Qepi was contracted by the Gary/Chicago International Airport to perform Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments during the summer of 2007. The site assessments were performed at three locations adjacent to the airport with known environmental impacts. These locations were determined by plans for the expansion of the airport. Of the three main locations, one was a former unregulated dump, one was a former hazardous waste storage facility/oil refinery, and one was a vacant property and wetlands that had been used as a dumping ground for asphalt waste. Additional Phase I Environmental Assessments were also performed at several more adjacent sites.

Three different remediation technologies were chosen for the separate sites. Monitored Natural Attenuation was chosen for the former unregulated dump due to the lack of significant impacts. A limited remedial excavation with more lenient site-specific risk-based closure goals was chosen for the former asphalt dumping grounds. Less stringent closure goals were calculated using site-specific data and were aided by limited by future land use. The planned excavation was limited to the area of future expansion to minimize the destruction of wetlands.

A free product recovery system was chosen for the former hazardous waste storage facility/oil refinery. Investigations performed by Qepi indicated that up to five feet of crude oil had been discovered to be on top of the water table and was seeping into an adjacent drainage ditch at the airport leading to the Grand Calumet River. This site had previously been the object of an EPA Superfund cleanup, which removed or capped the recovered hazardous waste at the property. The EPA later installed a pump and treat system to address the crude oil at the site, and insisted that the airport take over the system once they took over ownership. Qepi performed a quality analysis of the EPA system which concluded that the system was too inefficient for the amount of oil in the subsurface. Qepi then designed a more effective trench based oil recovery system that would enhance oil recovery, completely stop groundwater recovery, be less expensive to operate, and take less effort and cost to maintain than the previous EPA system. None of the remediation plans have been implemented as of June 2008, however remediation plans and discussions are ongoing at the sites.

Quality Environmental Professionals, Inc. (Qepi) was the lead contractor for the Immediate Removal Section of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management at this abandoned product manufacturing facility. Over 1,000 drums of unknown materials were located throughout the building. In addition, a small laboratory was present at the facility in which thousands of chemicals were stored.

Qepi collected samples from over 160 drums in Level B protective equipment. Qepi then evaluated the unknown drum contents by performing cost-effective field tests on the materials in order to segregate them into broad chemical categories to reduce analytical costs. The hazardous waste categories identified at the site were strong acids, strong bases, oxidizers, flammables, and listed wastes. Special waste categories included petroleum hydrocarbons, glycols, amines, and asbestos.

Qepi prepared a drum inventory of all suspect materials in the building, and developed an inventory of these materials by chemical type and physical state. This information was provided to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), who has agreed to remove the materials from the site.

Finally, Qepi arranged for the bulking and disposal of the laboratory chemicals. Chemicals that were listed wastes were lab-packed for transport and disposal. Nonlisted materials of similar chemical categories were bulked in 55-gallon drums to reduce disposal costs.

Qepi is a contractor for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and has been an Immediate Removal, Geology and remediation contractor over the last 10 years. Qepi has completed numerous large immediate removal projects involving unknown waste in drums, above ground tanks, vats, and other containers found in blighted abandoned buildings. Below is discussion on 2 of these projects, Continental Chemical in Terre Haute Indiana and 3-B Barrel in Corydon, Indiana. The Continental Chemical Company site was an abandoned product manufacturing facility where over 1,000 drums of unknown materials were located throughout the building. In addition, a small laboratory was present at the facility in which thousands of chemicals were stored. At this facility, Qepi collected samples from over 160 drums in Level B protective equipment. Qepi then evaluated the unknown drum contents by performing cost-effective field tests on the materials in order to segregate them into broad chemical categories to reduce analytical costs. The hazardous waste categories identified at the site were strong acids, strong bases, oxidizers, flammables, and listed wastes. Special waste categories included petroleum hydrocarbons, glycols, amines, and asbestos. Then Qepi prepared a drum inventory of all the suspect materials in the building which involved over 1,000 drums. The inventory of these materials by chemical type and physical state provided the USEPA the list from which they worked and thus agreed to remove the materials from the site. Qepi then arranged for the bulking and disposal of the laboratory chemicals. The chemicals that were listed wastes were lab-packed for transport and disposal. Non-listed materials of similar chemical categories were bulked in 55-gallon drums to reduce disposal costs.

