Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)
Base Closure and Utilities Privatization
Support
U.S. Army Construction Engineering
Research Laboratory
ICF International provided comprehensive policy
and technical support on a broad range of base
closure-related divestiture and acquisition
issues, including asset valuation, business
and operational plan review, investment and
risk assessment, negotiation strategy, and
stakeholder management. ICF International's real
estate, urban planning, financial, and infrastructure
management experts have played a vital role
in facilitating the successful transfer and
redevelopment of more than 12 Army installations
representing thousands of acres of land and
millions of square feet of building space.
To better support the complex process of utilities
privatization, CERL engaged ICF International's
utility privatization experts to provide comprehensive
management, process, and technical support
on the divestiture of seven Army utility systems
representing hundreds of millions of dollars
in service contract values. ICF International
has supported the development of accurate system
inventories, independent market analyses, asset
valuations, and 25-year life cycle cost analyses.
ICF International's transaction-oriented approach
to privatization has led to the development
of responsive long-term service contracts and
a strategic negotiation approach that reduces
risk to the government and provides for an
equitable return to utility providers.
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Support
U.S. Army
Under the Community Environmental Response Facilitation
Act (CERFA)—legislation designed to categorize
military properties for rapid reuse—ICF International supported efforts at five bases. As
a pilot team for the U.S. Army, we developed
an approach for the first bases in the BRAC process.
We developed the design standards for the geographic
information system (GIS) outputs to be used in
the planning process.
We were tasked to identify and evaluate parcels
that were clean, clean with qualifiers, disqualified
(contaminated with hazardous or radioactive wastes),
and excluded (excessed to other federal agencies).
We performed extensive surveys related to past
uses and disposal activities, reviews of historic
and archaeological value, and compliance with
other laws relating to discharges. Two of our
sites (Fort Ord, California, and Fort Devens,
Massachusetts) were the first successfully closed
and redeveloped bases in the U.S. Army. To date
nearly 3,000 new jobs have been created at Fort
Devens since our CERFA program was initiated.
Environmental Site Assessment and Remediation
Solvent-Contaminated Groundwater
Investigation
and Remediation Program
U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center, Natick, MA
For more than 10 years, ICF International has
worked at the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center
Superfund Site in Massachusetts, providing
a broad range of services investigating and
remediating groundwater contaminated with chlorinated
solvents. ICF International performed the Remedial
Investigation, which involved the use of innovative
field screening techniques to evaluate the
nature and extent of groundwater contamination.
We evaluated the quality and quantity of the
facilities water supply; conducted extensive
slug and aquifer pump testing; performed groundwater
modeling; prepared aquifer-lake interaction
studies; evaluated and reviewed wellhead delineation;
performed impact analyses; and conducted independent
monitoring. In conjunction with the U.S. Geological
Survey, we supported a water interaction study
that used radioisotope ratios to determine
the percentage of lake water contribution to
nearby public water supply wells.
We prepared the Feasibility Study, Proposed
Plan, and Record of Decision, and designed
and constructed a full-scale groundwater extraction
and treatment system to contain and clean up
the contaminated ground water. Our hydrogeologic
monitoring allowed the Army to integrate environmental
considerations into its site master plan, and
provide scientifically defensible data to use
in its negotiations with the town of Natick.
The remedy includes the cleanup of groundwater
via air stripping and carbon adsorption, monitored
natural attenuation (MNA), long-term groundwater
monitoring, and institutional controls. We
continue to evaluate and optimize the effectiveness
of the cleanup with the aid of a three-dimensional
groundwater flow and contaminant transport
model.
Former Ordnance Disposal
Site Closure
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
ICF International is currently completing a remediation
investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS)
and a munitions and explosives of concern (MEC)
investigation at a Formerly Used Defense Site
(FUDS) site located in a state park in Massachusetts.
This work is being completed under contract
with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers—New
England District, under the technical direction
of the Baltimore District Ordnance and Explosives
(OE) Center of Excellence. We are completing
the investigation to meet the requirements
of the new FUDS guidance and the Massachusetts
Contingency Plan (MCP).
