Applied Environmental’s Environmental Compliance Services have been developed to provide compliance support to government, industry, commercial, and institutional clients across the spectrum of regulations. Our individually tailored project approach enables our clients to effectively manage complex regulatory compliance issues that pertain to their operations. Our Environmental Compliance Services will assist in developing, implementing and maintaining effective environmental programs and procedures to achieve compliance goals.
Our Environmental Compliance Services Include:
- Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures Plans (SPCC),
- Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP),
- National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Assessments,
- Environmental Policy Review and Development,
- Natural Resources Management Plans,
- Multi-media Audits, and
- Environmental Audits.
Applied Environmental conducts various Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) as part of the due diligence process to evaluate environmental risk and potential liability associated with property transactions. Our environmental staff have conducted over 1,500 assessments for various property types from undeveloped raw land to developed commercial and industrial properties in accordance with the latest American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards.
Our Environmental Site Assessment Services include:
- Phase I ESAs
- Modified Phase I ESAs
- Transaction Screen Assessments (TSAs)
- Environmental Risk Reviews
- Phase II ESAs
- Peer Review Services
- Vapor Intrusion Assessments
- Government File Review Services
Phase I Environmental Site Assessments
A Phase I ESA is an environmental assessment performed of a property to assess the environmental liability. The Phase I ESA will allow the purchaser or lender to make an informed business decision as to the potential environmental risk associated with the transaction of the property. Our Phase I ESAs adhere to the ASTM Standard Practice E1527-13 and the All Appropriate Inquiry (AAI) 40 CFR Part 312 rule.
Modified Phase I Environmental Site Assessments
Applied Environmental’s Modified Phase I ESA is an environmental assessment performed of a parcel of land that is tailored to meet the client’s needs. The Modified Phase I ESA includes the standard Phase I ESA as required by ASTM Standard Practice E1527-13 or AAI, but also may include non-scope items such as sampling for asbestos-containing materials (ACMs), lead-based paint (LBP), radon, mold, or soil and groundwater samples from the property.
Transaction Screen Assessments
A Transaction Screen Assessment (TSA), also known as a Transaction Screen Process (TSP) is an environmental screening assessment typically performed on presumed low environmental risk properties. Our TSAs are performed in general accordance with ASTM Standard Practice E1528-14. A TSA is conducted in a due diligence style format where a screening process is used to identify the presence or absence of visible environmental concerns during a checklist inspection of the property. A TSA can be used to identify potential environmental risks, and is a prudent business practice to help safeguard the property owner. It should be noted that a TSA is not intended to provide the user of the report Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Liability Protection, which only a Phase I ESA can provide.
Environmental Risk Review
An Environmental Risk Review (ERR) is a review of available government databases for documented records of potential environmental risks associated with a property or any adjoining and neighboring properties of potential environmental concern in the immediate site vicinity. Applied Environmental performs ERRs on properties that the client has identified, and provides our professional opinion on the environmental risk level for the property in review. This opinion will either be listed as a Low or Elevated environmental business risk. Following the ERR, the client can make an informed decision on whether to perform a Phase I ESA on the property if an elevated risk is present.
Phase II Environmental Site Assessments
A Phase II ESA is a site and context specific environmental site assessment performed on a property that has a perceived or elevated chance of having environmental contamination. A Phase II ESA may also be required when a Phase I ESA indicates there is a “recognized environmental condition” (REC) on a property. Applied Environmental’s assessment approach in performing a Phase II ESA is to generate sound and objective information sufficient to satisfy the goal of the client, and help the client identify; is there contamination, and at what level, can it be cleaned up or remediated, and what is the potential cost for cleanup. Our Phase II ESAs implement a scientifically sound approach to evaluate possible areas of concern of substances including, but not limited to those within the scope of CERCLA, petroleum products, and controlled or regulated substances and constituents. Our Phase II ESAs are performed in general accordance with ASTM Standard E1903-97. In addition, guidance from the U.S. EPA and local and state environmental agencies are also observed in defining the scope of work for a Phase II ESA investigation.
Peer Review Services
Applied Environmental’s peer review services analyze previously performed environmental reports that may include Phase I ESAs, Phase II ESAs, TSAs, Corrective Action Plans (CAPs), Project Specifications, Abatement Plans, Proposals, Work Plans, etc., to assess the level of completeness of the document, and if it properly addresses any potential environmental concerns associated with the property, current and past operations, and the neighboring site vicinity, as appropriate for the type of document reviewed. Upon review of the document, we provide a written professional opinion if the document adequately address the environmental concerns of the property, and meets the client’s goals.
Vapor Intrusion Assessments
Applied Environmental’s vapor intrusion assessments are typically performed on properties that have an elevated chance of having a vapor impact from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the current or historical use of the property, or from the neighboring properties of concern. Vapor intrusion occurs when VOCs migrate from contamination in the soil or groundwater that infiltrate into a building’s interior space. These migrating vapors can pose a potential health risk to the occupants of the building, especially to populations such as children, pregnant women, and people with sensitivity to chemicals. Properties that have a historical use as gasoline filling stations, service stations, dry cleaners, auto body shops, printing shops, and industrial manufacturing activities have elevated chances of vapor encroachment conditions. Any property can be impacted from vapor encroachment that is in a direct path of the migrating contaminants. There are a large number of factors that influence the level of VOCs that may build up in indoor air as a result of vapor intrusion, and Applied Environmental has the experience necessary to help the client identify the potential source of vapors, and advise corrective remedial actions. Based on the property conditions, Applied Environmental will design a scope of work that will evaluate the vapor concerns on the property. This investigation may include a combination of installed sub-slab or exterior vapor points, and the collection of ambient air samples of indoor space. Following the analysis of the vapor air samples, Applied Environmental will prepare a report on the current property conditions, the levels of vapors identified on the property, and to recommend abatement measures to address any vapor concern at the property.
