The Valley Park site is an approximate 130-acre parcel that included a former 41-acre creosote wood preserving site. The wood preserving facility operated between the 1930s and the early 1950s, and subsequently was used as a rail staging/ switching yard. The balance of the property was historically used for agricultural purposes or was undeveloped. Soil and groundwater at the site had been impacted by arsenic, BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) constituents. The site was entered into the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP). CSX Transportation (CSXT) selected Geosyntec to complete site assessment activities, evaluate remedial alternatives, and prepare a Response Action Plan (RAP) to address areas contributing to excess risk
Geosyntec’s Scope of Services
Under the MDE VCP, Geosyntec completed site characterization which included: collection and analysis of over 200 soil samples; installation of five additional monitoring wells in potential source areas; excavation of multiple test pits across the site, including the treatment cylinder area and drip track, for DNAPL evaluation, and; installation and monitoring of DNAPL observation wells. We then performed a focused feasibility study to evaluate remedial alternatives to address the areas that contributed most to site risk, and prepared a RAP. The RAP incorporated site-specific risk-based cleanup goals, justification for the selected alternative(s), detailed discussion of the proposed response actions, and schedule of implementation. Geosyntec participated in public informational meetings to share the proposed RAP with concerned stakeholders. The RAP was approved by MDE, and Geosyntec is preparing for implementation.
Geosyntec also assisted CSXT with stormwater management issues. The City of Hagerstown had a HUD grant to develop an adjacent 80 acres into residential communities. The development desired to route their stormwater through the Valley Park property to a City stormwater detention pond located south of the subject property. Geosyntec assisted CSXT by providing performance criteria to the contractor for the stormwater conveyance system design with the goal of minimizing disturbance of the former wood treating property. We also reviewed the contractor’s hydraulic calculations and construction design, and provided estimated construction costs for different stormwater management alternatives. We oversaw the drainage swale construction by the City’s contractors for conformance with the approved design. Soil excavated to construct the drainage swale was managed in stockpiles onsite. Geosyntec characterized the soil stockpiles to assess management alternatives.
Notable Accomplishments
Geosyntec successfully completed site characterization and prepared an MDE-approved RAP within 10 months. The RAP included pre-excavation confirmation samples, such that, the excavation of impacted soils can be removed to a defined boundary, and the excavation limits are not dependent upon post-excavation confirmation sample results. This will greatly simplify field operations and provides CSXT with some certainty on the quantity of soil to be removed and the ultimate cost of implementing the RAP ittal.