Our work includes delineating the nature and
extent of explosive compounds and degradation
products in groundwater and soil, and developing
risk-based guidelines to complete human health
and ecological risk evaluations. As part of
this project, we prepared a request to sample
for perchlorate at the site, and gained approval
from the Office of Counsel and U.S. Department
of Defense (DOD) technical leads. As part of
this request, we developed a stringent quality
assurance (QA) program for sampling and analysis
of perchlorate in soil and groundwater. We
are also conducting a Geophysical Proveout,
Geophysical Investigation, Target Acquisition,
and MEC removal and demolition. We will be
developing a Proposed Plan and Record of Decision
(ROD) for the site, in concert with developing
and running an ongoing Public Information Program.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Investigations
in Karst Terrain
U.S. Army, Fort Campbell, KY
Since 1994 ICF International has performed a
series of tasks in support of Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA) permits at Fort Campbell,
a 124-square-mile active U.S. Army facility
in Kentucky. Investigations in this complex
karst terrain have included RCRA Facility Investigations
and risk assessments at 24 Solid Waste Management
Units (SWMUs), a SWMU Assessment of 12 newly
identified sites, and a site-wide hydrogeologic
evaluation to assess the potential impacts
of the SWMUs on the on-site drinking water
source.
ICF International performed an evaluation and
selection of remedial actions for a large jet
fuel release and the subsequent pilot testing
of a soil vapor extraction system. We are a
key member of the restoration team providing
program level support, including regulator
negotiations, community relations, data management,
data integration and interpretation, testing
of innovative investigation and remediation
techniques, and development of assessment and
restoration strategies. We instituted the annual
Fort Campbell Karst Symposium where nationally
recognized karst experts meet with regulators
and Fort Campbell investigators to assess the
progress and approach of karst groundwater
investigations.
Fort Campbell was the winner of the Secretary
of the Army Cleanup Award in 1999 and was cited
for best practices in three areas of environmental
restoration by the U.S. Department of Defense
in March 2000.
Environmental Restoration
Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Republic of Belarus
Under the 1991 Nunn-Lugar legislation, a Cooperative
Threat Reduction Program was developed to assist
former Soviet Union countries to eliminate,
and prevent the proliferation of, weapons of
mass destruction. As part of the program, the
U.S. Department of Defense and the Ministry
of Defense of the Republic of Belarus signed
an agreement in 1993 that provides for the
environmental restoration of former Strategic
Rocket Forces (SRF) facilities and sites in
Belarus. ICF International was the integrating
contractor with specific responsibility for
the technical assistance and technology transfer
portion of the program.
This hugely successful program owes its success
to close communications and tightly controlled
activities both in the United States and the
Republic of Belarus. We negotiated, managed,
and integrated complex communications among
U.S. agencies—Defense Threat Reduction
Agency (DTRA), Pentagon, Army, Air Force, Corps
of Engineers, Department of State—Belarussian
Ministries and agencies, and six different
DTRA contractors, through effective formal
and informal communication and reporting mechanisms.
The total value of the program was $25 million
and involved literally hundreds of technical,
logistical, and managerial experts. The technical
assistance and technology transfer element
provided specialized training to Belarussians
through five interrelated topics:
- remediation plan development (including
risk assessments and transport/fate modeling)
- technical field training
- exchanges of delegations of Belarussian
officials
- academic sabbaticals and international
conferences
- a laboratory, RS/GIS capabilities, and
remediation technologies
The program facilitated the removal of 81
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles with nuclear
warheads from the territory of Belarus; to
this day, Belarus remains nuclear-free.
Environmental Risk Assessment, Risk Management,
and Quality Assurance
Analysis of Waste Management Alternatives
U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)
ICF International analyzed alternative hazardous
waste management practices that would reduce
the environmental risks and costs of managing
DOD wastes. The analysis involved developing
a computer model that incorporated the risks
and costs, including potential long-term cleanup
costs and third-party liability claims, associated
with over 100 alternative management practices
for DOD's 15 major waste streams. Pollution
prevention and recycling options were included
among the alternatives analyzed. The costs
of alternatives were ranked to devise a least-cost
waste management strategy.
Ecological Risk Assessment of PCB-Contaminated
Lake Sediments
U.S. Army
ICF International performed an extensive ecological
risk assessment on PCB-contaminated lake sediments
at a U.S. Army research and development facility
in eastern Massachusetts. The tiered risk assessment
approach involved sampling of lake sediments,
invertebrates, and fish; chemical analyses;
sediment toxicity testing; benthic macroinvertebrate
surveys; and wildlife surveys. The collected
sediment and tissue data were used to support
a food chain model to estimate potential ecological
risks to higher-level mammalian and avian receptors.
Deterministic and advanced probabilistic ecological
risk assessments were performed to evaluate
ecological risks and to develop preliminary
sediment remediation goals.