Government File Review Services
Applied Environmental performs government file review services for clients that are in need of a available environmental file records review for a property. A property that has a regulatory file at a state agency may indicate that it currently or historically had potential environmental concerns or conditions present. Obtaining and reviewing these files can shed light on current or historical environmental conditions on the property. Applied Environmental services include contacting the appropriate state agency, obtaining records and documents, reviewing the documents, providing a summary of the review, and our written professional opinion on the current environmental concerns of the property.
Naturally Occurring Asbestos (NOA) is a mineral group found in certain geologic rock and soil types in the United States. Asbestos is a generic term defined by the EPA as six naturally occurring silicate minerals that have asbestiform fibrous characteristics and are resistant to heat and corrosion. NOA is most commonly found in three rock types: serpentinites, metamorphosed ultramafic rocks, and certain mafic rocks that fall into two mineral groups, serpentinite and amphiboles. The six NOA minerals include chrysotile (serpentinite), and the amphiboles; amosite, crocidolite, anthophyllite, tremolite, and actinolite. NOA is considered harmless in its natural state; however, when NOA-bearing soil or rock is disturbed by human activities, asbestos fibers can be released into the environment.
NOA occurrences are concentrated in the eastern and western United States. In Virginia, NOA can be found in 24 counties. The most concentrated NOA is found in Fairfax County that has been mapped in approximately 11 square miles. Here NOA-bearing rock is typically found in the Green Stone Rock of the Piney Branch Complex Formation that underlie the Orange Soils Group. Any disturbance of this material has an elevated chance of asbestos fibers being released into the environment, and becoming airborne. In the Blue Ridge Mountains, NOA is typically found in bands of metamorphosed ultramafic rock formations that are found in portions of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia.
Applied Environmental has extensive experience in evaluating and assessing properties and projects with an elevated chance of exposure to natural asbestos.
Our Naturally Occurring Asbestos Services Include:
- NOA Property Screening Evaluations,
- NOA Sample Collection and Analysis,
- Fairfax County, Virginia NOA Compliance Plans (Air Monitoring and Trends Analysis Directives 1 and 2),
- NOA Monitoring Plans, and
- NOA Mitigation Plans.
If you suspect that NOA may be present at your project site, have been notified by a government agency, or have determined that you lie within an NOA mapped region, Applied Environmental can assist you with to assess the potential of asbestos on your property, or the preparation of a NOA Compliance Plan per health department requirements
Applied Environmental’s underground storage tank (UST) team specializes in evaluating the compliance of UST systems with current federal, state, and local regulations. At properties where UST status is unknown, our team can provide non-invasive subsurface locating services through the use of ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electromagnetic induction (EM) surveys. We also provide management and oversight of UST upgrades, removals, and installations as well as required post-removal regulatory sampling and reporting.
Our team can provide emergency abatement services in response to contamination including removal and disposal of soil, groundwater, and free product. At the direction of the state regulatory agency, we can provide site characterization services including soil boring installations, completion of groundwater monitoring wells, soil and groundwater sampling, sensitive receptor surveys, and regulatory reporting. Our corrective action services include the evaluation, installation, and implementation of appropriate remedial technologies for site cleanup. Our team has extensive experience in interacting with state regulatory agencies and obtaining eligible reimbursement from UST trust and reimbursement funds, like the Virginia Petroleum Storage Tank Fund.
Applied Environmental’s UST Management and Environmental Services include:
- UST locating with ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electromagnetic induction (EM) surveys,
- Regulatory file reviews for UST records,
- Initial abatement measures services,
- Complete site characterizations (SCRs) services,
- Sensitive receptor surveys,
- UST installation, removal, and upgrades,
- Post-excavation soil and groundwater sampling and remediation,
- Free product abatement and recovery,
- Corrective Action Plans (CAP), and
- Virginia Petroleum Storage Tank Fund Reimbursement Program.
Applied Environmental’s Aboveground Storage Tank (AST) services include:
- AST management and closures,
- Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plans,
- AST compliance programs, and
- AST inspection reports.
Applied Environmental’s Vapor Intrusion Services include both soil vapor and indoor air monitoring assessments. There are numerous causes and sources of vapor intrusion pathways onto or into a property (i.e. nearby landfills, dry cleaners, gasoline stations, factories, etc.). Vapor intrusion is the migration of vapor-phase volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into buildings or properties from an underground source such as contaminant migration from impacted soil or groundwater. Vapor intrusion conditions can pose environmental health risks to occupants of the property, as well as reduce property values. Typical contaminants of environmental concern include such chemicals as; PCE, TCE, benzene, methane, and many others that are associated in vapor phase. Vapors migrate through soil and floor penetrations in buildings such as floor sumps, cracks, and utility conduits.
Our Vapor Intrusion Services include:
- Vapor Intrusion screening assessments,
- Collection and analysis of soil gas samples,
- Developing and implementing risk management plans,
- Designing vapor mitigation systems for buildings,
- Active and passive soil vapor surveys,
- Sub-slab and near-slab sampling,
- Indoor Air Sampling, and
- Semi-permanent vapor monitoring probes.