ENVIRO PLANNING

Final Environmental Impact Statement of Bypass Environmental Planning, Assessment and Evaluation The WCH EnviroTech's technical environmental planning and assessment experience includes the conduct of environmental impact studies, field investigations, auditing, regulatory and permit actions, and various other environmental analyses. Sample projects are shown below: Corps of Engineers IQ Environmental Work Project Name: Environmental consulting Services on Activities in Planning, Engineering Construction, and operating Divisions in the New York District, Corps of Engineers for the New England states, New York and New Jersey. Scope of Work: This project required the team to work on various tasks, concurrently; the work was of a diverse nature. It covered such areas as water quality, solid wastes, hazardous wastes, flood and erosion control, wetland delineation/ surveying/ mapping, geomorphological, ecological, biological/ fish and wildlife, and regulatory permits/ compliance investigations; environmental assessments, environmental impact studies, environmental auditing, environmental testing, and mitigation studies; land use, urban affairs, and socioeconomic studies; and historic preservation, architecture and archaeological/underwater archaeological studies. Cost/Schedule Variance: This ($2M) project consisted of almost 30 tasks assigned averaging $30,000 to $90,000 each, with tasks being conducted simultaneously in multiple locations. Each task is a firm fixed price requirement and no variances have been requested by WCHE on any of the tasks. The Corps reduced the scope of work on one task with a corresponding reduction in price. On another task, the Corps put a hold on the task pending determination as to which Corps Division had responsibility for execution of the requirement. All deliverables have been performed on time unless the Corps approved a revised submittal schedule, usually because of late government furnished materials, or to accommodate a delayed Corps decision or receipt of Corps comments on draft reports. NEPA Marine Studies Scope of Work: In this project, performed for the US Environmental Protection Agency, WCHE provided oversight review of Environmental Impact Studies for the EPA. Most of these reviews were conducted to determine the adequacy of the studies and whether the agency should accept the recommendations of the developer. Two of these reviews are discussed below: (1) Review of DEIR for the Mead/O'Brien Cogeneration Project. This assignment called for WCHE to assess the adequacy of the DEIR report. Principal issues included housing, labor force, commercial/residential/ community issues, transportation/ traffic concerns, wetlands/natural resources issues, and the positive impact associated with increased energy production from the proposed facility. (2) Review of DEIR for the CUE Fall River Cogeneration Project. In this assignment, WCHE reviewed the adequacy of the DEIR in terms of whether it addressed all issues adequately, especially such socioeconomic issues as employment/labor work force, community, and housing issues. Another major concern was the impact such facility would have on the Fall River. Traffic was also an important concern. Cost/Schedule Variance: The original budget for this work was $30,000. WCHE used $26,500 of the allocated budget. All work was performed on time and in accordance with the schedule. West Point Wetland Inventory Scope of Service: This project was assigned to WCHE by the New York District, Corps of Engineers, to perform a wetland identification and assessment requirement. It involved locating the approximate wetland boundaries of the US Military Academy at the West Point Military Reservation (USMA). The work involved conducting a wetland delineation survey of approximately 154 wetlands at the USMA. WCHE was required to perform field work to map and characterize designated wetland habitats within the USMA. In addition to the field work, the WCHE field team compiled the data collected into summary tables that identified the various types of wetlands by size, classification, and vegetative cover. The final report on this requirement included the preparation of maps and descriptions of each wetland, field sheets, and tables into a bound copy. Cost/Schedule Variance: This requirement was a fixed price effort and was performed within budget and on time. Braintree-Weymouth Pump Station and Interceptor Environmental Impact Report Scope of Services: This environmental impact study consisted of evaluating a proposed interceptor and pump station upgrade. Major environmental issues included wetland delineation, wetland restoration, aquatic biology, tidal waters, sewer flow, drainage, 100 year boundary & flood controls, permits & regulations, traffic, socioeconomic, and public/ community relations. Specific issues were concerned with (1) capacities of existing and proposed systems, (2) location and extent of affected resource areas including salt and fringe marsh, shellfish areas, and intertidal flats, (3) impact of system upgrade on downstream facilities and on water quality in the Quincy Bay, (4) feasibility of alternatives and mitigating measures for each alternative, especially those that would minimize marsh impacts, (5) impacts upon recreation and open space resources, and (6) provisions for dredge material disposal. Cost/Schedule Variance: There were several increases on this project with the final price being $168,000. The reason for the increases was due to the project being placed on hold several times. The project was highly controversial and had considerable political interest. As a result, the client put the project on long delays while it considered the concerns of the local communities and politicians, and negotiated with legislators and others having an interest. These activities resulted in several changes in the schedule and scope of work with corresponding changes in the cost. Environmental Impact Analysis of the US AIR Force's Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN) Scope of Work: This analysis, performed for the USAF ESD at Hanscom AFB under AF Regulation 19-2, was designed to study the impacts of having a survivable, enduring, communications system capable of time-urgent message transmission in an EMP-stressed environment. GWEN, a low-frequency radio relay network, was designed by the USAF Electronic Systems Division for full command and control communications links under any and all stressed conditions. It was developed in three phases and, when fully implemented, would provide an operational system of 400 to 500 nodes across the entire United States. The study found that deployment of the system would have minimum impacts on such environmental receptors as population, housing, employment, income, community services and facilities, transportation, energy use, groundwater, and air quality. Hanscom Field Generic Environmental Impact Report Scope of Work: The Hanscom Field GEIR was conducted for the Massachusetts Port Authority, Boston, MA. It was designed to look five years into the future and project the potential environmental impacts likely to occur under a wide variety of assumptions about the growth of civil aviation operations, the development of aviation related facilities and services, and the development of non-aviation commercial/ industrial activities at Hanscom Field. Each represented plausible growth and development, but none represented a specific plan for growth or development by Massport. The study considered noise, traffic, wetlands, water resources, endangered species, land use, socioeconomic, and cultural resources impacts and was involved in the public participation process as a major part of the effort. Water Quality Sampling and Analysis Scope of Work: This sampling project consisted of collecting water samples and performing laboratory analysis for the Massachusetts DEQE. WCHE collected the samples and transported them to ESI, the laboratory that performed the laboratory tests. A report was prepared and forwarded to DEQE on each sample collected. Cost/Schedule Variance: This project was a fixed price requirement and all work was performed within the established budget and on time. Southern System Modeling Project Scope of Work: This project was performed for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority as a subcontractor to Metcalf & Eddy. It required assessing the hydraulic ability of the high level sewer to adequately convey existing flows, to predict future flows from new interceptor sewers, and to respond to various levels of infiltration/inflow reduction. The extensive field measurement program resulted in the collection of data necessary for the performance of the hydraulic analysis. The hydraulic analysis was performed with the assistance of a dynamic flow routing computer model assembled as a part of the assignment. Use of permanent flow meters, portable flow meters, pump station metering, rain gauges, groundwater observation wells, a telemetry system, and hydraulic modeling procedures was required for the fulfillment of the WCHE portion of the project. WCHE was also required to prepare a training manual on this hydraulic system including the computer aspects of the system. WCHE trained selected MWRA personnel in the use and operation of the system. Cost/Schedule Variance: This was a fixed price contract ($204,000 for WCHE's portion of the work) and was performed within budget and within the established time schedule.