Client: The Equitable Group | Location: Northbrook, IL
Pioneer works with a Chicago-based Brownfields redevelopment firm that specializes in acquiring, assessing, remediating and redeveloping environmentally-impaired properties throughout the U.S. Pioneer provides this client with a wide array of environmental consulting and engineering services from initial due diligence assessments to formal closure with the various state agencies.
One such project included the performance of a Phase I ESA on an undeveloped 10-acre parcel in the north suburbs of Chicago. Our client’s plans to redevelop the property included a proposed car dealership and public storage facility. From interviews with local officials and residents, it was determined that a portion of the property operated as an historical municipal landfill from the 1950s to the 1970s. The landfill was used to accept general household refuse, construction debris (concrete, asphalt and other miscellaneous fill material), yard waste and incinerated garbage and trees. It was also determined that jurisdictional wetlands were present at the property and would potentially be impacted during redevelopment. Based on these findings, Pioneer conducted a Phase II Site Investigation to determine the depth of buried fill materials throughout the site and obtain important soil and groundwater environmental data. The scope of our investigation also included a landfill gas survey to determine if methane was being generated at the site and at what concentrations.
The results of the investigation identified elevated levels of PNAs, iron and chlorides within the site’s soil and groundwater. Additionally, methane concentrations were extremely elevated at several locations throughout the site and underlying soils were found to be unsuitable for typical construction methods to a depth of 20 feet below grade.
Pioneer subsequently developed a remedial work plan designed to secure a NFR letter from the IEPA’s Site Remediation Program using a combination of “hot spot” remediation and risk assessment methodologies. Additionally, a methane recovery system was installed during site redevelopment work to safely manage landfill gases still being generated from the decay of organic matter within the historical landfill. Pioneer worked closely with structural engineers in designing a deep foundation system with a structural slab to accommodate the poor bearing capacity of the underlying fill materials.