Quality Assurance Support for Site Assessments
U.S. Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
ICF International chemists have coordinated sampling
and analysis programs for site assessments
conducted under contract to U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Region I, the U.S. Army,
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and numerous
commercial clients. Analytical programs were
designed to provide data to support risk assessments,
evaluate the nature and extent of contamination,
perform fate and transport studies, design
and evaluate remediation alternatives, and
assess treatment programs. In addition to managing
analytical programs, ICF International chemists
have prepared quality assurance plans, performed
data validation, and prepared data usability
reports in support of site assessments.
Sampling, Analysis, and Quality Assessment
Program
U.S. Army Program Manager, Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment (PMACWA)
ICF International managed the sampling, analysis,
and quality assurance (QA) programs for the
U.S. Army Program Manager for PMACWA. This
effort required coordination of numerous sampling
locations and a network of commercial, U.S.
Army, field, and academic laboratories. The
effort involved over 40,000 sample analyses
and resulted in approximately 1 million analytical
data results in support of a multimillion-dollar
series of technology demonstration tests. ICF International also coordinated the distribution
and evaluation of performance evaluation samples
and arranged annual on-site audits of commercial
laboratories. The chemistry staff validated
approximately 2,000 individual data packages
and prepared a data quality report for each
technology demonstrated.
Environmental-Business Strategy Review
U.S. Navy, Patuxent River Naval Air Station (NAS)
ICF International has completed several related
initiatives at the NAS Patuxent River to address
environmental and operational impacts from
both base realignments and reductions in congressional
funding for the U.S. Department of Defense
(DOD). The objective of these initiatives was
to help the station to position itself as a
viable and competitive resource for the Navy
while promoting responsible environmental stewardship
within both the planning and operational functions
of the station. Specifically, the NAS instituted
an Environmental Review Process (ERP) to promote
sustainability of NAS activities while increasing
the awareness of environmental and regional
issues in the planning and execution of research,
development, test, and evaluation activities
at the NAS Patuxent River and its ranges. Additionally,
the ERP has been designed to streamline and
integrate operational environmental compliance
and management requirements, and to provide
an interdisciplinary approach to beyond-compliance
capabilities for NAS.
ICF International designed the ERP to accomplish
several distinct but related goals:
- obtaining the commitment of both host and
tenant organizations
- establishing an environmental review board
- developing and using environmental and
operational performance indicators
- integrating corrective action measures
with business planning
Together, these components allow for an efficient
means to assess operational, environmental,
regional, and business objectives and effectiveness
in meeting them. The approach that we used
in establishing a process for operational environmental
review parallels the guidelines set forth within
the ISO 14001 standard. Although NAS has not
currently chosen to become ISO 14001 compliant,
the EMS that we have helped to create at the
NAS has followed the ISO guidelines. In doing
so, we have helped NAS to establish an environmental
policy for NAS operations, incorporate elements
of the policy into NAS operational planning,
provide a means for checking and implementing
corrective actions, and set forth actions for
management review.
Risk Assessment Design and Support
U.S. Army, Fort Campbell, KY
At Fort Campbell, Kentucky, ICF International
planned, implemented, and successfully closed
a large number of Solid Waste Management Units
(SWMUs). Our risk assessors were involved from
the beginning of the planning phase, in order
to focus and limit the sampling necessary at
each SWMU. We were also involved in development
of base-wide background values and in the development
of a base-wide Fort Campbell Risk Assessment
Strategy. Quantitative human health risk assessments
for 23 SWMUs were conducted. The complex investigation
of hazardous substances at 23 separate SWMUs—and
the consideration of 8 potentially exposed
populations with 7 potential exposure routes—necessitated
an automated approach.
ICF International developed a human health risk
assessment computer program, which could import
data from the Army's database. This allowed
for a more efficient process, permitting us
to more easily quality check the data and the
resulting risk analyses. Using our on-line
database capabilities for sample tracking and
chemical analysis results, we were able to
provide the client with preliminary results
indicating the nature and extent of contamination
at each SWMU. This information was used to
initiate corrective actions, such as soil removal—immediately,
if necessary. The risk assessment computer
program allows ICF International to provide timely
and cost-effective work products to help our
clients make site cleanup decisions.
Environmental Compliance Management
Program Management and Technical
Support
Civil Engineering and Environmental Management Office,
Missile Defense Agency (MDA)
ICF International provides program management
and technical support to MDA’s environmental
stewardship and Ballistic Missile Defense System
(BMDS) test and deployment activities. ICF International develops and reviews National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) documents related to the
acquisition, testing, and deployment of proposed
BMDS technologies. The work involves coordinating
several branches of the military and numerous
other federal and state government agencies,
as well as the use of cleared staff and facilities.
