News

HSA Golden has been retained by Olu Tee Engineering Nigeria Limited to assist with the engineering design, construction, and operation of the first lined sanitary landfill in Nigeria.  Olu Tee Engineering is an integrated waste management consultancy located in Warri, Delta State.

Jim Golden, Vice President at HSA Golden, presented at the Seminole County Regional Chamber of Commerce Economic Forum on November 10, 2010. The forum’s focus was Commercial Real Estate: Directions for Tomorrow, Obstacles and Opportunities. Also presenting were Mr. Jerry Anderson with Sperry Van Ness, and Messrs. David Felker and Paul Ihrig, both with BankFirst. In attendance were economic development agencies, regional county and city staff, and business leaders from throughout Central Florida.

Mr. Golden’s presentation focused on the Brownfields program and detailed the approval process, economic benefits, EPA’s funding support, and local success stories. Local Brownfields initiatives and successes which were discussed included a new Lowe’s home improvement store, the redevelopment of an old Kmart site, construction of Midway Elementary School, and construction of the new Amway Center (new home of the Orlando Magic) in downtown Orlando.

HSA Golden personnel were instrumental in the assessment and cleanup of the selected areas of the Amway Center site. Additionally, HSA Golden assisted in the establishment of a new Brownfields Area in the City of Winter Haven and is currently assessing sites within this area which are slated for redevelopment.

A one-page synopsis of the benefits of the Brownfields Program can be found by clicking here: FDEP Brownfields Handout. We will gladly provide copies of Mr. Golden’s Brownfields Redevelopment presentation or the EPA’s Brownfields Area Grant Program presentation, please email him at jgolden@hsagolden.com.

From the Desk of Pete Barts, President, HSA Golden

How does one choose an environmental consultant? Back in the day, it used to be that you’d open up the Yellow Pages, pick a couple of good-looking ads, and make some calls. Or, better yet, you’d call a friend or acquaintance for a referral. Now, with Google/Yahoo/Bing at your fingertips, your choices have gone up exponentially, but narrowing the selection process is just as difficult, if not more so. The environmental consultant you choose may determine the success – or failure – of a project, and you need to spend the time and effort required to find the “right fit” for your circumstance.

Below are five things you should ask of a prospective environmental consultant before signing a contract. The list is by no means all-inclusive, but it should help distill the field down to one or two firms that will be the right fit for you.

1. Local knowledge: There are many multinational firms with a large footprint and an impressive array of staff. However, if they haven’t worked with the local regulatory folks or aren’t familiar with the the nuances of geological or environmental conditions in your area, you may be paying for a steep learning curve. Find a firm that’s been working in the area of your project site for a while, or make sure they team with a firm that brings a local presence.
2. Firm Experience: This one goes without saying. Pay more attention to the experience of the staff than the age of the firm. Generally speaking, a firm that’s been around for a while, with a consistent or growing staff, speaks volumes as to stability and reputation. Also, check references so that you can verify that the firm has a proven track record, and most importantly, that the consultant has executed – and delivered as promised – for their clients in the past.
3. Specific Technical Expertise: After narrowing down a list of qualified firms from searches or referrals, you should review the resumes for staff that will be assigned to your project. Beyond that, you may wish to obtain, in writing, a listing of those individuals which will be performing both the day-to-day tasks as well as project management and oversight work. Just having competent people on staff does nothing for you if they’re not assigned to your project.
4. Deliverables: Prior to the submission of correspondence which makes commitments on your behalf, always review drafts of these documents in detail. Discuss the ramifications of these commitments (time, money, hassle, etc.) with your consultant, and see if it’s possible to request more favorable long-term requirements (such as semiannual rather than quarterly groundwater quality monitoring, for instance) from regulators. This is very important and is often overlooked, as many times the client will rely too much on their consultant to make often-standard recommendations. Of course, a history of meeting deadlines for deliverables is important too, but it’s better to request (and receive approval for) time extensions rather than rush a report that recommends unfavorable, or less-than-favorable, long-term commitments. “If you don’t ask, you don’t get” is the rule here.
5. Pricing: Always get a proposal, and always sign a contract. It’s advisable to obtain multiple proposals, but carefully scrutinize bids which are well below the mean. Make note of whether the cost is lump sum, not-to-exceed, or time and materials. Many firms lowball their cost estimates and make up for it with out-of-scope add-ons that should have been included initially, so look at all proposed tasks when comparing costs between firms. Lastly, make sure your contract specifies that budget exceedances must be first approved by you before additional costs are incurred.

Naturally, there are considerations such as payment terms, insurance, warranties, indemnifications, records retention policies, and other matters to consider. Carefully review the consultant’s contact and negotiate changes as appropriate. You may have to revisit the contract under conditions less favorable than the initiation of a business relationship.

Remember, you almost always get what you pay for, and the critical path with environmental matters is rarely cut-and-dried. Your relationship with an environmental consultant is important. It can last far longer than you anticipated, and it needs to be carefully managed from the beginning. By exercising caution and being diligent in the choosing of an environmental consultant, you will dramatically increase your prospects for a successful project outcome.

From the Desk of  Jim Golden, V.P., HSA Golden

Another legislative session has passed. With it, another piece of solid waste and recycling legislation was passed which will impact those of us in the business of waste management. The legislation to which I’m referring is Senator Lee Constantine’s original Senate Bill 570, which passed as House Bill 7243 during the last week of the legislative session (i.e., the last week of April 2010). If the Governor signs this legislation, it takes effect July 1, 2010.

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Here are the highlights (in my opinion) of what is contained in this legislation:

1. Sets a VOLUNTARY 75% recycling goal for Florida to be achieved by 2020.

2. Allows previously banned yard waste to be landfilled in Class I (lined) landfills, IF the landfill is equipped to recover gas AND arranges for the reuse of the gas.

