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Client: Seattle Steel & Bethlehem
Steel |
Background
The Seattle Steel and Bethlehem Steel Corporations owned seven “brownfield”
properties in Seattle and four in California. Because of their environmental
conditions, these properties were underused.
Challenges
Bringing these properties to efficient endpoints for transfer required
thinking outside the box. Their environmental histories, regulatory settings,
and cleanup needs varied widely, and previous consultants had only implemented
long-term monitoring programs, a costly strategy that produced limited
benefits.
Approach
Our multifaceted approaches for these properties ranged from sampling
and reporting to complex measures designed to achieve clean closure under
RCRA. At the California sites, where perched aquifers had been releasing
chlorinated solvents into primary aquifers, we proposed using an “attenuation
factor” method. At one property, we investigated the source of contamination,
which appeared to originate off site. Our work for the Seattle sites entailed
not only cleaning up cooling pond sediment but also developing an alternate
remedy for PCB-contaminated soil — the first in EPA Region 10.
Outcome
Regulators accepted our attenuation factor model and approved it for closure;
they also accepted our innovative alternate remedy for PCBs, saving more
than $1 million in redevelopment costs. Our source investigation confirmed
that contamination indeed originated off site. This work, supported by
our clear communication with clients, the Washington Department of Ecology,
and potential buyers, facilitated the successful cleanup and transfer
of all 11 sites.