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
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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
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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 |
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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."
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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.
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