylvania Avenue Landfill is a NYSDEC inactive hazardous waste site that was owned and operated by the New York City Department of Sanitation. During the 1970s, millions of gallons of PCB laced waste oil was reportedly illegally disposed at the site as a dust suppressant. GRB personnel were responsible for work plan development, remedial investigations, regulatory negotiations, and enforcement support. The work plan was designed to ascertain site hydrogeology which was complicated by the fact that the site was developed as a peninsula out into Jamaica Bay on tidal marsh deposits, the presence of C&D material, and the abundance of methane gas. Cut and/or fill landfill techniques were employed in the early stages of landfill development. Such activities created “windows” in the underlying confining tidal marsh deposits which provided a direct pathway of PCB laced leachate to recharge groundwater. The oil soaked leachate upwelled along the western shoreline and created an oil film on the surface of the water. GRB personnel performed a site reconnaissance and discovered that hard patches of oil soaked sediments developed along the shoreline and out into the Bay over a period of years from upwelling activities. An oil boom was placed in an effort to skim the oil film.
Numerous groundwater-monitoring wells were installed along the landfill boundary and shoreline. In order to characterize the presence of landfill mounding, several wells were installed in the center of the landfill, which consisted of 90 feet of waste material. The western central well installed at the landfill’s apex exhibited floating product, which was reminisce of the historic PCB waste oil applications. The placement of the central wells determined that an 11-foot leachate mound existed within the landfill that provided enough head to drive contaminants below the tidal marsh windows. These same wells were utilized for a tidal influence study to ascertain the landward extent the tides influenced groundwater flow beneath the landfill. The HELP model was employed to develop a water balance in an effort to characterize leachate generation which was the main concern for contaminate migration. The model was also used to develop conceptual landfill capping design. The modeling efforts of GRB personnel demonstrated that a 10-7cm/sec cap was required in order to effectively eliminate over 95% of the leachate and to essentially eradicate the presence of the leachate mound.
Old Ticonderoga Landfill
The Old Ticonderoga Landfill is a NYSDEC inactive hazardous waste site for which GRB performed a Phase 2 site investigation. The site is located in Essex County, New York and reportedly was originally a lead mine. The land parcel investigated occupied 50 acres. The site was used as a municipal waste landfill from the late 1950s to 1969. The owners also used the site to conduct a metal salvage business that accepted transformers containing PCBs. The PCB transformer oil was drained and burned on site. The main focus of the investigation was PCBs due to site history and the presence of large capacitors and transformers. Aroclor-1260 was detected in concentrations upwards to 1,400,000 ppb in site soils. Earlier testing showed evidence of Aroclor 1242 at a concentration of 590,000 ppb and Aroclor 1254 at 8,700,000 ppb. The data suggested that PCB’s had migrated off-site.
GRB performed the site investigation under a contract with the NYSDEC. GRB was responsible for the following:
· Work plan development and implementation,
· Air quality survey
· Radiation survey
· Geophysical survey
· Drilling, well installation and development
· The performance of a hydrogeologic investigation
· Groundwater, soil, surface water, and sediment monitoring
· Well survey
· Preparation of a site investigation report
GRB installed monitoring wells to develop a groundwater contour map in order to ascertain groundwater flow direction. Three wells were installed, developed, and surveyed. One round of groundwater samples were procured in accordance with the work plan, as well as 14 soil samples, five surface water and five sediment samples of a stream which traversed the site.
A micro-Roentgen radiation monitor (model RM-750) was utilized to perform the site wide radiation survey. Activity at the site varied from 1 to 60 microroentgens/hour, which was found to be elevated over background levels.