Projects: Environmental
Will This IPO Cell?
Situation: An anxious telecom had all the pieces in place for its long-awaited IPO, give or take about 1,000 details. Missing were regulatory approvals for over 1,000 existing and proposed cell towers. Eager to help this telecom over the hurdle, Cardno ATC made some calls.
Results: We tracked each site from the day of the notice to proceed (NTP) to the submittal of reports. Detailed stand-alone documentation -- highlighting State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) exemptions -- was produced promptly and delivered to the client to meet its regulatory requirements. Cardno ATC teamed with a local cultural resources firm to obtain SHPO approvals as needed. Additional services included geotechnical and foundation investigations, as well as wetland and wildlife permitting.
Environmental Due Diligence: Crude Oil Production Facilities
Situation: A petroleum client was preparing to close facilities over a 300+ square-mile area that operated from the early 1960’s to 2005: production wells, storage tanks, pumping stations and pipelines. The transaction was part of a process to return leases for crude production facilities to the landowner.
Results: Cardno ATC helped this petroleum client significantly reduce its liability and risk and achieve a documented cost savings of $480,000. The strategic approach included development and implementation of a Phase II Due Diligence effort. By leveraging refining and transportation business unit relationships, Cardno ATC helped the client reduce transportation costs and eliminate tipping fees for crude-impacted soils. Regulatory closure was granted to 22 of the 23 identified sites.
Brownfield Assessment & Redevelopment
Situation: A five-acre wooded municipal site was targeted for redevelopment. The plan: build a small sewage treatment plant to address the city’s sewage-overflow problem. The facility would hold three 1.5-million gallon tanks in which high-flow sewage would be held and/or treated on-site. This was a classic Brownfield. It had remained vacant since its municipal well was closed 20 years ago, its groundwater affected by an adjacent property under remediation.
Results: Cardno ATC helped the client save approximately $260,000 in waste disposal costs by managing impacted materials on-site. Our concurrent plan of environmental and geotechnical drilling saved an additional $10,000 and ensured consistent and representative data collection. Further, we developed site-specific exposure models and associated human-health risk calculations to facilitate local on-site waste management. Among the payoffs: the development of engineering controls to mitigate exposure pathways. We implemented excavation and off-site disposition methods to remediate areas of environmental impact, primarily from residual 55-gallon drums, pesticides and paint waste. Cardno ATC continues to monitor construction and environmental impact and perform associated materials testing.