Weston Solutions, Inc.
Water & Air Research, Inc. (Water & Air) has supported Weston in the operation of the passive and active remediation systems treating the dissolved contamination at this Superfund Site located in Gainesville, Florida.
The subject site includes approximately 40 acres in Gainesville, Florida. The property owner operated a pine processing facility (pine oil/tar and charcoal briquettes) from 1945 until 1966. After the closure of the facility, the site redeveloped into a mix of commercial and industrial properties. Improper waste handling practices at the facility resulted in groundwater, soil, and offsite surface water contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOC) and semivolatile organic compounds (SVOC). In 1983, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the subject site for inclusion on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) and the subject site was finalized on the NPL in 1984.
As part of the remedy for stopping the migration of the large and deep groundwater plume, a 70 foot vertical barrier wall was installed in 2019-2020. An impervious cover and soil cap were also installed across the undeveloped portion of the remaining site. Extraction wells were placed inside and along the exterior of the barrier wall to help control the hydraulic pressure against the underground wall. The contaminated groundwater is pumped to a remediation building located onsite before eventually being sent to the local city sewer system.
The property owner is required to perform Operation & Maintenance (O&M) work on the eastern portion of the site, including groundwater monitoring and operation of the passive Groundwater Interceptor Trench Collection System and the active Groundwater Extraction and
Treatment System that surrounds the barrier wall. Water & Air has been assisting Weston since the Extraction System startup in October 2020. Water & Air performed data collection and maintenance of the Extraction System on a bimonthly basis from 2020 to 2023, when the system maintenance decreased to periodic monitoring. Water & Air has assisted with semi-annual groundwater monitoring of the vast network of onsite and offsite wells for the various groundwater zones. Water & Air continues to perform quarterly cleaning and maintenance of the submersible pumps used in the Extraction System, as well as on-call maintenance and emergency response for the treatment compound and Extraction Well network.
Water & Air continues to perform biweekly data collection and O&M for the passive Groundwater Interceptor Trench Collection System, sending the data to Weston for final submittal to the property owner and EPA.