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Brunswick Wood Preserving Site Video 2 Transcript
Hello, my name is Brian Farrier. I work with the Environmental Protection Agency in Atlanta, Georgia and I am the remedial project manager for the Brunswick Wood Preserving site here in Brunswick, Georgia. Today, I would like to update you on the many activities that EPA is taking at this site. This work was begun in 2007 and we will be able to complete it in September 2010. This is a 28 million dollar project of which 8.3 million dollars will be funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. There are three things that I would like to talk you about today. The first is the restoration work that EPA conducted at Burnett Creek. We will then talk about the engineered caps that are being constructed on the eastern and western ends of the site. Last, we will talk about the full-scale groundwater treatment that will be necessary here. With that, let’s head to Burnett Creek and look at the restoration work there.
Right now I am standing on the bank of Burnett Creek just downstream of Perry Lane Road. As part of the selected remedy for this site, EPA conducted excavation of creek sediments here and at Perry Lane Road itself. In the summer of 2008, a total of 525 cubic yards of contaminated creek sediment was excavated and taken back to the site for treatment. When this work was done, EPA conducted a creek restoration effort that was thought to be not as effective as it could be. And in December of 2009, EPA came back and did an additional creek restoration that you can see behind me. What we did was we took riprap… …and we shored up the banks of the creek to prevent further erosion.
Right now I am standing on the western end of the site on top of the cap that was built in the summer of 2009. In July of 2008, I spoke to you of the containment strategy that EPA has been doing here - that containment strategy controls the migration of contaminants in the subsurface through the use of subsurface barrier walls and the use of subcaps and caps. This cap on this end was built in the fall of 2009 and EPA has (already begun the) construction of the cap on the eastern end of the site. Over here to my right you can see one of the numerous groundwater wells that we have. In addition to monitoring the contaminant levels in the subsurface, we also monitor the groundwater levels inside and outside the footprints of the subsurface barrier walls. The engineered caps that are built consist of several components that I would like to talk to you about. Right now, EPA is constructing the engineered cap on the eastern end of the site. I’d like to show that to you right now.
This is the eastern end of the site where construction is taking place on the engineered cap. This work was begun in January and we hope to have it finished by April 2010. The base layer that is two feet thick is being constructed right now, that will provide slope to help control surface water runoff. The next two components of the engineered cap will be what we call a geosynthetic clay liner and a geo-net. These two components will assist in drainage and will also help control downward migration of rainfall through the cap. The next component of the cap will be two feet of common fill. We will then lay six inches of top soil on top and plant grass that will also help control erosion. As part of the final construction of these engineered caps, it is interesting to note that we are using recycled concrete from Interstate 95. With that, let’s go talk about the groundwater treatment component of the remedy.
As you can see, I am now standing on the other side of Perry Lane Road. After the containment strategy is put in place, contaminants in the subsurface will no longer be able to migrate through groundwater away from the old creosote ponds. The next step in the process will be to treat the contaminated groundwater outside the footprints of the subsurface barrier wall. In order to optimize that treatment, EPA conducted a pilot-scale treatment study in October 2009. Basically, what we did was use this well next to me to inject the chemicals that will break down the contaminants in the subsurface. We then monitored the movement of those chemicals in the subsurface with the wells you see behind me. With this information, EPA will be able to optimize the full-scale groundwater treatment that will take place in 2010. After that, it will then take several years for the contaminant levels in the groundwater to reach acceptable levels.
This concludes the video that we’ve made to update you on EPA’s activities at the Brunswick Wood Preserving site. We have an excellent team in place here that has done a lot of hard work to make a better environment in Brunswick, Georgia. If you have any questions about the work that EPA is doing here, you can call us at our toll-free number 1 800 435 9234, or better yet, you may email me at farrier.brian@epa.gov. Thank you very much for watching.