Government

September 3, 2015 · (Updated: July 18, 2022)

September 3, 2015 by

Challenge. Protect a municipal water supply from being impacted by one of the largest jet fuel releases in the U.S.

Solution. INTERA has provided technical review of activities carried out by Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) to address a large jet fuel release that threatens Albuquerque’s most productive water supply well field. Estimates of from 2 to 4 million gallons of jet fuel has contaminated the 500-foot-thick vadose zone and underlying aquifer. Contamination includes LNAPL in the vadose zone and aquifer and dissolved-phase plumes, the largest of which contains ethylene dibromide (EDB) and is migrating toward the City’s Ridge Crest well field. INTERA reviewed all work plan and design documents, including those for characterization of the vadose zone, the LNAPL lens near the water table, and the dissolved phase plumes; interim containment designs using soil vapor extraction and dissolved phase capture; aquifer testing plans; well design; and sampling protocols and strategies. After each review, INTERA provided detailed comments and recommendations to ABCWUA with the focus on improving the scientific defensibility, cost-efficiency, and effectiveness of the proposed activities and designs. As part of evaluating the dissolved phase capture, extraction, and treatment containment option, INTERA developed a groundwater flow and contaminant transport model. Using analytical element methods, extraction and treatment of the dissolved-phase plume was assessed considering the number, location (vertically and horizontally), and pumping rate of wells placed downgradient of the leading edge of the plume. Results of the modeling provided the Water Authority and other agencies with an independent evaluation of potential remediation schemes for comparison to those being provided by KAFB’s consultants.

September 1, 2015 · (Updated: July 18, 2022)

September 1, 2015 by

Challenge. Establish minimum flows and levels (MFLs) to identify the limit at which further withdrawals would be significantly harmful to the water resources or ecology of the area.

Solution. The MFL development process is multi-faceted and involves data collection and exploratory data analysis, statistical and/or hydrologic modeling, and evaluation of water resource values and ecological parameters. In support of the MFL programs of four Florida water management districts (Southwest Florida Water Management District [SWFWMD], St. Johns River Water Management District [SJRWMD], Suwanee River Water Management District [SRWMD], and Northwest Florida Water Management District [NWFWMD]), INTERA has helped establish MFLs for dozens of priority waterbodies that include rivers, estuaries, lakes, and springs. The focus of our MFL support has been on applying both analytical methods (statistical) and numerical models. Our MFL experience includes: modeling un-gauged flows for the Alafia River Watershed, Little Manatee River Watershed, and Cow Pen Slough; developing HEC-RAS steady-state and transient models to assist the SRWMD in establishing MFLs for the Suwannee River system and its tributaries (i.e., Santa Fe River, Ichetucknee River, Withlacoochee River, Alapaha River); HEC-RAS modeling for Horse Creek, Charlie Creek, Alafia River North and South Prongs, and Gum Springs for the SWFWMD; statistical analyses to support MFLs as part of the Central Florida Water Initiative; development and application of artificial neural networks (ANNs) to evaluate salinity in the Manatee River; and development of hydrologic relationships for key ecological features on the Santa Fe River. Because of our MFL expertise, INTERA has also provided independent peer review of scientific and technical data, methodologies, assumptions, and conclusions related to MFLs developed by other consultants. This includes review of MFLs for over a dozen waterbodies such as Blue Springs, the Silver River, the Upper Ocklawaha River, Lake Tarhoe, Prevatt Lake, Johns Lake, Lake Jessup, Lake Hiawassee, Lake Avalon, Sylvan Lake, the Lower Santa Fe River and the Etonia chain of lakes.

August 31, 2015 · (Updated: July 18, 2022)

August 31, 2015 by

Challenge. Conduct review and provide input to national agency responsible for issuing a general license to construct and operate a spent nuclear fuel (SNF) repository in Sweden

Solution. INTERA personnel serve as key consultants, in the area of engineered barrier systems (EBS), for the review of the post-closure radiological safety analysis report (SR-Site) produced by the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) to obtain a license for the construction and operation of a deep geological repository located in Forsmark for the permanent disposal of SNF. As part of the Initial Review Phase, consisting of a broad review of the main SR-Site and supporting references, we completed a preliminary assessment of the scientific and technical quality of the licensing documentation, identified the need for complementary information and clarifications to be delivered by SKB, and helped develop a task report that incorporates review comments from the entire team of international technical experts. After completing the Initial Review Phase, we worked with SSM and determined that the quality and comprehensiveness of the safety assessment is sufficient to warrant the in-depth assessment (Main Phase of the review) required to receive a construction license for the repository. Previously, INTERA personnel served on the Barriers for Radioactive Waste Isolation and Technical Evaluation (BRITE) advisory panel responsible for conducting an independent evaluation of the technical and performance assessment issues related to SNF disposal in the Forsmark repository. Specific analyses focused on the corrosion of copper canisters under expected repository conditions, potential erosion of clay buffer during construction and future glacial periods, and overall release behavior of radionuclides from the EBS. The BRITE provided independent technical support to SSM in preparation for receiving and reviewing the formal general Construction License Application discussed above.

