ACEC of Vermont's
6th Annual
Environmental Protection Technical Workshop
ACEC of Vermont is excited to offer five technical presentations as part of our Annual Environmental Protection Technical Workshop! This year the Workshop will take place virtually on November 17th from 11:45 AM – 5:00 PM as further described in the Technical Workshop Agenda below.
The Workshop will be comprised of five diverse presentations including: a case study on the challenges of working in a school environment to address PCB contamination at the Burlington High School; a discussion on innovative assessment and design practices to improve project implementation in river-road conflict areas; the regulatory and technical challenges for the Pico Killington snowmaking interconnect; a discussion on the impacts that stringent PFAS drinking water standards, surface water standards, and effluent restrictions can have on facilities that use PFAS-containing compounds in their processes; and a discussion on overcoming the challenges of redeveloping an environmentally compromised site for a solar project.
Presentations will be provided by Fuss & O’Neill, SLR/VTDEC, Sanborn, Head and Associates, and VHB.
As an ACEC National recognized Regional Continuing Education Provider (RCEP), ACEC of Vermont will be providing workshop attendees with 5.0 approved Vermont professional development hours (PDHs) for the workshop.
We look forward to seeing you on November 17th.
TECHNICAL WORKSHOP AGENDA
Opening Remarks and Sponsor Recognition: 11:45 AM – 11:55 AM
Brendan Cosgrove, Executive Director for ACEC of Vermont
Webinar #1: 11:55 AM – 12:40 PM
Course Title: Burlington High School Remediation Project
Purpose and Objective:
The Burlington High School Remediation Project is a challenging and unique project that will have lasting implications for schools, engineering firms, and regulators in Vermont. Fuss & O’Neill has been involved in the Burlington High School PCB remediation project since February 2020. They were hired by the Burlington School District to assist with managing PCB contamination at the site including indoor air, building materials, and soil.
This presentation will include a discussion on the unique technical, regulatory, and public perception challenges of working in a school environment to address PCB contamination. The presentation will highlight project coordination and the regulatory requirements of VTDEC, Vermont Department of Health, and USEPA Region 1.
Presenter: Josh Robinson, Fuss & O’Neill, Inc.
Webinar #2: 12:50 PM – 1:35 PM
Course Title: Case Studies in River-Road Conflict Areas using Fluvial Geomorphology for Resilient Design
Purpose and Objective:
VTDEC, VTrans, and consulting partners are implementing the Vermont Rivers & Roads training
program to develop a more informed workforce to create a more resilient transportation
network while also protecting rivers. This program has led to innovative assessment and design
practices to improve project implementation in river-road conflict areas. This presentation will provide an overview of the Vermont Rivers & Roads Training Program and discuss several case studies illustrating key lessons learned. This program has been recently adopted by MassDOT and is now influencing transportation projects across the northeast US region.
Presenters: Roy Schiff, SLR; Todd Menees, VTDEC; and Staci Pomeroy, VTDEC
Break: 1:35 PM – 1:45 PM
Webinar #3: 1:45 –2:35 AM
Course Title: Killington Pico Snowmaking Interconnect Project
Purpose and Objective:
The Killington-Pico Snowmaking Interconnect Project represents the largest investment in Pico Mountain in the last two decades with the construction of an 8,000-foot pipeline between Killington and Pico to reliably deliver water to Pico for snowmaking operations. For many years, insufficient water for snowmaking at Pico, coupled with insufficient conservation flows at Pico’s Mendon Brook intake have greatly limited ski operations.
The project raised unique regulatory considerations given that the proposal involved an inter-basin transfer of significant volumes of water by Killington from the Ottauquechee River and Woodward Reservoir within the Connecticut River basin to the Mendon Brook watershed at Pico, in the Lake Champlain basin. The Project is the first instance of such a proposed water transfer in Vermont. Ultimately, the Project Team had to demonstrate compliance for both basins with the Vermont Water Quality Standards based on the completion of habitat assessments, hydrologic modeling, and snowmelt assessments. This presentation will give an overview of the Project, regulatory setting, stakeholder engagement and outcome, focusing on the unique technical and regulatory challenges that were successfully addressed.
Presenters: Lydia Lee and Jeff Nelson, VHB
Webinar #4: 2:45 –3:35 AM
Course Title: Evolving PFAS Topics Relevant to Industrial Facilities and Landfills
Purpose and Objective:
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are receiving ever growing attention as more states set stringent drinking water standards to protect public health. In parallel, regulatory agencies are expending considerable effort at identifying and evaluating potential sources of PFAS including landfills and metal finishing businesses that may be contributing to groundwater and surface water impacts. Assuming some familiarity with PFAS, a brief introduction will be provided on PFAS health effects and concerns that are driving state-led regulations, with emphasis on emerging surface water standards (including those under investigation in Vermont).
Participants will gain a better understanding of the impacts that stringent PFAS drinking water standards, surface water standards, or effluent restrictions at wastewater treatment plants can have on landfills and other facilities that use PFAS-containing compounds in their processes. Participants will also understand the types of PFAS treatment technologies that are available or are currently being evaluated for landfill leachate or wastewater.
Presenter: Matthew Estabrooks, P.E., Sanborn, Head and Associates, Inc.
Break: 3:45 PM – 4:00 PM
Webinar #5: 4:00 – 4:50 AM
Course Title: ER Salvage Yard Solar Project: From Junkyard to Renewable Power Generation Facility
Purpose and Objective:
Partnering with VHB, Encore Renewable Energy (Encore) embarked on an ambitious project to transform former junk yard fields that once contained solid waste, salvaged materials, tires, drums, tanks, and contaminated soil into a 2.1-megawatt (MW) community solar array. The ER Salvage Yard Solar Project’s solar array is expected to power approximately 325 homes annually, and its development supported the environmental remediation of the site required for regulatory approval of the solar array.
The presentation will provide an overview of the environmental studies required for the Section 248 process, highlighting the unique challenges inherent in redevelopment of a junkyard facility with several recognized environmental conditions (RECs). It will also include a discussion on how the findings of environmental assessments and investigations informed the development of a soil management plan, which allowed mitigation of contaminated soil to occur concurrently with construction of the solar facility. This approach saved the Project cost and time, and adequately mitigated risk to human health and the environment.
Attendees will leave this informative presentation with a greater understanding of how the challenges of redeveloping an environmentally compromised site can be overcome by conducting thorough environmental assessments and developing an effective contaminated soil management plan. They will come away with more awareness of the regulatory approval process involved in the environmental remediation of a site like a salvage yard.
Presenters: Lydia Lee and Tim Upton, VHB; and Project Representative TBD, Encore Renewable Energy
Closing Remarks: 4:50 – 5:00 PM
Brian Beaudoin, P.E
