Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund
Bayfront Paper District Redevelopment Project
Sandusky, Ohio
Partners was selected by the City of Sandusky, Ohio to provide all environmental supervision, including serving as the Certified Professional (CP), during the redevelopment activities related to the Bayfront Paper District Redevelopment project. The site comprises approximately 14 acres located along Sandusky Bay on filled land that was created in the late 1800s by extending the shoreline north into the Bay. The site has a history of various industrial uses, including paper manufacturing, lumber yards, and metal works. This Round 1 Clean Ohio project was awarded a $3,000,000 grant to address environmental impacts at the site, and included the redevelopment and/or demolition of several large buildings (in excess of 1,000,000 square feet) into a Marina, associated pedestrian walkways and trails, an amphitheater, and residential units. The interrelated aspects of surface water and sediment management in addition to typical soil and groundwater management issues increased the complexity of this project. Partners provided environmental supervision regarding the removal of asbestos containing material (ACM), disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes, lead based paint (LBP) management, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) containing transformer disposal and clean-up, preparation of a Risk Assessment and all other documents associated with preparing a No Further Action (NFA) Letter under Ohio’s Voluntary Action Program (VAP). Partners’ primary role was to reduce previously estimated remediation costs by implementing risk-based management processes to address environmental concerns. This effort included an innovative approach to disprove potential ACM in various building materials and the use of sophisticated human health and ecological risk assessments to reduce or eliminate potential remedial efforts.
Previous investigations identified the presence of low levels of asbestos in the plaster at several locations in buildings at the subject site. Partners’ methods disproved this condition, saving the City in excess of $200,000 from previous estimates. Partners identified risk-based solutions to manage previously identified soil and groundwater contamination. Partners used background determinations and low flow sampling methods to disprove potential metal concerns in soil and petroleum impacts in groundwater. In addition, through the use of human health and ecological risk assessments, the need for active remediation was eliminated. Prior evaluations concluded that elaborate groundwater remediation was warranted at the site.
In two (2) projects related to the Bayfront Paper District site, Partners has conducted subsurface investigations of land along Sandusky Bay that was filled with materials during the late 1800s and extends north into Sandusky Bay. Partners conducted the Phase II Investigation in accordance with the Ohio VAP. As a follow-up, Partners co-authored successful Round 3 and 4 Clean Ohio Grants that were awarded to Sandusky totaling about $5,700,000. Partners conducted sediment sampling as part of the project, working closely with the Ohio EPA and utilizing sampling equipment provided by the Ohio EPA. Partners also developed a unique remedial solution to manage a large-scale plume of coal tar that was emanating from a hydrogeologically upgradient off-site source, but impacting the subject site.