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Paul Raymaker, PG
Project Manager
Four sites at a former AFB were originally opened due to VOC impacts. Two purge well fields and two P&T systems were constructed in the 1980s and 1990s to capture and treat groundwater migrating from the sites. Recent investigations identified PFOA and PFOS in groundwater at concentrations above regulatory cleanup criteria within the capture zones of the purge well fields. In 2018, an LGAC groundwater treatment system known as the Central Treatment System (CTS) was constructed to treat the groundwater recovered from two purge well fields. Bay West provided oversight while the CTS was being constructed and has operated, maintained, and optimized the CTS since it was brought online in August 2018.
The CTS was designed to treat PFOA and PFOS, but also captures and treats the VOCs present in the groundwater. The VOCs consume dissolved oxygen and create favorable conditions for iron/magnesium reducing bacteria that cause biofouling. The biofouling increases the pressure within the vessels and backwashing is required two to three times per week to keep the system operational. The backwashing generates a significant amount of water, which must be treated prior to being discharged. Bay West developed procedures to keep some of the purge wells online while the backwash water is being treated to maintain the desired capture zones. Bay West has also developed a comprehensive well rehabilitation procedure consisting of acid cleaning and pH enhanced disinfection to address the biofouling at the purge well fields. We are also evaluating filtration technologies including green sand filters as potential additions to the treatment train to reduce the biofouling.
The CTS is becoming a focal point for the restoration activities at this former DoD facility, as PFOA and PFOS are becoming the primary chemicals of concern. Since the CTS was designed, multiple stakeholder outreach efforts have been made, including the following tours to present the CTS:
• Restoration Advisory Board Construction Tour – April 2018
• Restoration Advisory Board Construction Completion Tour – August 2018
• Congressional Tour – September 2018
• Assistant Secretary of Defense Tour – April 2019
Bay West supported these stakeholder tours by preparing the CTS to eliminate potential hazards, developing tour narratives to highlight key aspects of the CTS design and operation, and leading the tours including question and answer sessions. In addition, Bay West supports the DoD in meetings where restoration activities are discussed with the project stakeholders and regulators. The on-site staff also perform routine site inspections and property owner interviews to verify that the land use controls are in compliance.
Bay West was hired by the MPCA to provide additional technical support and third-party oversight. We have performed a wide variety of environmental activities for the MPCA at this site.
Bay West supported cleanup following the Hurricanes Katrina/Rita disasters in Texas/Louisiana by providing more than a dozen task force leaders/supervisors to serve as EPA representatives on cleanup crews during removal of hazardous waste/debris.
Bay West was a subcontractor to Weston Solutions as an EPA Region 5 START contractor assisting with EPA activities in Minnesota.
The City of Duluth retained Bay West to complete Limited Area-Wide Brownfield Inventories (AWBIs) in three select areas of the St. Louis River Corridor. These consisted of the following (collectively, the Study Areas): Gary-New Duluth, the Western Port Area Neighborhood (WPAN), and Lincoln Park/Rice’s Point.
We frequently team with engineering firms, both locally and on a national scale, that provide services we do not self-perform and/or that provide additional resources to develop cost-competitive, value-based solutions for our customers
The property known as the Jay Street Gas Holder is currently owned by the City of Duluth, which plans to redevelop the property for residential uses.
Bay West provided on-call UXO Construction Support services to Army construction projects at Fort Lewis as part of the Army’s program to deconstruct, construct, and upgrade its facilities at Fort Lewis.
Bay West and our key staff have played an integral role at TCAAP over that past 20 years as the investigation and remediation contractor on several of the most high-profile waste disposal sites on the property, the redevelopment consultant for a development firm, and the third-party consultant for Ramsey County, providing technical expertise and oversight of cleanup activities.
In support of the US Air Force’s Performance-Based Remediation initiative, Bay West developed and executed closure/exit strategies for 16 Environmental Restoration Program (ERP) sites under this fixed-price, performance-based contract.
Bay West performs munitions investigation and removal actions at Eglin AFB, which has historically conducted munitions development, testing and training.
Bay West performed Supplemental CSE Phase I and Phase II Investigations at eight PACAF facilities in Alaska (total of 1,813 acres within 47 Munitions Response Areas [MRAs]).
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Project Manager