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• Environmental Program Management |
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM MANAGEMENT  KEM has provided comprehensive project and program management services since its inception over twenty years ago. These services have typically been provided for clients who lack the technical expertise, time, resources, or desire to manage complex environmental projects. KEM has provided these management services under contracts that have placed upon our personnel a high degree of autonomy, as well as a high degree of responsibility for the successful outcome of the work. We understand what is needed to keep our clients well informed, how to effectively manage other consultants and contractors, as well as how to work in conjunction with regulatory officials and attorneys to maximize outcomes that are beneficial to our clients.For a major pharmaceutical company, KEM provided program management services associated with a highly-ranked NPL Superfund site. We coordinated the engineering design, subsurface investigation, and the remedial construction. KEM represented this company at meetings with the EPA, the state environmental protection agency and the public. KEM prepared and submitted all regulatory agency deliverable documents and certified the installation and operational status of the remedial systems that were installed. For the School District of Philadelphia, KEM provides comprehensive program management services for PCB transformers and underground petroleum product storage tanks at locations throughout the City of Philadelphia. KEM also manages a comprehensive risk-based lead-in-drinking-water program for this client at over 300 locations. Working with personnel from the School District, KEM has developed, identified and prioritized project goals and objectives and has been responsible for their implementation over a period of years. KEM’s activities include the development of technical work scopes, schedules, budgets, technical management and oversight of remedial contractors, interface with regulatory authorities, as well as the development of applications for State funding to assist with projects being performed under Pennsylvania’s Act 2 and other Brownfields legislation «Return to menu SITE ASSESSMENTS  KEM has a long history of performing site assessments, regulatory compliance evaluations, and due-diligence as part of property transactions and as required by regulatory agencies. Our site assessments typically begin as a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment. Based upon the results of this initial evaluation, a more detailed Phase II Site investigation may be warranted and recommended. The more-detailed Phase II investigations typically incorporate sampling and analyses associated with underground storage tanks, electrical devices which contain PCB dielectric fluids, asbestos containing building materials, walls and windows which have been painted with lead-based paints, subsurface areas or adjacent properties of concern, and other related items.KEM has provided these site assessments for many different types of clients, including banks, financial institutions, real estate investors and developers, law firms, industrial clients, healthcare clients, casinos, school districts, municipalities, insurance adjusters, and others. With regard to banks, KEM is an “approved” and “preferred” consulting firm for many lending institutions. In addition to serving their clients, we have assisted large multi-state banks with environmental services associated with bulk sales of their owned real estate portfolios, as well as with environmental services associated with the acquisition of other banks. «Return to menu SUBSURFACE SOILS AND GROUNDWATER INVESTIGATIONS  The performance of subsurface soil and groundwater investigations has been a mainstay of KEM’s business. KEM routinely handles releases from underground storage tank systems and spills and releases from varied industrial operations. KEM has also served as the lead consultant on numerous Superfund and Brownfield sites, and has performed the remediation of subsurface conditions as well as part of the due diligence associated with countless property transactions. KEM’s personnel include registered professional engineers, geologists, hydrogeologists, an attorney with almost twenty years experience working with the EPA, state certified subsurface evaluators, risk assessors and others.KEM’s personnel are well versed in the practices and procedures associated with the installation of soil borings and geoprobe assessments, groundwater monitoring wells, and product and groundwater recovery wells. We have utilized our expertise in subsurface evaluations to delineate, map and evaluate the extent of subsurface contamination, to model groundwater, aquifer response, contaminant transport, and natural attenuation, and to develop viable means for the remediation of contamination, consistent with the latest regulatory sampling and analytical requirements. Our subsurface soil and groundwater services have been utilized on properties contaminated with DNAPLs, LNAPLs, PCBs, petroleum products, solvents, metals and other contaminants. This is one of the many areas where we have provided law firms and clients with expert opinions and witnesses. «Return to menu BROWNFIELDS ASSESSMENT AND REDEVELOPMENT  For projects involving abandoned, contaminated properties or “Brownfield” sites, KEM has developed and implemented comprehensive sampling and analysis plans to assess the environmental conditions of the properties, their associated structures, and the surrounding area. These sampling plans