The 3-B Barrel and Drum Facility in Corydon, Indiana contained over 400 drums of unknown material and over 1,000 empty barrels on-site. Qepi inventoried, staged and sampled each of the drums. Drums that were bulging or under pressure were opened using a remote drum opener. Because of the unknown materials in the drums, level B protective equipment was used during the remote opening and sample operations. Field hazard categorization techniques were used to segregate materials into general hazardous categories to reduce analytical costs. Analytical results revealed flammable, corrosive and petroleum material were identified. Bulking of similar materials was conducted to save money on transportation and disposal cost.

For the last 40 years, the Nora Plaza Mall has served as an integral part of the retail shopping area for the highly populated area on the north side of Indianapolis, Indiana. The major anchor store for the mall purchased the 32-acre mall parcel for the purpose of redeveloping and upgrading the mall to current retail standards. This large undertaking included demolition of four buildings including a former anchor store with little or no disturbance to the retail operations.

The first environmental task of the project included "due diligence" or identifying any potential environmental concerns associated with the property. This included the review of environmental reports and site drawings that had been accumulating over many years. Qepi identified potential concerns including: former use of heating oil underground storage tanks (UST) throughout the site, three automobile maintenance facilities, a former waste water treatment plant, a former use of one out-lot as a gasoline retail station and one operating gasoline UST.

Qepi also conducted an expansive asbestos-containing materials building inspection on 40 operating retail units consisting of over 300,000 square feet. The entire mall property was entered into the Indiana Voluntary Remediation Program. The majority of the property received a Covenant Not to Sue (CNTS) from the Indiana Governor's Office through the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. The remaining portion of the site is undergoing plume stability analysis.

Qepi was hired by the Flagship Capital Corporation in 1998 to provide project management and environmental engineering services for two sites in the Indiana Voluntary Remediation Program totaling $1,800,000. The first is a former industrial fan manufacturing and research facility impacted with chlorinated solvents, and the second is a former retail gasoline station impacted with petroleum hydrocarbons.

Environmental engineering services at the former fan manufacturing facility have included Dual-Phase Extraction (DPE) remediation system design, implementation, operation, and maintenance. DPE extraction wells were retro-fitted for reductive sugar-substrate injection in 2003. Groundwater concentrations of chlorinated solvent parent compounds such as perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene dropped drastically after the first sugar injection. Concentrations of daughter products such as dichloroethylene and vinyl chloride spiked after the initial injection, but have dropped significantly after subsequent injections. Qepi is currently monitoring the site for closure and developing site specific risk based cleanup objectives to access remaining isolated groundwater impacts.

Environmental engineering services at the former gasoline retail station have included two source area excavations totaling 1,380 tons. Site remediation is currently ongoing using oxygen-enriched air injection in areas exhibiting impacted groundwater.

SJC, Inc. is a regional retail gasoline distributor with gasoline station sites in Indiana and Illinois. Qepi is under contract with SJC, Inc. to manage their portfolio of sites. This includes Site Characterization and Corrective Action activities at these properties on impacts resulting from retail gasoline/diesel distribution operations.

Qepi has worked for SJC since 1997, completing Environmental Assessments for property transactions, site investigation, site delineation, UST removals, UST and associated piping upgrades and relining, remediation services, regulatory negotiations, permitting, waste management and removal, site closure and well abandonment. The constituents of concern are BTEX/MTBE, solvents and metals.

