|
Original Date: 08/10/1998
Revision Date: 01/18/2007
Information : National Priorities List Program
Like other government facilities, Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), Lakehurst supported different missions over the years, and accumulated a variety of environmental problems. In 1987, NAWC, Lakehurst was placed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priorities List (NPL) as a facility with serious environmental issues. Faced with these challenges as well as strict environmental regulations, NAWC, Lakehurst’s Environmental Branch implemented the NPL program.
Operating out of the Public Works Department, the Environmental Branch consists of nine engineers and one manager each a Registered Environmental Manager. Each engineer has total responsibility for one or more programs; determines the proper blend of individual responsibility and teamwork; and manages contracts by providing directions to consultants and construction contractors as required. In addition, the engineers can write construction; operations and maintenance; and/or architectural and engineering service contracts. Through the Environmental Branch’s efforts, NAWC, Lakehurst accomplished the following:
Received teamwide training in groundwater modeling (e.g., 3-D subsurface modeling, geostatistical interpretation and visualization, program interfaces) which expanded the team’s ongoing modeling and subsequent decision-making efforts.
Met all Federal Facilities Agreement schedule deadlines. In May 1997, final Records of Decision were signed for three areas of groundwater contamination, with one scheduled for May 1999. In-house contaminant transport modeling is now the focus of efforts to accurately predict groundwater treatment completion times.
Optimized soil and groundwater treatment facilities through in-situ treatment and natural restoration. NAWC, Lakehurst uses groundwater sparging and spraying to further reduce dependency on groundwater pump and treat technology.
Reduced operational sampling costs through negotiations with regulators (a savings of $150,000 per year).
Created a groundwater model of the base’s 80-acre wetlands, which revealed (1) remediation by traditional pumping and treat technology would further damage the area, and (2) natural restoration methods would be the best alternative. Cost avoidance savings for construction, operations, and maintenance is expected to be more than $40 million.
Developed a solar-powered groundwater treatment system using solar panels to power pilot-scale air sparge wells and spray irrigation systems.
Placed environmental data on NAWC, Lakehurst’s website. Accessible by the public, this website includes information on the base’s environmental projects, current status, and schedules for public meetings.
These accomplishments reflect the Environmental Branch’s teamwork and expertise in solving problems. The Branch’s efforts (e.g., in-house developments, aggressive community awareness program, state-of-the-art computer groundwater modeling) enabled NAWC, Lakehurst to gain the trust and support of the environmental regulators as well as the public. The NPL program, designated best in the Navy for FY97, is playing an important role in NAWC, Lakehurst’s efforts to have the base removed from the NPL. Only 11 of 45 sites require further action, and all have remedial processes in place.
For more information see the
Point of Contact for this survey.
|