have been developed and implemented to enable a comprehensive evaluation of the environmental condition of the site to be developed, as well as to develop risk evaluations, remedial action plans, and, where appropriate, to support grant/financial aid requests from government agencies.KEM’s project experience includes a wide variety of Brownfields properties which, initially appeared to be of no use or value. These sites have included orphaned, multi-acre parcels located within special industrial zones, derelict abandoned buildings located within the inner city, and abandoned industrial properties of national historical significance. Working with banks, developers, and regulatory authorities, we have been successful in providing important guidance to our clients and have returned a number of these properties to productive use. «Return to menu UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS  KEM personnel are certified in several states to conduct storage tank management work. KEM’s services have included the development of comprehensive storage tank management programs to minimize risk and ensure regulatory compliance. KEM also conducts integrity testing and comprehensive subsurface evaluations around operating storage tank systems, the closure of underground storage tanks, the installation of new storage tank systems which incorporate state-of-the-art leak detection systems, as well as the remediation of soil and groundwater at locations where storage tanks have leaked.KEM has assisted banks and insurance companies at locations where their owned real estate or the property of their insureds have been impacted by catastrophic storage tank failures. Similar assistance has been rendered to school districts in both PA and NJ, municipalities at their public works facilities, and numerous industrial clients. KEM’s remediation activities have included complete regulatory agency interaction and reporting, the delineation of subsurface contamination, and the evaluation and utilization of remedial measures that incorporate both conventional and innovative technologies. Related to underground storage tank assignments, KEM has provided expert witness testimony and has developed expert opinions and reports in support of litigation. Our personnel are also frequent speakers at conferences and meetings related to aboveground and underground storage tanks. «Return to menu GREEN INITIATIVES  KEM has a long history with issues associated with Brownfields redevelopment, efficient use of existing infrastructure and resources, recycling, wastewater treatment, water conservation, renewable energy and sustainable development. Our personnel have served on the Board of Directors of a multi-municipality Regional Wastewater Authority, and on the Executive Committee of a non-profit Environmental Watershed Council.KEM’s staff includes register professionals who are cross-trained and certified as US Green Building Council LEED APs (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design—Accredited Professionals). This enables us to assist our clients in a wide range of areas—from seeking LEED or other certification(s) for their buildings, evaluating alternative energy supplies, promoting the use of rapidly renewable resources and sustainable products, site selection, resource conservation, and enabling the efficient and environmentally responsible means for waste management. «Return to menu EMERGENCY RESPONSE KEM routinely provides emergency response to environmental incidents within our clients facilities or at their properties. We have responded to incidents associated with oil and gasoline spills, over-filling of product tanks, chemical releases, mercury spills, leaks from PCB transformers and damage to asbestos containing building materials. Our response actions typically incorporate on-scene incident management, coupled with the mobilization of resources needed to contain the release and/or minimize the environmental impact. Our personnel are typically the individuals who have direct interaction with both regulatory agencies and municipal response teams, including state and federal on-scene coordinators (OSCs). Throughout the response action, we are keenly aware of our client’s obligations to protect public health, safety and the environment, and our client’s desire to avoid or minimize potential liability exposure. «Return to menu REGULATORY COMPLIANCE/ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT  KEM’s personnel, which includes a former USEPA assistant regional counsel, have a significant track record of assisting our clients evaluate if their existing operations, facilities, operating practices and procedures are in compliance with existing and proposed environmental regulations. As a minimum, where areas of non-compliance are noted, recommendations for change are made. These recommendations can range from more diligent inspections, record keeping and reporting to substitution of one or more raw materials being used within a product, to process modifications, to eliminations of a waste stream through recycling. We have provided environmental compliance and regulatory audits for major federal regulatory programs, including TSCA, RCRA, SDWA and AHERA to state regulations regarding emissions, stormwater management, storage tanks and waste disposal.