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When it comes to environmental consulting, typically the laboratories and environmental scientists get all the glory. Labs prove definitively what’s in the soil. But what do you do if you can’t do lab work because there’s nothing there to test?
Gather ’round the children and bust out the s’mores. This is the story of how the A3 Environmental Consultants CADD / GIS department saved the day with a 3D video clip.
Contaminated Former Paint Manufacturing Plant
A3 Environmental Consultants was hired to remove 3 Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUST) and one bunkered tank at a former paint manufacturing plant in Chicago’s Humboldt Park area. The tanks contained naphtha and mineral spirits in vast quantities. A3E set up and coordinated the project with the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) and the excavation company. The OSFM called a release and we over excavated the tank cavities and took clean sidewall and base samples for analysis. We delivered all the reports necessary to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) for review.
Jumping the Gun On Development
We were very clear with our client that they should not begin development without hearing back from the IEPA. Moreover, we were told the development that would be going in was going to be slab-on-grade. Unfortunately, the client developed the property and changed the plan to include an underground parking garage that covered the area where the tanks had been.
IEPA Asks for More Investigation
As sometimes happens, when the IEPA finally got back to us after reviewing the documentation, they asked for more investigation. The problem was, there was nothing to investigate as the soil had already been removed. Getting equipment into the location of the former tanks would also prove challenging and expensive.
3D CADD Video Clip Saves The Day
The amazing Sarah Clark who heads up our CADD / GIS department offered a solution. She would use the as-built plans and field notes to build a 3D model of where the tanks had been in relation to the new structure. We would submit the new evidence to the IEPA for review. This whole process would save substantial money and time as well has negate the hassle of remobilizing and drilling holes in the foundation of the client’s new parking structure.
We’re proud of our CADD / GIS team and the creative solution they came up with to solve this problem for the client.
3D CADD Leaking Underground Storage Tank
