Remedial Actions Operations, FT-31/West POL Yard

Bhate received notification from Holloman AFB in early March 2003 that state regulators wanted contaminated soils from the West POL Yard (stockpiled by a previous contractor) disposed of no later than April 4, 2003. We began work immediately and loaded, manifested, hauled, and disposed of over 1,400 tons of contaminated soils. This was completed on March 14, 2003, 2 1/2 weeks ahead of schedule.

Over 30,000 tons of clean soils were backfilled into open pits from previous remedial actions. This was accomplished prior to additional soil excavation activities to provide stockpiling areas and equipment staging. We excavated over 10,000 tons of soil while terracing the excavations in preparation for removing the underlying contaminated soil lenses. We worked closely with the installation to meet the State Regulators requirements and avoid an NOV for the installation.

Bhate's performance is outstanding. Their team-oriented approach is focused on finding solutions for our remediation, compliance, engineering/design, and pollution prevention challenges here at Holloman. Bhate's commitment to quality and their responsiveness sets them apart from their competition. Through their knowledge of our program and their mannered professionalism, they quickly fostered a strong working relationship with the New Mexico Environment Department that has kept Holloman AFB as the single federal facility in New Mexico operating without the threat of a consent order. Their experience as a successful small disadvantaged business has been instrumental in integrating local labor and small businesses into a cohesive environmental team. I wholeheartedly recommend Bhate as your environmental contractor of choice.

Site SS-17; BX Service Station Soil Disposal
In July 2003, Bhate was tasked with providing remedial alternatives and remedial design for Site SS-17 (former BX service station) at Holloman AFB. The 2-acre site is located in a densely populated area of the base and was contaminated with gasoline and diesel fuel resulting from leaks in fuel storage and distribution systems at the service station. The existing soil vapor extraction (SVE) system  installed at the site has been inactive for 2 years as asymptotic conditions exist. However, from the soil and groundwater data collected during the remedial alternatives process, we concluded that closure of the site would require additional soil remediation.

After reviewing the available data, we recommended that the existing SVE remedial approach be abandoned due to the permeability-limited hydrogeology of the site and cost / schedule associated with its continued operation. This combination of site conditions drove Bhate to develop a value engineered remedial design process that would greatly reduce remediation time and cost. The process which was developed with regulator and stakeholder input, comprises excavation of the soil to the water table (~ 8 ft) followed by on site treatment at the FT-31 Land Farm.

OWS Removals
Bhate self-performed the excavation, removal, clean closure sampling, backfilling, and site restoration at four OWS locations at Holloman AFB (HAFB). The work involved the draining and capping of lines, fluid removal and disposal of tank contents, pavement/concrete cutting, excavation, removal and disposal of the OWS and coordination with flight operations at two locations.

One of the OWS vaults removed was estimated to weigh 15 tons and required an overhead crane that was borrowed from HAFB at no cost to the project due to the well established relationship our team enjoys with base personnel. All of the concrete OWS were transported to the HAFB construction debris reuse area where they will be recycled into base course for future construction projects. This effort avoids additional disposal cost (tipping fee) and provides the facility with a future P2 credit. The completion of this project in a one week time frame illustrates how Bhate was able to outperform schedule and budget requirements due to a well managed field team.

Construction and Demolition Debris Recycling at the Reuse Area
The scope of this P2 project involved the size reduction of concrete and asphalt debris for recycling purposes with the HAFB Reuse Area. The concrete and asphalt debris was generated over a number of years through HAFB demolition and construction activities. The primary means of debris sizing was through course sizing using demolition attachments on a tracked excavator and final processing with a mobilized rock crushing plant. Final material size specified was 1 inch minus.

An estimated 200,000 tons of debris were scattered across the 10-acre reuse area presenting challenging initial site conditions. Using GPS to map the area, Bhate completed a sorting and relocation effort such that a rock crushing plant could be mobilized and efficiently operated to its maximum capacity. We processed ~90,000 tons of concrete/ asphalt debris during a 4 month period from November 2003 through February 2004. The efficient execution of this project provided a cost savings of approximately $7/ton when compared to conventional transport and disposal fees to the county landfill. This method resulted in saving of approximately $630,000 for the government. The recycled and sized material is made available for future construction projects at HAFB as well as the local community. It has also been used to provide P2 credits on environmental remediation projects where it has been used as clean fill material for excavations.