«Return to menu SUPERFUND INVESTIGATION/REMEDIATION KEM’s experience on Superfund sites ranges from the investigation phase to the design and implementation of complex remedies. In addition, we have provided technical, project management and remediation construction services. Our experience includes working for individual potentially responsible parties (PRPs), multi-party PRP groups and law firms. Our personnel have served as the PRP’s Project Manager, responsible for both design and construction activities at a site which was, at one time, the EPA’s designated 25th “worst” Superfund site in the country. In addition, KEM provided a variety of engineering, public relations, construction, and regulatory interface services at a former industrial site where groundwater contamination impacted a wide area, including a number of private wells. Our personnel have been involved, in a variety of capacities, at over 60 federal Superfund sites. «Return to menu EXPERT WITNESS TESTIMONY  KEM has a long history of working closely with attorneys in support of their clients and in the litigation context. Our personnel have been deposed, have developed reports providing expert opinions and have provided expert witness testimony in several complex environmental cases. We have provided expert testimony with regard to subsurface conditions, historical contamination, contaminant migration, site assessments, due diligence, and remedial action costs.«Return to menu PUBLIC RELATIONS KEM has performed a critical role on behalf of our clients in the area of public relations. We have assisted our clients by leading public meetings, strategizing community relations activities, and developing chart boards, slides and other materials for public presentations. KEM also orchestrated the dissemination of technical information at a high-profile public meeting regarding a Brownfields site that was remediated under Pennsylvania’s Act 2. This public participation program was the first program developed for a Brownfields site within PADEP’s southeast region. Based upon the investigation reports and proposed remedial alternatives, the regulatory authority approved this historically industrial site for commercial revitalization. «Return to menu PCB TRANSFORMERS AND PCB MANAGEMENT  The implementation of projects designed to ensure compliance with Federal regulations addressing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) has been a significant area of technical concentration for KEM. Our projects have ranged from regulatory compliance evaluations to complex turnkey PCB transformer evaluations, replacement and remediation assignments, as well as industrial site remediation projects conducted under EPA-TSCA consent decrees. Our transformer projects have ranged from compliance evaluations and inspections at residential complexes, to a high profile PCB transformer compliance and replacement project that was performed on a city-wide basis for one of the nation’s largest school districts. KEM projects have included the performance of contaminant delineation assessments, the remediation of contaminated floors, walls and worker contact surfaces, and the disposal of transformers and other PCB contaminated materials. Our PCB industrial site projects have included serving as a special consultant to EPA’s TSCA compliance branch for the investigation and remediation of PCB contamination at a major industrial facility. Several such projects entailed the delineation and remediation of contaminated surfaces within an operating industrial facility, the investigation and remediation of contaminated soils and groundwater, and the recovery of free product. KEM’s work in the area of PCB delineation, remediation and management is well respected. KEM’s personnel have been invited speakers on the subject of “Transformer Management” at an EPA conference entitled “National Partnership for Environmental Priorities—PCBs: Serious Problem, Practical Solutions.” «Return to menu ASBESTOS  KEM has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to couple building inspection and asbestos assessment services with expertise in engineering and the performance of abatement, remediation, construction, and construction management services. Our personnel are also certified for asbestos work in accordance with EPA, state, and local requirements.KEM’s asbestos projects typically begin with an assessment that quantifies the type, location, quantity, and condition of asbestos containing materials (ACM) within a building. Working from this data, the costs for necessary removal, encapsulation, or a combination of both are developed. KEM then provides its clients with a customized package of services to effectively address their needs in a cost-effective manner. KEM has provided complete “turn-key” asbestos services which range from the removal of all ACM from multi-story office buildings, to abatement and demolition services for major health care facilities. In addition, KEM is the Program Manager for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and manages on their behalf the asbestos within their facilities in the City of Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. KEM’s employees also have significant past experience in prosecuting asbestos cases under the Clean Air Act and AHERA, and therefore have a keen eye towards good management practices. «Return to menu LEAD-BASED PAINTS  The assessment of properties for lead-based paint is frequently performed as a part of the due diligence process associated with real estate transactions, or prior to construction activities. Requirements of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have increased the awareness and need for services to determine the presence and condition of lead-based painted surfaces, as well as to develop viable means to remove or encapsulate painted surfaces, and to protect workers during the performance of their activities.KEM’s personnel have performed these assessments, utilizing laboratory analysis of selected paint