HomeMy WebLinkAboutPR 15123: SCS ENGINEERS - LANDFILL LEVEE REPAIRSMEMORANDUM
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
TO: Stephen B. Fitzgibbons, City Manager
FROM: Ross E. Blackketter, P.E., Director of Public Works
SUBJECT: P. R.# 15123, SCS Engineers for Landfill Levee Repair
DATE: 18 March 2009
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council approve Proposed Resolution No. 15123 approving an
agreement previously authorized by the City Manager with SCS Engineers of Bedford, Texas for
responding to a statistical exceedence of groundwater standards for the amount of $13,800.
Funds are available in account 403-1274-533.54-00.
BACKGROUND:
One of the groundwater monitoring wells at the City landfill has shown a statistically significant
exceedence in the levels of Volatile Organic Constituents (VOCs). The Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has certain requirements on how to respond to an event like this.
Because of the time frame required to respond, the City Manager approved SCS Engineers
preparing the appropriate action plan and performing the necessary initial investigation.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL EFFECT:
Funds are available in account 403-1274-533.54-00.
EMPLOYEE/STAFF EFFECT:
None..
SUMMARY:
It is recommended that the City Council approve Proposed Resolution No.
agreement previously authorized by the City Manager with SCS Engineers
responding to a statistical exceedence of groundwater standards for the
Funds are available in account 403-1274-533.54-00.
~`~C rE~C~iG~
Ross E. Blackketter, P.E. e
Director of Public Works
REB/reb
15123 approving an
of Bedford, Texas for
amount of $13,800.
Z:\engineer\Documents\CAMS\Groundwater Response.doc
P.R.15123
03/18/09 reb
RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION APPROVING A PREVIOUSLY AUTHORIZED
AGREEMENT BY THE CITY MANAGER WITH SCS ENGINEERS
OF BEDFORD, TEXAS TO INVESTIGATE GROUNDWATER
EXCEEDENCES AT THE CITY LANDFILL FOR THE AMOUNT OF
$13,800; FUNDING BEING AVAILABLE IN ACCOUNT 403-
1274-533.54-00
WHEREAS, that a statistically significant exceedence to groundwater standards was
detected in a monitoring well at the City landfill; and,
WHEREAS, SCS Engineers has submitted a proposal to investigate the source of
compounds exceeding criteria and create an action plan for the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality according to their standards; and,
WHEREAS, SCS Engineers can perform this service for a cost of $13,800, which, due to
the time requirements has been authorized by the City Manager; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR:
THAT, the City Council approves the agreement authorized by the City Manager with
SCS Engineers of Bedford, Texas (attached as Exhibit "A'~ to provide necessary services in
response to the statistical exceedence of groundwater standards, funding being available in
account 403-1274-533.54-00 as it pertains to the February 23rd proposal by SCS, Proposal No.
16123208; and,
THAT, a copy of the caption of this Resolution be spread upon the Minutes of the City
Council.
READ, ADOPTED, AND APPROVED this the _ day of A.D. 2009
at a meeting of the City of Port Arthur, Texas by the following vote:
AYES:
Mayor,
Councilmembers:
P.R.15123
Page 2
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Secretary
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
City Attorney
APPROVED FOR ADMINISTRATION:
Stephen B. Fitzgibbons
City Manager
APPROVED AS TO AVAILABILITY
O FUNDS:
Rebecca Underhill, CPA
Assistant City Manager/Administration
Ross E. Blackketter, P.E.
Director of Public Works
Z:\engineer\Documents\Resolutions\PR15123
EXHIBIT A
AGREEMENT BETWEEN SCS ENGINEERS AND CLIENT
FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
This Agreement is made by and between the City of Port Arthur, Texas (hereafter "Client"), and
SCS Engineers (hereafter "SCS").
WITNESSETH
That for the considerations set forth below, the parties agree as follows:
1. Scope of Services: SCS shall provide services (hereafter "Services") for investigating
Volatile Organic Detections in monitoring well MW-2 at the City of Port Arthw Landfill, as defined in SCS'
letter of February 20, 2009, as directed by the Client, in accordance with the terms and conditions of this
Agreement.
