An Electronic Newsletter 
of EEA's Environmental Consulting Activities
Spring 2002

EEA, Inc.
55 Hilton Avenue
Garden City, New York
(516) 746-4400
(212) 227-3200
(800) 459-5533

with additional New York offices in:
Stony Brook
(631) 751-4600
Altamont
(518) 861-8586

e-mail addresses:
General:
mailto:eea@eeaconsultants.com

Individual:
First initial and last name
@eeaconsultants.com

EEA services include 
Phase I ESAs, Haz-Mat
Testing and Remediation, Wetlands Delineation 
and Creation, Natural
Resources Inventories,
Marine Ecology Studies,
Air Quality and Noise
studies, and Environmental Management System (ISO 14000) implementation.

Visit our web site at http://www.eeaconsultants.com/

For information or
quotes
contact:

Phase I ESAs
Richard Fasciani

Phase II/III Haz-Mat
Testing and Remediation
Nicholas Recchia, CPG

EAS/EIS Studies
Janet Collura

Wetlands Studies and
Design
Laura Schwanof, RLA

Marine Ecology
Teresa Rotunno

Terrestrial Ecology
Paul Block

Air Quality and Noise
Victor Fahrer, P.E.

Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14000)
Robert Clifford

EEA, Inc. - 
founded in 1979

Principals
Leland M. Hairr, Ph.D.
President

Allen Serper, M.S., P.E.
Vice President

Roy R. Stoecker, Ph.D.
Vice President

 


       NOT JUST "A WALK IN THE WOODS"

EEA staff  from the Altamont office (Albany suburbs) have been
walking  through thousands of acres of magnificent undeveloped
(and   some  developed)   land   in   New  York  City's upstate
watersheds (Delaware,  Catskill,  and  Croton) west and east of 
the Hudson. Some of the land was  formerly  in  agricultural  use 
and  most  of  it  is  in   a  natural   undisturbed  condition.    For
outdoorsmen, this is a dream  come  true -  to  be paid to spend
days "hiking" through the Catskills, around lakes, and communing
with nature. Well, it's not quite that simple and  relaxing  because
there are environmental health objectives that are critical to New
York City that have to be addressed.

Protecting New York City's Water Supply

  

New    York    City    Watershed
Management              Acquisition
Program's goal  is  to protect  the   City's  water   supply  reservoirs 
from  contamination through  the 
acquisition,   over  the  next  10 
years, of critical private properties 
that drain into the reservoirs.

For the past  six  years,  EEA  has
been contracted by the New York
City Department of Environmental Protection to perform Phase I 

Environmental Site Assessments of properties the City plans  to  acquire  within  the upstate watersheds. To date, EEA has evaluated  approximately two hundred parcels ranging from  a  few acres  to almost 1,000 acres.

Investigator Prerequisites: Brain and Brawn

EEA's  task  is  to not  only  to  perform  the  necessary  historical research  on  the  properties' prior uses and agencies' records and review  historical  aerial  photographs  for  potential contamination conditions, but to also conduct  visual inspections for the presence of indicators of contamination.  Conducting visual checks for signs of potential  contamination  on   large,   heavily vegetated  sites  in sometimes    rough    topography   requires   the   skilled  eyes  of experienced environmental engineers, the use of a handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) to be sure of location   (and returning to your truck), and the stamina of a physically fit hiker.

While encountering potential signs 
of hazardous materials (abandoned 
drums, etc.)  is  rare,  the  assessor
must  be  alert   to  safety  hazards. 
They    include   traversing   steep 
slopes  and  encountering  wildlife, 
including   bears,   which   can  be 
much   more   hazardous    to   the investigator's    safety     than    the 
hazardous  materials.     From   the
confines  of   sitting  at  a  desk   in 
Garden      City     reviewing     the  
electronically   transmitted    digital
photos   and  draft   reports,   it   is 
tempting   to   proclaim   that    this 
work is  "a  piece  of  cake" or just 
"a  walk in the woods"   compared 

to  EEA's investigating  industrial  chemical  operations  in  Long Island City.  However, when you receive that cell call from the field stating that in climbing over 100 acres of rough terrain, I just met a bear face to face, you quickly realize it is  NOT JUST "A WALK IN THE WOODS."

In areas other than upstate watersheds, EEA, Inc. has performed Phase I Environmental Site assessments for over 5,000 parcels in the metropolitan area. Clients include most  major  lenders,  New
York State and New York City agencies.