Projects

Service: Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments
Facility Type: Redevelopment for Commercial

Description:

For purposes of redevelopment, ACC performed a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) to evaluate for the presences of environmental impacts to the Subject Property so that the Client could obtain Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) liability protection (42 U.S.C. §9601).  The Phase I ESA was conducted in accordance with the standards established under American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard Practice E1527-13, Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process, which meets the requirements of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) All Appropriate Inquiry (AAI), 40 CFR Part 312.  

ACC completed a Phase I ESA for a developer looking to redevelop a former big box retail store located in the San Diego area. The former commercial occupant operated an auto service center, and a former 1,000-gallon waste oil underground storage tank (UST) was used on Site during this time. ACC reviewed closure documents associated with the UST removal, and concluded that soil confirmation sampling analyses conducted during the UST removal were not consistent with current regulatory procedures, and additional constituents of concern associated with historic waste oil tanks may exist in the subsurface in the location of the former UST. ACC recommended additional investigation to rule out potential for residual subsurface impacts in the area of the former UST prior to proposed construction.

ACC advanced exploratory soil borings to total depths of up to 20 feet below ground surface. Boring locations were chosen based on the location of the former UST, as well as locations needed to establish up-gradient, down-gradient, and background subsurface conditions as feasible. Groundwater was not encountered during this investigation. 

Soil samples were analyzed for the following: 

• Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons as Gasoline (TPH-g), diesel (TPH-d), and motor oil (TPH- mo) by analytical method 8015 without silica gel cleanup; 

• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) by analytical method 8260; 

• Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs) by analytical method 8270;
and
• PCBs by analytical method 8082, and 


Sample results detected elevated concentrations of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons diesel range (TPH-d) approximately 5 feet below ground surface, but did not detect additional contaminants of concern. ACC concluded that TPH-d impacts detected in the UST backfill material were not indicative of a larger impact associated with the former UST, and that TPH-d impacts within the former UST pit were negligible based on planned redevelopment of the Site with a commercial building. Based on the Phase I and Phase II ESA reports, the client was able to proceed with development as planned.