2. Basis of Compensation: Time and Materials, not to exceed contract total of $13,800.
3. Method of Invoicing: monthly on a percent complete basis
4. Professional Retainer: not applicable
5. Other Terms: not applicable
6. General Conditions:
a. Payments for invoices prepared by SCS aze due and payable upon receipt. Payments due SCS under this
Agreement shall be subject to a service chazge of one and one-half (1-1/2) percent per month for invoices not
paid within thirty (30) days after the date of receipt of invoice.
b. Client agrees to pay all costs and expenses of SCS, including reasonable attorney fees, arising out of or in
connection with collecting amounts for which Client is responsible pursuant to this Agreement
c. This Agreement may be terminated by either party upon I S days' written notice to the other party. Upon
termination, SCS shall be paid for all Services rendered to the date of termination together with any
termination expenses incurred.
d. Any work in addition to that described in Article I above performed at the request of the Client shall be
compensated on atime-and-materials basis at the rates contained in SCS' Standazd Fee Schedule in effect at
the time of performance of the Services, said schedule being attached hereto.
e. The parties hereto shall each maintain in full force and effect Commercial General Liability inswance with
coverage limits, which are reasonable in light of the Services to be undertaken, and Workers' Compensation
Insurance as required bylaw. SCS will maintain liability insurance in the minimum amount of $1,000,000.
f. Any drawings, specifications, reports, data and notes developed pursuant to this Agreement aze
instruments of service, and as such the original documents, tracings, and field notes are and remain the
property of SCS. Copies will be made available to the city upon request.
F bD proposals pon Ashur gN' 2009 CO?2709 Contract P~ Ashur VOCs in M W-2.dce
g. Neither party shall delegate its duties under this Agreement without the written consent of the other party.
Each party binds itself to the successors, administrators and assigns of the other party in respect of all
covenants of this Agreement.
h. The parties agree to the following allocation of liability in the projects undertaken hereunder. The parties
agree that SCS' liability under this Agreement and for the Project shall be limited to the amount covered, if
any, by SCS' liability insurance then in effect, or the amount of SCS' total fees hereunder (whichever is
greater). The Client may pay For the assumption of additional liability by SCS as a separate line item in
Article 2 above.
i. Unless otherwise expressly stated in the Scope of Services, SCS shall have no responsibility for site health
and safety, except with respect to the activities of SCS and its subcontractors. In no event shall SCS be
responsible for the means, methods or manner of performance of any persons other than SCS and SCS'
subcontractors.
j. Client agrees that SCS will not be responsible for liability caused by the presence or release of hazazdous
substances or contaminants at the site, unless the release results from the sole negligence of SCS or its
subcontractors. The Client will either make others responsible for liabilities due to such conditions, or will
indemnify, defend and save harmless SCS from such liabilities. At no time shall title to hazazdous
substances, solid wastes, petroleum contaminated soil or other regulated substances pass to SCS, nor shall
any provision of this Agreement be interpreted to permit or obligate SCS to assume the status of a
"generator," "owner," "operator," "transporter," "arranger" or "treatment, storage or disposal facility" under
state or federal law. The provisions of this Article 6j shall survive any termination of this Ageement.
k. SCS shall be entitled to rely on information provided by Client. SCS shall be entitled to an equitable
adjustment in the price and schedule, as ageed by the Client, if conditions differ materially from information
provided by Client, or differ from what could reasonably be anticipated given the nature of the Services.
7. For the purposes of this Agreement, the term "SCS Engineers" shall mean Steams, Conrad
and Schmidt Consulting Engineers, Inc.
S. This contract is subject to the annual budget process of the City and the availability of funds.
If the City is not able to budget funds, then SCS will be notified accordingly.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be executed by their duly authorized
representatives as of the last date written below.
SCS ENGINEE
~~~~
BY:
NAME: Kevin D. Yard, P.E., BCEE
TITLE: Vice President/
DATE: °~/ ~ ~/ ~~
CITY OF PO/~R~T ARTHUR, TEXAS:
BY: ~/
NAME• Sfr~r// /~/Ly~,Slo•, ,
TITLE: ~rYV /~'J.,, .,, r
DATE: 3~ ~~O q
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Environmental Consultants 1901 Central Drive 817 571-2288
and Contractors Suite 550 FAX 817 571-2188
Bed Ford, Texas 76021 www.scsengineers.com
February 23, 2009
SCS Proposal No. 16123208
Mr. John Comeaux, P.E.
Assistant City Manager, Operations
City of Port Arthur
444 4's Street
Port Arthur, Texas 77640
Subject: Proposal for Investigation of VOCs in Monitoring Well MW-2
City of Port Arthur Landfill
Dear Mr. Comeaux:
As discussed in our conference call of February 16, 2009, SCS Engineers (SCS) is pleased to
present this proposal for services associated with volatile organic constituents (VOCs) detected
in monitoring well MW-2 at the City of Port Arthur Landfill (the Landfill). SCS has appreciated
the opportunity to provide groundwater monitoring services thus far, and we look forwazd to
providing these related services to the City.
