Project Highlights

ACEC/NC Engineering Excellence Award

Raleigh–Durham International Airport experienced a 34,000-gallon jet fuel spill resulting in impacts to air traffic and sensitive spill receptors and airfield contamination. S&ME provided expedient response and professional expertise to the Airport Authority, ensured compliance with all environmental regulations and requirements, and was the Authority’s liaison to federal, state, and local environmental agencies.

S&ME coordinated effective response, source control, waste management, and incident planning for short-term corrective measures. S&ME then prepared the Comprehensive Site Assessment Report, remedial plans, engineered specifications, permit applications, and installed a “green” gravity-flow recovery system where treated water discharges to a constructed wetland.

There were many challenges on this project including:

• Project activities were limited to minimal impact to an operating international airport
• Projects costs had to be minimized for approval by the municipal client
• Schedule required night work
• Site geology is shall Triassic Basin deposits with variable permeability
• Fracture and joint systems in bedrock were impacted by blasting for airfield development and system installation
• Groundwater flow rates and gradient are high variable
• Hydraulic head differential from system headwater to discharge point was limited
• NPDES permitting

S&ME prepared an innovative concept and design for the remediation system.  We combined several disciplines including geology, hydrogeology, environmental, surveying, engineering, safety and construction successfully to develop a comprehensive plan and economical design with proven results.

S&ME brought a solution that exceeded the needs for cost and schedule.

A RDU Authority representative stated, “We were impressed that S&ME’s engineers were able to accurately predict where to pick up the groundwater flow and how much it would be. Also it was impressive that the processing could all be done by gravity, thereby saving us a lot of upfront equipment and ongoing maintenance costs.

Construction of the system was completed in 2008 and a system upgrade will be performed in 2010.