Challenges and Solutions to Groundwater Contamination Project Management
Interview with Forrest Westall, PE, Director of Regulatory Relations
National Groundwater Awareness Week 2022
Established in 1999, National Groundwater Awareness Week aims to highlight the responsible use of groundwater, as well as its development and management. This year, 全国地下水协会的宣传重点是通过关于职业机会的教育和指导促进地下水行业的职业机会. 近44%的人口依靠地下水作为主要水源，三分之一的美国人从公共水源取水, there is a growing demand for groundwater professionals. At McGill, 我们聘请具有水资源和环境背景的专业人士协助我们的项目, 哪些经常需要水文地质技能和对国家法规和规章制定的深刻理解.
What Groundwater Contamination Issues Do We Encounter at McGill?
Although groundwater contamination is rare, it has the potential to harm the environment, make people sick, and have a negative economic impact on the entire community. bat365曾在一些项目中工作，在这些项目中，附近的地下水污染已经成为公共供水的一个问题, 同时也帮助私营企业预防和/或处理其场所的污染. These projects have many hurdles to overcome — both technical and regulatory. In a recent interview, McGill’s principal, Forrest Westall, PE, 提出了工程建设项目中克服地下水污染问题的挑战和解决方案.
Challenges
- Out of sight, out of mind: 与地表水不同，地下水污染的影响很难直接看到. 当有人测试一口井或地表水出现污染时，我们就会看到这些影响, 但很少主动寻找潜在的地下水问题，在它们成为问题之前解决它们.
- Groundwater problems become surface water problems: 研究和调节地表水的学者与关注地下水的学者之间一直存在着脱节. However, 地下水问题可能成为地表水问题，因为长期埋藏的污染物通过土壤迁移到地表水，或者通过土壤污染复垦项目排放到水处理厂和地表水.
- Too many agencies with differing areas of interest: 地下水污染是通过多个监管机构进行管理的，这些监管机构的规章制度相互重叠，有时甚至相互冲突. Additionally, depending on their training and interest in groundwater, 一个机构的工作人员可能与另一个机构的工作人员有非常不同的想法:含水层保护, solid waste management, surface water protection, industrial hygiene, and drilling for oil and gas exploration. For this reason, 客户可能严重依赖其顾问比监管机构的任何单一工作人员都更有知识.
- Finding the responsible party: 地下水污染可能发生在多年前被工业掩埋的源头，这些源头可能已经多次易手，这往往使查明责任方变得困难. 各州已拨出资金，用于处理地下水中存在或威胁地下水的有害物质的历史和意外排放, but with limited funds available, remediation of these sites is chosen based on risk. For example, In North Carolina alone, the state monitors more than 4,000 chemical spill / disposal sites.
- Self-reported: Given the considerable number of hazardous sites, many states rely on self-reporting from industry and privatized reclamation programs (e.g., North Carolina Registered Environmental Consultants).
Solutions
- 分享 best practices with your clients: When Forrest’s family inherited a gas station with underground storage tanks, 他听取了州里朋友的建议，采取了预防性的行动，通过挖掘旧矿坑来减少地下水污染的风险, underground gasoline tanks and installing surface tanks. As consultants, 我们有机会向客户传授防止环境破坏和减少潜在责任的最佳做法.
- Bring your environmental support team to the table before project kickoff: 当一个潜在的新项目只是一个想法时——把你的环境支持团队带到桌面上来. Whether it’s an internal team or a consultant, it’s important to review the potential environmental impacts before project scoping. By doing so, you will keep your clients happy and protect your firm. 客户更希望知道项目可能存在环境问题，应将其纳入项目范围, 因为解决这些问题可能需要额外的时间或资金，而不是在项目中途发现.
- See something, say something: At McGill, 我们对你们的施工团队进行培训，一旦发现问题，立即通知监管机构. 有时施工人员会观察到在设计阶段没有发现的潜在环境危害. 这些团队成员需要放心地通知项目经理和管理者这些问题，而不是忽略它们. 经常, 在不影响环境或项目进度的情况下，可以在项目的另一部分继续施工.
- Foster facilitation and conflict management from the start: Cooperation and collaboration always work better than confrontation. When underground contamination is an issue, we oftentimes see complexity, conflict, and muddled regulatory guidance. McGill通过技术人员和训练有素的调解员向将会见与这些项目有利害关系的地方政府的人员提供支持, regulatory agencies, the affected parties, and the responsible parties. 通过这样做，我们可以为影响多个涉众的问题制定最佳解决方案. We bring to the table the ability to ferret through the rules, negotiate with regulatory agencies, and determine how best to accomplish the end goal without getting attorneys involved.
About Forrest Westall, PE
Director of Regulatory Relations
Forrest Westall在水质管理方面有丰富的经验，并帮助开发和管理了许多北卡罗来纳州的水质项目. He has an elevated level of understanding of the laws, regulations, 以及指导北卡罗来纳州地表水管理机构的流程. 福雷斯特擅长指导和协调环境审查和审批过程的从头到尾. 他成功地参与了许多水质和许可项目，并熟悉制定监管决策的程序. 他曾是北卡罗来纳州环境质量部门在阿什维尔地区办公室管理的水质项目的经理. He has served as a member of the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission and as an advisor to many organizations, local governments, and private companies. Through McGill, Forrest serves as the Executive Director of the Upper Neuse River Basin Association.
We see ourselves as the client’s interface, for all of the environmental and public utility management issues. McGill一直表现出对客户和解决问题的承诺，而不仅仅是做一个项目.