Following state agency approval of the ISCs, Qepi prepared Corrective Action Plans (CAP) using Risk-based options. Remedial systems on some sites included multi-phase and air sparge/soil vapor extraction that Qepi designed and installed at appropriate sites. Currently, Qepi is providing Operation and Maintenance activities at nine sites where active remediation systems are in place.

The annual contract amount to conduct work on these sites is fixed, but the amount is reduced every year as Qepi obtains closure for sites from the regulatory agency. Stanley Clark of SJC quotes, "The team at Qepi has been easy to work with and very professional. They have saved us time and money on our projects."

Over the last 14 years that Qepi has worked for the Indianapolis International Airport (IAA), Qepi has completed numerous scopes of work including a review audit of an Environmental Audit Report, an Interim Wetland Mitigation Report, Interim Indiana Bat Mitigation Report, and a proposed real estate transaction for the purchase of land as part of an expansion plan. Qepi successfully negotiated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Water Quality Division, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Indiana Department of Nature Preserves, and Indiana Department of Environmental Management Water Quality Section for reduced mitigation rates on forested and wetland acres. This reduction saved millions of dollars on land purchasing and mitigation actions.

Qepi conducted a $90,000 storm-water program management project and a $120,000 chemical inventory audit for the former United Airlines facility that included documentation and Health and Safety (H&S) oversight for the cleanup of lead dust in the facility. Additionally Qepi has completed project management services ($50,000) for the completion and submittal of the Excess Liability Test Fund reimbursement packages for refunds from the State of Indiana for petroleum projects. Qepi has also been involved with Spill Prevention Countermeasure and Contingency Plans for the Airport and reliever airports.

Qepi has ongoing interim remedial activities at the Airport, including excavation of approximately 20,000 cubic yards of soil and removal of 3 to 6 feet of liquid phase hydrocarbons (LPH) encompassing an area of approximately 75 by 120 feet. Qepi has used periodic high-vacuum extraction, a multi-interface probe (MIP) survey, an electromagnetic field survey and conducted pilot testing at the site. A risk-based corrective action assessment will be completed to establish site-specific target levels based on the JP-8 jet fuel fractionation, as a part of the Remediation Work Plan (RWP) to evaluate any further remediation activities necessary. Remediation project costs for this site so far exceed $530,000.

Qepi is initiating the completion of an RWP and will provide the Airport with remediation and project management services for the former United facility on the Indianapolis Airport property. The Engineering Feasibility Studies, preparation of the RWP, regulatory support, and project management services are estimated to be $268,000.

Qepi was hired to investigate a former Interim Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) pad where hazardous waste was stored on the pad. Materials previously stored on the pad included chlorinated solvents used in the facility. A prior consultant on the site had evaluated the soil in the pad area for RCRA metals, and RCRA had requested that elevated lead in soil would need to be mitigated. Qepi completed an ecological, toxicology, and human health risk assessment with the findings being that lead in the soil in conjunction with the chlorinated solvents in the soil and water had a detoxifying effect on the kidneys; therefore, Qepi was allowed to address cleanup activities for only the hazardous materials stored on the pad. The results of the risk assessment saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in investigation and cleanup cost associated with lead.

Qepi then conducted site investigations and delineation for soil and groundwater for chlorinated solvents stored on the Interim RCRA pad. Qepi's activities on this project included the preparation of an ecological, toxicological, and human health risk assessment. Qepi conducted soil and groundwater investigation and delineation activities. We prepared a Site Assessment Work Plan, Quality Assurance Project Plan, and Health and Safety Plan. Qepi completed a Hydro-geological Report, and an Engineering Pilot study followed by an Engineering Feasibility Report. Following site delineation, a remediation plan was developed to address site impacts. The engineering pilot testing and design was complicated by the geology. Soil at the site consisted of three individual units, each requiring its own pilot testing and a remediation system design tailored to each unit. Impacts to soil and groundwater in each zone were addressed using soil vapor extraction (SVE) and air-sparging. The state regulatory agency gave approval to the remediation plan, and cleanup goals were met after only 2 years of system operation. Qepi staff designed, installed, and provided operation and maintenance of the remediation systems. The closure report is currently under review with the state agency for final approval. Project costs were on a fee basis for a price of $1,300,000 ahead of projected time and under budget.

