A remediation strategy for any given site must balance the need for risk reduction to human health and environment while minimizing the financial impact of cleanup costs. Alternatives should be explored and presented that take into account factors such as:
  •  Cost
  •  Time
  •  Regulatory requirements
  •  Sensitive Receptors
  •  Future property use
  •  Client risk tolerance

Site Investigation & Corrective Action Services

From UST sites to waste impoundments to dry cleaners, Blackshare Environmental Solutions has delineated contamination, designed a remedy and implemented cleanups of hundreds of sites affected by a wide range of contaminants. Blackshare Environmental understands that variations in soils, groundwater conditions, contaminants, and other factors play a major role in determining the best technology for a remediation project.

The initial steps toward site remediation are identification and delineation, which are accomplished by:

Phase II / Site Characterization

The goal of this phase is to identify:

  1. whether contamination exists on the subject property or not and the degree to which it exists; and
  2. the extent of the contamination when it does exist.

The reasons for conducting a Phase II / Site Characterization may include RECs discovered during an Environmental Site Assessment, the possibility of a release from any of numerous sources (underground storage tanks, pipelines, industrial activities, container storage or transfer areas, etc.), or site development due diligence. The Phase II / Site Characterization is usually intrusive in nature and involves collection and analysis of soil and/or ground water samples. Isoconcentration maps are developed, sometimes in three dimensions that delineate the contamination plume. Blackshare Environmental has performed these services on hundreds of sites.

Remedial System Design / Phase III

Once the site has been characterized and a risk assessment has determined the necessary cleanup levels, a system designed to clean the site to risk assessment established levels will be implemented. Technologies such as onsite cell construction, dig and haul, pump and treat, air sparging, vapor extraction, bioremediation and phytoremediation are considered and the best combination of technologies is evaluated for feasibility and implementation after approval by the client/regulatory agency. The remediation is sometimes referred to as Phase III. Tank removals are included in this category. Blackshare Environmental's staff of engineers and technical specialists routinely specify cleanup remedies for impacted sites and have removed hundreds of tanks.

UST Cases / Risk Assessment

If the Phase II / Site Characterization is performed in association with a UST release, regulations specify a process the site must undergo that usually involves a risk assessment. The Risk Assessment process is not exclusive to UST cases and is often used in other instances when the goal is to determine acceptable clean up levels based on sensitive receptors and other factors. Blackshare Environmental has experts with extensive experience in this area.

System Operations & Maintenance (O&M) / Monitoring

Once the remediation system is installed and operating, it must be maintained. Blackshare Environmental provides these services and periodically monitors the progress of the remediation, many times as required by agreement with the regulatory agency.