chips, as well as by utilization of portable x-ray fluorescence technology. Our personnel are experienced in lead-based paint inspection and risk assessment services, and have provided numerous clients with abatement services. Our projects have included the removal of lead-based paint from ornamental metal-work at properties that are National Historic Landmarks, and the performance of air monitoring during renovation activities to ensure the integrity of the containment devices utilized to control the spread of air-borne lead dust. «Return to menu PROCESS ENGINEERING KEM’s personnel have had substantial experience in the design of process treatment systems. Our experience includes the conceptual engineering, detailed engineering, procurement, shop drawing review, and testing/start-up of industrial, municipal and domestic water and wastewater treatment systems. Systems which our personnel have designed include: multi-bed ultra-pure water quality makeup demineralizers incorporating activated carbon pretreatment, vacuum degasification and membrane treatment technologies; condensate polishing systems; waste neutralization systems; metal oxidation and precipitation systems; oil/water separation systems; closed and open loop evaporative cooling tower chemical treatment systems; chlorination and ozone systems; potable water treatment systems; sanitary waste treatment systems, air stripping systems, and stormwater management systems. These systems have been installed at fossil fuel and nuclear power electric generation stations, continuous metal casting facilities, remote self-sustaining radar installations, at sites undergoing remediation, and at resource recovery facilities. In addition, we have developed and evaluated treatment systems for soil and groundwater remediation and for the treatment of exhaust gases from remedial systems. «Return to menu CONSTRUCTION AND REMEDIATION SERVICES  The development of engineering plans and specifications for construction is a component of the services which KEM offers to its clients. KEM personnel have prepared and directed the preparation of construction documents for a broad variety of projects including water and wastewater treatment systems that have been incorporated into major industrial facilities, mechanical systems for buildings and remediation projects, and the evaluation and design of surface and subsurface elements for complex brownfields redevelopment projects. These projects have incorporated all of the major engineering disciplines.In addition, KEM’s personnel have provided all of the construction services needed to bring conventional and innovative engineered remediation projects to completion. These services have included estimating, scheduling, bid package preparation, bid evaluations and awards, on-site oversight of field activities, field documentation and measurements, and the certification of completion documentation. «Return to menu INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES Our projects have benefited by our personnel’s application of both conventional and innovative investigation methods and treatment technologies. As a company, we do not believe that a technology should be used as an experiment on a client’s project. KEM is constantly evaluating both well-known and widely used technology and newer techniques, and then applying the most appropriate and cost-effective technology to address a given environmental issue.  Innovative technologies we have utilized for the benefit of our clients include: the use of soil gas in lieu of more expensive laboratory analyses; the use of field test-kits for rapid screening of contaminants; geophysical techniques, including ground penetrating radar surveys for identification of subsurface tanks and similar items; remediation methods which incorporate natural attenuation, enhanced bioremediation, soil venting and sparging; x-ray fluorescence to evaluate for lead-based painted surfaces; and others.«Return to menu INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE KEM provides industrial hygiene expertise in the identification, assessment and control of workplace exposure hazards, which may significantly impact employee health and productivity. The identification, assessment and control of these exposures are mandated by OSHA regulations and are necessary to prevent occupational illness or injury. Failure to control exposure hazards may result in fines, worker’s compensation claims or disability litigation. KEM’s personnel routinely provide field investigation reports and sampling surveys, documentation and other data, as well as interface with OSHA, employee groups, insurance companies, attorneys, and other bodies involved in the exposure management or claims/litigation process. «Return to menu BUILDING CONDITION SURVEYS & ALTERNATIVE ENERGY ASSESSMENTS As part of KEM’s support of real estate transactions, our personnel integrate environmental assessments with surveys to assess and document the physical condition of buildings and their surrounding grounds. During these assessments, emphasis is given to site conditions, building construction, structural, mechanical, and electrical systems. These surveys have provided buyers with technical information that can be used to develop pricing, maintenance and operating budgets for a property. The assessments frequently include a determination of any viable additions of alternative energy sources. In addition, they provide property owners with an unbiased and objective evaluation of their property holdings. «Return to menu RADON TESTING SERVICES Details coming soon.... «Return to menu |
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