These services aze required due to a statistical exceedence in a Groundwater Protection Standard
for VOCs that was reported to TCEQ as required by solid waste regulation 330.409(g). These
services are proposed in conjunction with a commitment made in a letter sent to the TCEQ dated
February 16, 2009 to submit an Action Plan within 30 days (i.e., by Mazch 16) to address VOC
detections in monitoring well MW-2. The Action Plan states that only a limited initial
investigation is possible at this time, due to uncertainties associated with the fact that the
Subchapter J Permit Modification and associated well installation plugging is still undergoing
TCEQ review. Monitoring well MW-2 is scheduled to be plugged soon after the Subchapter J
Permit Modification is approved, unless TCEQ determines that plugging of this well will not be
approved due to VOC detections.
1.0 PROJECT BACKGROUND
The Port Arthur Landfill has eight Subtitle D groundwater monitoring wells. Monitoring wells
MW-1 and MW-2 aze located upgradient of the Phase I area of Site 1815. The other wells aze
generally downgradient and/or possibly sidegradient. All of the existing monitoring wells in the
approved groundwater monitoring system are located downgradient of the closed Site 0009,
immediately adjacent to the east. Background monitoring for all wells consisted of eight
sampling events conducted from March, 1996 to July, 1997. Semi-annual detection monitoring
was initiated in January, 1998 and has continued through the present.
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Offices Nationwide g.~
Mr. John Comeaux, P.E.
February 23, 2009
Page 2 of 6
VOC detections in monitoring well MW-2 have been variable, ranging from non-detect to
exceeding federal drinking water standards. The VOCs detected in MW-2 aze summarized in
the following table. The VOCs of concern include cis-1,2 dichloroethylene (cis-1,2 DCE),
trichloroethylene (TCE), and tetrachloroethylene (PCE). The cis-1,2 DCE detections are well
below the Maximum Contaminant Limit (MCL) of 70 ug/L. However, recent TCE and PCE
detections have been above their respective MCLs of 5 ug/L. The detections aze tabulated and
graphed below. Given that VOCs were detected for the last two sample events both before and
after Humcane Ike flooding, it appears unlikely that the flooding affected VOCs in MW-2.
VOC Detections in MW-2
Cis 1,2 DCE ug/L PCE ug/L TCE ug/L
Maximum
Contaminant Limit
(ug/L)
70
5
5
1/14/2004 1.3 <1.0 1.8
7/15/2004 2.9 1.1 4.7
1 / 12/2005 4.0 2.0 6.8
8/23/2005 2.4 2.5 6.6
12/1 /2005 1.9 2.4 4.7
2/ 1 /2006 5.6 5.1 12
7/20/2006 <5 <5 7
1 /25/2007 <5 <5 <5
6/28/2007 <5 <5 <5
12/6/2007 ] 0 8.9 23
6/12/2008 17 26 37
12/ 17/2008 15 24 40
Monitoring well MW-2 was placed in assessment monitoring in 2006, as required by the
confirmed VOC detections. Possible origins for these VOC detections were evaluated in a
November 2006 investigation, when it was concluded that landfill gas (LFG) was the most likely
cause. Due to the proximity of MW-2 to both the 0009 and 1815 in-situ lined areas, LFG from
either or both areas maybe the cause of VOCs in MW-2.
F^b Dlpmposals•,pon Anhur~gWQ0p9'~•P022309 Comraux GW'M MW'-2 VOC Investigation.doc
Mr. John Comeaux, P.E.
February 23, 2009
Page 3 of 6
Port Arthur Landfill Groundwater Monitoring
VOCs in MW-2
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20 I --~ PCE (ug/I)
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10 i~-TCE (ug/l)
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2.0 SCOPE OF WORK
This scope of work includes three tasks, as described below.
Task 1 -Preliminary Services
In order to comply with TCEQ deadlines, these services have been provided in conjunction with
addressing the statistical exceedence reported in the February 16, 2009 statistical submittal.
These services include
• Conducting initial analysis, regulatory review and formulating recommendations
• A conference call on February 16, 2009
• Drafting Notification of Local Government Authorities Letter (provided to the City via e-
mail on February 18, 2009)
• Drafting Action Plan (provided as attached to this proposal)
F:\hD',proposals\pon AnhurgW'Q009tPo??309 Comeaux GWM MW-2 VOC Imesti~ation.dce
Mr. John Comeaux, P.E.
February 23, 2009
Page 4 of 6
Task 2-Monitoring Well Field Sampling and Bar Probe Investigation
Task 2 goals include:
(]) Sample wells to re-establish that any goundwater plume that may exist is not moving off
the Landfill property. This was an important conclusion to the 2006 investigation, and it
would be in the City's interest to promptly update and confirm this conclusion.
Water sampling of wells surrounding MW-2 is intended to "put a box azound the
problem" and demonstrate very limited geographic extent (in fact, it is hoped that results
demonstrate the problem is entirely confined to just MW-2). Sampling (for VOCs only)
is proposed for five wells: MW-2 and the wells on either side of MW-2 (i.e., MW-1 and
MW-3), TMW-2 (installed as a part of the 2006 investigation), and NB-1 (piezometer
installed in 0009 azea in 2001 and sampled as a part of the 2006 investigation).
