Woodard & Curran has received the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) Outstanding Groundwater Remediation Project Award (large scale) for 2021 for our work at the Beede Waste Oil Superfund Site in Plaistow, New Hampshire. Each year NGWA’s Outstanding Groundwater Project Awards recognize member innovation and contributions affecting groundwater supply, protection, remediation, and awareness.
The project team has implemented a combined remedy approach to reduce risk and address both the source areas and downgradient plume migration at this former waste oil recycling facility. During the design phase, the remedy sequence was strategically shifted from the Record of Decision to prioritize operation of the groundwater remediation system prior to focused source area efforts to mitigate downgradient private drinking water impacts and utilize the treatment system for water supply during future remediation and construction activities.
In Woodard & Curran’s role as supervising contractor for the Beede Waste Oil Superfund Site we have incorporated sustainable practices into numerous aspects of remedy design and implementation. The groundwater system incorporates sustainable features, such as using extracted groundwater for geothermal heating of the building and used treated water to generate steam for thermal remediation. This has eliminated the need to bring in over 11.3 million gallons of water to the site and reduced greenhouse gas emissions over 65 metric tons. After extracted groundwater is treated to drinking water standards, it is discharged back to the ground to restore the drinking water aquifer and mitigate impacting the adjacent brook and nearby private drinking water wells. Maintaining brook flow and preventing impacts to surface water has been an integral component of the overall approach since the beginning and has blossomed into a much larger conservation effort.
While our team focuses on integrating the five core elements of EPA’s Greener Cleanup program in each remedy component, those conducted to date have focused on water conservation and land and ecosystems. The team rehabilitated an area of the site disturbed during construction of the treatment system, converting it to a native meadow. The area has been restored with native flora, habitat brush piles, bat boxes, and bird nesting boxes. These measures earned the site Wildlife Habitat Council certification, which has been maintained since 2015. In the years since, the team has expanded its habitat enhancement and restoration efforts as well as community outreach, sharing the value of the site as a safe, secluded junction of three wildlife habitat corridors.
“It is wonderful to have our team recognized not only for achieving the remedial goals of the Beede site, but also for applying sustainable design principles during project delivery that have resulted in measurable positive impact to the surrounding environment,” says Senior Technical Manager Cathy Rockwell, P.E., lead engineer for the project.
Members of the Woodard & Curran project team will accept the award during the 2021 NGWA Groundwater Week in December.