August 30, 2015 · (Updated: July 18, 2022)

August 30, 2015 by

Challenge. Quantify potential erosion and toe scour to aid in fast-track design of seawall proposed in response to erosion caused by Hurricane Sandy and the Thanksgiving Day storm

Solution. In fall 2012, Hurricane Sandy undermined sidewalks, an existing decorative wall along State Road A1A, and portions of the roadway. To support the installation of an emergency steel sheet pile seawall along this damaged section of roadway, INTERA quantified potential beach erosion and toe scour during storm events to aid in design of the proposed seawall. We also examined beach fill alternatives to quantify benefits and the reduction of scour at the wall. INTERA examined historical shoreline behavior; developed representative beach profiles; applied the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) cross-shore erosion model, SBEACH, to evaluate storm-induced scour for 10-, 20-, 50-, and 100-year storms; and determined local scour at the seawall for selected wall design lives. Concurrently, INTERA examined minimum (defined by permitting agencies) and desired (defined by client) beach fill templates to quantify their effects on reducing scour at the seawall to support environmental permitting. Qualitative analyses included beneficial effects of beach fill on reducing wave damage potential to upland infrastructure and possible detrimental effects of no beach fill on fronting and adjacent beaches. We also delineated a potential upland source of beach fill material. The permitting agencies approved our analyses without revision.

August 28, 2015 · (Updated: July 18, 2022)

August 28, 2015 by

Project-Steve-Herrera-Judicial-Complex-Before

Challenge. Address a free-phase petroleum hydrocarbon plume to allow construction of a new judicial complex to proceed

Solution. During construction of the Judge Steve Herrera Judicial Complex (the Judicial Complex), a light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) plume was discovered at the water table beneath the site. As a result, Santa Fe County (the County) stopped work to develop and implement a remedy to address this contamination. INTERA completed a soil and groundwater investigation that showed the LNAPL plume was predominately present in the proposed location of the subsurface parking garage. Furthermore, it was determined that the LNAPL was the direct result of leaking from underground storage tanks located at several former gasoline service stations in the area. The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) Petroleum Storage Tank Bureau (PSTB) operates a soil vapor extraction system for the areas outside of the Judicial Complex excavation to remediate the historic contamination. To address contamination within the excavation area, INTERA designed a remediation work plan that included isolating the site from the area-wide LNAPL plume using a grout injection barrier wall. The barrier wall was designed to prevent LNAPL from flowing back into the excavation during remediation and construction activities. As part of the on-site remedy, INTERA removed approximately 27,000 tons of petroleum contaminated soil (PCS) within the excavation footprint of the parking garage. INTERA provided oversight of the PCS excavation activities and collected confirmatory soil samples at the base of the excavation to ensure that all targeted soil was excavated and removed. INTERA then worked with the County to develop a long-term monitoring plan for soil vapor and groundwater for the Judicial Complex that is now being implemented. On behalf of the County, we entered the site into NMED’s Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP) and a Certificate of Completion is pending. INTERA’s success in delineating and remediating the soil and groundwater contamination beneath the site enabled the County to resume construction, and the Judicial Complex was opened to the public in 2013.

Project-Steve-Herrera-Judicial-Complex-After

August 27, 2015 · (Updated: July 18, 2022)

August 27, 2015 by

Challenge. Integrate modeling and risk assessments to support decision making by multiple contractors and regulators on the largest environmental restoration project in the United States

Solution. INTERA is providing modeling, risk assessment, and data analyses services to support the environmental cleanup of the Central Plateau area of the United States Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hanford Site. Established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project, the Hanford Site included nine nuclear reactors along the Columbia River and five large plutonium processing complexes, which produced plutonium for most of the more than 60,000 weapons in the United States nuclear arsenal. As a result of past safety procedures and waste disposal practices, operations at Hanford released large amounts of radioactive materials and other contaminants into the air, soils, groundwater, and the Columbia River. Today, it is the site of the largest environmental cleanup project in the United States. INTERA is a key teaming partner working under the Central Plateau Cleanup Contract—an Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity contract with a maximum ceiling value of $10 billion and a 10-year period of performance. The contract scope includes conducting facility deactivation, decommissioning, decontamination, and demolition activities; waste site remediation; transuranic waste management; and developing Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) / Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) decision documents to support cleanup actions associated with the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (Tri-Party Agreement). INTERA develops and applies numerical models and other decision support tools that are helping define preliminary remediation goals; evaluate, design, and optimize remediation systems; identify additional site characterization data needs; and communicate site risks to stakeholders. We make major contributions to decision documents developed under CERCLA, RCRA, and DOE Order 435.1. We also develop tools and prepare web-delivered annual reports for the groundwater monitoring system and the pump-and-treat operations that allow stakeholders to query underlying data, create charts and geologic cross sections, and rapidly display complex analyses information.

Results. INTERA’s ability to develop and apply high-quality risk-informed decision support tools is being recognized by DOE’s Richland Operations Office and Office of River Protection, regulators, and other major site contractors, as one of the keys to building consensus among all project stakeholders. We have consistently delivered services and work products in accordance with established schedules and budgets and made significant contributions toward meeting nearly every Tri-Party Agreement milestone specified in the prior and current contracts.

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