Date: 2016 – 2021
Location: Location not provided for purposes of confidentiality.
Phase II Environmental Site Assessment (ESA): Leaaf Environmental, LLC (Leaaf) was contracted by the City of New Orleans to provide personnel and equipment to perform a Phase II ESA (Additional Assessment) on the grounds of a local Recreation Center. The purpose of this Additional Assessment was to collect analytical data at the request of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) for the previously unassessed grass area behind the Recreation Center’s pool, pool house, and gym. A total of eight boreholes were advanced to six feet below ground surface to evaluate the presence of the constituents of concern (COCs), which included polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and RCRA 8 Metals in the soil.
Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP) Management Option (MO)-1 Evaluation: A limited non-industrial RECAP evaluation was performed on one soil Area of Investigation (AOI). The risk assessment showed that concentrations of lead, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, and benzo(b)fluoranthene were above the non-industrial MO-1 RECAP Standards and required corrective action.
Corrective Action Plan and Remediation: Leaaf completed the preparation and implementation of a Corrective Action Plan to remediate the MO-1 exceedances on the grounds surrounding the gym, allowing for the development of the property for its intended use. Contaminated soil (2,129.11 tons) were removed, transported, and disposed appropriately. Throughout the remediation process, Leaaf developed a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) in accordance with Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s (LDEQ’s) regulations (Louisiana Administrative Code [LAC], Title 33, Part IX – Water Quality, Chapter 9) and City of New Orleans requirements. The overall extent of the excavation was determined by confirmatory soil sample results, property boundaries, and subsurface utility locations. Confirmatory soil samples were collected, and as the concentrations of the COCs exceeded the LDEQ RECAP Screening Standards in several sidewall samples, the site will be managed through engineering controls. Leaaf filed a conveyance notice on the site identifying those locations where COCs still exceeded the RECAP Standards. The excavation was backfilled with clean river sand to grade and rye grass was planted over the excavation area to minimize storm water run-off.
Redevelopment: In the summer of 2017, a multipurpose field was graded and sodded per the City of New Orleans Parks and Parkways specifications. In areas where there was no excavation and with elevated confirmatory sidewall samples, a visual warning barrier was placed on the ground surface and additional fill material was installed prior to sodding of the field.
