Abaxial team members have had significant engineering experience on the following representative environmental engineering projects.

Brownfields

Landowner: Remediation of a Crude Oil Receiving Pond

A north Fort Worth site was the home of an oil refinery that shut down before 1930. As was the practice at that time, the crude oil receiving pond was closed without remediation. This left a 15-acre tract oozing tar and barely able to support vegetation. A prior attempt to stabilize the soils had been made during the 1980s. The source, extent, and concentration of the residual petroleum hydrocarbons on the site were determined. Extreme hydrocarbon soil concentrations – in excess of 15% - were found on site. The potential hydrocarbon migration was limited by a clay liner at a depth of roughly six feet. The necessity for preserving the integrity of this barrier greatly complicated the remediation.

Remedial activities were conducted under Texas Risk Reduction Rules to achieve a clean closure. After exploring multiple remediation options, a biological-based treatment using humates to enhance the microbial activity was selected as the most cost efficient. After approximately nine months, petroleum hydrocarbons were reduced to under 0.01% except in locations impacted by an abandoned transmission pipeline. Following a delay caused by pending litigation, the transmission line was removed from the property and the remedial activities resumed. Three months later, only two unremediated acres remained. Treatment of these small areas continues with full closure expected within six months.

RCRA/CERCLA Assessment and Delineation

Aerospace Company, Weatherford, Texas: Plume Delineation

A halogenated plume was delineated in a perched aquifer at each of two different plant sites. By installing and monitoring 32 shallow wells and three deeper wells, the potential for halogenated hydrocarbon contamination of Paluxy Sands Aquifer, which is a drinking water aquifer, was investigated. At both sites, the contamination was approaching Town Creek, a tributary of the South Fork of the Trinity River above Benbrook Lake.

Engineered sealing blocks were placed on wells located in high traffic areas with probability of impact. Process improvements were engineered for the permitted waste treatment system. The project included a Feasibility Study and Preliminary Engineering Study for the installation of a permeable treatment barrier.