Prior to sampling, the air in the well casings above the water will be measured with
calibrated GEM 2000 gas analyzer to determine if any methane occurs in the wells.
It is important to collect water samples that are representative of groundwater in the
formation. In order to achieve this goal, wells will be flushed prior to sampling by
purging five volumes with an electric pump. This will be especially important for
sampling older wells which have not been used for several years. SCS is assuming the
City will provide two drums at each location to store purged water (total of ten drums).
Water will be stored in the drums pending laboratory analysis, which may indicate the
drummed water should be treated as leachate. The drums and their contents will become
the property of the City.
(2) Conduct a limited bar hole probe investigation to map the presence of LFG in the vicinity
of MW-2 (if any). Results of the bar hole probing will be used by SCS to assist in our
determining the role of LFG in causing VOC detections in MW-2. Currently, we are not
planning to submit the results of bar hole probing.
The purpose of obtaining the baz hole probe data is for possible use in assessing remedial
alternatives, if TCEQ compels additional action as a result of the VOC detections. One
of the least-cost remedial alternatives to consider is passive venting of LFG. The bar hole
probe results would be useful in evaluating design alternatives such as vertical vent pipes,
a vent trench, location(s) where venting is needed, etc.
The bar hole investigation scope includes one day of a field technician's time to measure
subsurface gases in a grid of points in the vicinity of MW-2. A GEM 2000 gas analyzer
will be used to determine methane concentration (if any) that occurs in the baz hole
sample locations. No gas samples will be retained or collected. A sketch map of bar hole
probe sample locations with results will be prepazed by the Feld technician.
F:\b D'~pmposals~pon ArthurigW`?009~P022309 Comeaux GWM MW-? VOC lmestigation.doc
Mr. John Comeaux, P.E.
February 23, 2009
Page 5 of6
Task 3-Report
SCS will compile a letter report of investigation results with water sample laboratory analyses,
suitable for submittal to TCEQ after City review. The report will review the water sampling
results. The draft report wilt be submitted to the City for comment. SCS will incorporate City
review comments and submit two copies of the final report to TCEQ-Austin, one copy to the
TCEQ regional office, and two copies to the City.
Bar hole probe results will be presented in a conference call with the City. SCS will also provide
verbal recommendations regarding further action that maybe required by regulation (if any).
3.0 FEE
SCS proposes to provide the previously described services in Tasks I through 3 for a lump sum
fee of $13,800. Invoicing will be issued monthly on a percent complete, lump sum basis.
4.0 ADDITIONAL SERVICES
The preceding Scope of Services has been developed based on our understanding of the project.
The following is a list of additional services (not included in our fee estimate) for the City of Port
Arthur's current and future consideration:
• Evaluate Remedial Alternatives -Depending on the results of the field sampling, an
evaluation of remedial alternatives and costs may be needed. SCS would be glad to provide
a proposal for these follow-up services, if needed.
• Drilling and/or Well Plugging -Note that this proposal includes no services for well
installation or plugging.
• Sampling and analyzing water samples from other than the five wells mentioned previously.
• Resampling that may be requested or required by the TCEQ.
• Sampling for constituents other than VOCs.
• Surveying.
• Work interruption or delay caused by weather, site access problems, or other circumstances
beyond SCS control.
• Disposal of purge and other waste water and soils generated during the investigation. The
containers and waste liquids contained therein will become the property of the City.
F\bDproposalslpon AnhudgWQ009'~,Pp2?309 Comrnuz GWM M W-2 VOC Invesciga~ion.doc
Mr. John Comeaux, P.E.
February 23, 2009
Page 6 of 6
• Responding to TCEQ correspondence. Given the status of the pending Subchapter J Perrnit
Modification and the associated uncertainty of the neaz-term future of monitor well
installation plugging, it is difficult to anticipate what follow-up actions TCEQ may request.
SCS would be glad to provide a proposal for follow-up services if required.
• Redevelopment or any other monitor well maintenance required for field sampling or
requested by any party.
SCS appreciates this opportunity to propose on these services at the City of Port Arthur Landfill.
For your consideration, we are including a short form agreement. As with our other projects,
you will note that this agreement contains the same terms that the City has previously agreed to.
If you have any questions related to this proposal, please feel free to contact us at (817) 571-
2288.
Sincerely,
~~ <~T~-lnn/~c-2-
Kevin D. Yard, P.E. James Lawrence, P.G.
Vice President Project Manager
SCS ENGINEERS SCS ENGINEERS
Attachments: Short Form Agreement (as previously approved by the City)
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