WorldWide Drilling Resource

21 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® JANUARY 2014 Outsmarting the Dirt ~ Remediation Part 3 by Thomas D. Dalzell, CWD Director of Environmental Research AMS, Inc. Confirmation of Successful Remediation and Site Closure Confirmation or verification borings are conducted in the most contaminated locations identified by the EIs (environ- mental drilling investigations) after reme- dial activities have been completed to confirm or verify subsurface contami- nants have been eliminated or reduced to the acceptable level specified in the RAP (remedial action plan). Soil and/or groundwater samples are collected from the borings and sub- mitted to a certified analytical laboratory. Laboratory results can confirm the reme- diation was successfully completed as specified in the RAP or if remedial activ- ities need to be continued. In addition, confirmation borings may be conducted quarterly or semiannually if the time for cleanup is more than one year. Confir- mation borings and sampling are done before the end of the remediation, to confirm the remediation at the site is going as planned/scheduled. Once it has been shown the site meets all of the requirements for proper regulatory closure, and closure has been granted/approved, the site can be safely used for other activities. Closure means previous contamination has been elim- inated or reduced so it can no longer migrate to, or negatively affect ground- water resources. Specifically, it means the applicable regulatory agency requires no further action regarding the previous contamination at the site. Summary and Conclusions Lack of proper preparation and plan- ning leads to poor performance! The purpose of this article is to list/ outline the crucial steps and consider- ations, at a minimum, which should be taken into account every time, to devel- op a RAP and conduct a complete re- medial activity/program. As mentioned at the beginning; specifically, the goal of EIs is to protect and restore groundwater resources. Ul- timately, the entire project is conducted to represent actual subsurface condi- tions to provide data to develop a strat- egy to protect human health and the environment. Once the property is ade- quately remediated and confirmatory soil sampling is conducted to confirm this fact, the property can be “case closed” or achieve site closure and be used safely for a wide variety of future activ- ities, construction, and occupation. Direct push can be an effective and cost-efficient method toward the suc- cessful remediation and closure of a site. Tom admin@ worldwidedrillingresource.com