ICF International is preparing a programmatic
environmental impact statement (EIS) for BMDS
that involves technologies and systems ranging
in maturity from PATRIOT missiles to directed
energy weapons (lasers) and kinetic energy
intercept concepts from space-based satellites.
ICF International also developed and is maintaining
MDA’s environmental knowledge management
system known as the Library of Environmental
Analysis Documents or LEAD system. The LEAD
system has allowed MDA to streamline its environmental
compliance activities.
Methodology for Identifying and Tracking
Environmental Regulations
U.S. Army Environmental Policy Institute (AEPI)
ICF International developed a methodology for
AEPI to identify, screen, analyze, and follow
up on environmental regulations and policies
that may affect Army operations. The methodology
consisted of five steps:
- identify potential federal regulatory and
policy initiatives (e.g., by reviewing the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda, and conducting
research on EPA policies)
- assess relevancy of the initiatives to
the Army, by identifying priority areas and
data needs and screening initiatives based
on selected criteria
- analyze potential impacts of relevant initiatives
on the Army and clarify the Army's current
level of involvement in the initiative
- design and implement tracking strategy
to continue to monitor and report on the
regulatory and policy initiatives
- provide follow-up support on regulatory
and policy initiatives
In addition to developing a report describing
the methodology in detail, ICF International then
carried out the proposed methodology to identify
any upcoming regulations or policies that might
affect the Army's chemical demilitarization
program.
U.S. Army Reserve Facility Manager's Environmental
Handbook
U.S. Army Environmental Policy Institute (AEPI)
For AEPI, ICF International developed a Handbook
to assist U.S. Army Reserve Facility Managers
in identifying major environmental problems
that can occur during normal operations at
a Reserve Center, and in complying with the
appropriate environmental regulations. The
environmental program areas addressed by the
handbook include the National Environmental
Policy Act, management of hazardous materials
and wastes (e.g., under RCRA), keeping water
resources clean (e.g., under the Clean Water
Act), clean air issues, and other special considerations
(e.g., pesticides, waste oil, PCBs, noise,
radon, and lead paint).
The handbook was intended for non-environmental
staff, and was designed to make the managers
aware of the laws and regulations that can
affect facility operations. The discussion
of each program area provides a map of a typical
reserve center and highlights the potential
compliance problem areas. The handbook also
provides quick references, frequently asked
questions, lists of contacts, and instructions
on how to prepare for an audit/inspection and
what to do if a violation is found.
U.S. Army Installation Safe Drinking Water
Compliance Analysis
U.S. Army Environmental Policy Institute (AEPI)
For AEPI, ICF International conducted an analys
is
of Army installation compliance with Safe
Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requirements. The
purpose of the analysis was threefold:
- to determine whether there are certain
trends in noncompliance at Army facilities,
such as relationship to type of installation,
type of water system, type of violation,
and cause of violation
- to assess the general reasons for noncompliance
in order to analyze the programmatic needs
for addressing these deficiencies
- to compare the different sources of data
on compliance and determine whether there
are any inconsistencies to be addressed from
an environmental management system perspective
To allow for comparison across the different
data sets, ICF International grouped the findings
under six general categories:
- source-water protection
- water treatment plant
- distribution system
- contaminant monitoring procedures
- monitoring-related administrative requirements
- system-wide administrative requirements
Each finding was categorized according to
the type of violation (e.g., administrative,
equipment, or operation) to allow for analysis
of reasons for noncompliance (e.g., insufficient
training, inadequate supervision, lack of standard
operating procedures, lack of budget for equipment
repairs, etc.). Finally, the findings were
given characterization codes to provide further
information on the severity of the violation
(e.g., whether a few records were missing or
whether record keeping was never conducted
at all).
U.S. Army Reserve Environmental Regulatory
Compliance Analysis
U.S. Army Environmental Policy Institute (AEPI)
For AEPI, ICF International conducted an analysis
of trends in compliance with environmental
regulations at U.S. Army Reserve facilities.
The purpose of the analysis was to:
- determine under which regulatory protocols
the most incidents of non-compliance occurred
- identify the most common violations under
each regulatory program
- identify violations that could have immediate
and serious consequences to human health
and the environment
The data sources for this analysis were Environmental
Compliance Assessment System (ECAS) audits
performed from 1991 to 1997 under 17 regulatory
protocols covering all environmental statutes,
including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act
(CWA), RCRA, Toxic Substances Control Act,
and Safe Drinking Water Act. The audit data
covered more than 500 Army Reserve installations
in 46 states and included more than 2,000 violations.
Results of the analysis indicated the environmental
regulatory areas where additional management
attention would be appropriate to ensure that
Reserve facility operations do not endanger
human health and the environment.
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