Quality Environmental Professionals, Inc. (Qepi) was contracted by AlliedSignal Aerospace to complete delineation activities associated with two distinct contaminant plumes (Isopar-M and diesel). Qepi prepared a Site Assessment Workplan which was designed to use the least extrusive sampling methods to complete the delineation. A Geoprobe^™ percussion-drive rig was utilized to obtain several soil and groundwater samples. This screening was used to determine the permanent location of observation wells and the placement of a recovery/process well. To assist with remedial design parameters, Qepi completed a 24-hour pump test.

Qepi also completed a microcosm evaluation study at this facility to identify the applicability of using biological remediation to address groundwater and soil impacted with Isopar-M and diesel. As part of this study, Qepi completed a Kinetics Study to determine the amount of nutrients and oxygen to apply to this site promote positive substrate growth for the bacterial strains present. Through conducting a series of microcosm studies, Qepi had concluded that biological remediation was appropriate for this site, and that biological remediation would also address the separate phase product at this site.

Qepi prepared the Corrective Action Plan and submitted an application to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for acceptance of the facility into the Excess Liability Fund (ELF) program. AlliedSignal has been reimbursed over $167,00 from the ELF fund. Additionally, this site has just received notification from IDEM of successful site closure for groundwater. The separate phase product as well as the dissolved phase was successfully addressed using bioremediation.

Quality Environmental Professionals, Inc. (Qepi), was contracted by Jefferson Smurfit Corporation to remove five underground storage tanks (UST) from operation. Prior to UST removal, Qepi completed several pre-screen borings to determine whether subsurface impacts were present prior to UST removal operations. The assessment activities revealed that the soil was impacted with total petroleum hydrocarbon constituents at concentrations as high as 33,000 parts per million (ppm). To make situations more complex, the contaminants of concern were #6 Fuel Oil and Gasoline, and the soil type was a silty sandy clay. Qepi and our subcontractors removed all USTs and addressed the impacted soil and groundwater via bioventing/biosparging. This bioventing system was designed and built by Qepi. Additionally, Qepi completed the Corrective Action Plan within a two week timeframe. This system was installed December 23, 1993.

Qepi has assisted Jefferson Smurfit Corporation with Water Quality Services through the completion of their Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan and provided Jefferson Smurfit with best management practices associated with production processes, chemical storage, external structures, and shipping and receiving protocols.

In addition to the aforementioned services, Qepi assists Jefferson Smurfit Corporation with Regulatory Compliance, Management Consulting, and Health and Safety Training Services. Regulatory Compliance Services included the development of their Spill Prevention Countermeasure and Contingency Plan as well as all updates and changes to the plan. Management Consulting Services includes the development of a facility health and safety program.

The site has been accepted into the IDEM Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP). The site is located on the western edge of the Indianapolis International Airport property. The site is a former aircraft maintenance facility operated by United Airlines and known as the United Airlines Indianapolis Maintenance Center. The site consists of over 300 acres of land with building facilities which total over 1.7 million square feet. These facilities include aircraft hangars, offices, cafeteria, a warehouse, indirect and interior shops, the Central Plant, Central Pretreatment Wastewater Facility and the Controlled Materials Building.

Based on the previous use of petroleum products and hazardous materials and the documented releases of these materials, this property has been the subject of several environmental investigations beginning in June 2003. Based on the findings of the subsurface investigation activities completed to date, Qepi is providing closure confirmatory sampling to meet the requirements of the IDEM's VRP to enable the site to obtain a Certificate of Completion and a Covenant Not to Sue. Expected Costs to VRP Closure $240,000.