3. Requires liners at all new Construction & Demolition Debris (C&D) landfills (currently permitted cells are exempt). New expansions may be exempt if it can be demonstrated that groundwater will not be impacted.

4. All non-source separated C&D materials must be processed before being disposed (where economically feasible); this can be done at a permitted C&D facility.

5. Creates a Recycling Business Assistance Center (RBAC) within Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).

6. Eliminates the Innovative Recycling Grants program.

7. Allows energy production from Waste to Energy plants to be counted as part of the 75% recycling goal, as long as the county/city in which the plant(s) are located has a program designed to recycle at least 40% of its municipal solid waste by means other than combustion or gasification.

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#3 (above) states that the bill “requires liners at all C&D landfills.” This is NOT accurate; in the last few days of the legislative session, the strict liner requirement was amended. Language about this issue was apparently stripped from HB 7243, amended, and then inserted in Senate Bill (SB) 550. The following is the specific language about C&D liners now found in SB 550 (Section 47, Paragraph (b) of subsection (9) of section 403.707, Florida Statutes), which is amended to read:

“The department shall require liners and leachate collection systems at individual disposal units and lateral expansions of existing disposal units that have not received a department permit authorizing construction or operation prior to July 1, 2010, unless the owner or operator demonstrates, based upon the types of waste received, the methods for controlling types of waste disposed of, the proximity of the groundwater and surface water, and the results of the hydrogeological and geotechnical investigations, that the facility is not expected to result in violations of the groundwater standards and criteria if built without a liner.”

With regard to Waste to Energy (WTE) Recycling Credits (refer to #7 above), the FDEP would determine the methodology(ies) to be used for determining how much recycling credit would be awarded for burning municipal solid waste. However, language was inserted into the bill during the last few days of the legislative session that already provides such a methodology. The following is that language:

“In order to promote the production of renewable energy from solid waste, each megawatt-hour produced by a renewable energy facility using solid waste as a fuel shall count as one ton of recycled material and shall be applied toward meeting the recycling goals set forth in this section. If a county creating renewable energy from solid waste implements and maintains a program to recycle at least 50 percent of municipal solid waste by a means other than creating renewable energy, that county shall count two tons of recycled material for each megawatt-hour produced. If waste originates from a county other than the county in which the renewable energy facility resides, the originating county shall receive such recycling credit. Any county that has a debt service payment related to its waste-to-energy facility shall receive one ton of recycled materials credit for each ton of solid waste processed at the facility. Any byproduct resulting from the creation of renewable energy does not count as waste.”

I have been informed from several sources that utilizing the accounting system set up by the above language may result in recycling numbers that exceed a 100% recycling rate. I’m sure that this issue will receive more attention after July 1 when the legislation takes effect (again, assuming that the Governor signs the bill into law).

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I’m certain that all of us will learn more about the potential and real impacts of this legislation in the following months. We need to closely watch FDEP’s subsequent rulemaking hearings – they must take place within six months of this legislation – to make sure that our interests are voiced, and that the rules accurately reflect these bills.

Construction & Demolition Recycling

Brian Taylor
March/April 2010

In the few years that he has owned Orange County Environmental LLC, Apopka, Fla., founder Tony Wibbeler has introduced a variety of services designed to capture market share. Services provided include: acceptance of mixed C&D materials for a tipping fee to be either landfilled or sorted and processed; waste hauling to serve a customer base of contractors and industrial locations; site work services such as grading; and environmental services such as designing and preparing stormwater treatment systems and placement and pick-up of portable toilets.

Mixed C&D recycling services recently offered by Orange County Environmental include menus of programs designed to provide LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – oriented options to the Central Florida market. These programs include: (1) a basic recycling package that provides a letter of recycling verification; (2) a gold package for those requiring a 75 percent recycling rate and a level of documentation with times and dates and specific materials tracking; and (3) a platinum package that can include source-separation, on-site labor, and documentation including photos for each container as it leaves the job site.

OCE also has a very unique way of handling gypsum that no one else does. In addition, the sorting and processing system creates an alternative landfill cover product that can be used by OCE. “The dirt ‘unders’ byproduct from our system is ideal as C&D landfill cover, reducing our need to extract natural dirt products from the ground unnecessarily,” says Wibbeler.

HSA Golden is proud to work closely with OCE in providing engineering design, permitting, monitoring, and other environmental services and have worked closely with Tony Wibbeler and his staff since 2007. See the complete article, and find out more about Tony and OCE,  HERE.

Since 2007, HSA Golden has been working with Benge Development Corporation to redevelop the former Vigoro fertilizer plant along U.S. Highway 17 in Winter Haven, Florida. HSA Golden performed extensive reviews of historical and recent environmental data and facilitated the Brownfield Area designation process for the site. Upcoming tasks include detailed soil and groundwater assessment work.

Details of the Brownfields designation can be found HERE.

The infamous Fresh Kills Landfill, a 150-foot-high mountain of waste material in Staten Island, New York, is getting a makeover. That makeover is Freshkills Park, a 2,200-acre park complete with meadows and wetlands. The project is expected to take decades, but a small part may be open within the next few years.

Projects like this aren’t new; in fact, landfill redevelopment as parks and recreational areas has been around for a long time. Locally, HSA Golden professionals have been involved in similar landfill projects, including the Evans Street Landfill in Oviedo and the Lake Destiny Soccer Field in Maitland. Such reuse isn’t only smart, it’s incented at both the federal and state level through initiatives such as the Brownfields Program.

Read more about the Fresh Kills Landfill HERE.