Category: Environmental

IDEM’s Changes to TPH Procedures for Ground Water

Posted on by Jeff Carnahan

Written by Steve Henshaw, P.G., President & CEO, EnviroForensics

On June 17, 2010 the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) once again adjusted their guidance regarding the regulation of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) and revised pertinent sections of their Risk Integrated System of Closure (RISC) Technical Guidance Document.  A special RISC TPH Work Group has determined that the investigation, delineation and/or remediation of TPH in ground water are no longer warranted, unless protection of drinking water wells is necessary.  This development could significantly impact environmental cleanup projects where releases of petroleum products have occurred. 

The term TPH refers to an accumulation of hydrocarbon compounds that make up a variety of petroleum products.  Not all of the compounds that fall in this category have been researched individually by toxicologists, such that closure levels could be established.  Those that do have closure levels are considered Contaminants of Concern (COCs) at cleanup sites, which are commonly the more toxic compounds and are regulated individually.  The non-specific TPH is also regulated as a COC based on surrogate toxicological data.  Continue reading “IDEM’s Changes to TPH Procedures for Ground Water”

Vapor Intrusion and Indoor Air Sampling Expensive Testing – Make Sure It’s Done Correctly

Posted on by Jeff Carnahan

Written by Stephen Henshaw, P.G., President and CEO, EnviroForensics

As seen in the March 2010 issue Western Cleaner and Launderer.

PDF Version

Vapor Intrusion, or VI, is probably the hottest topic among regulators these days.  Vapor intrusion may be best described as the contamination of indoor breathing air as a result of being in proximity to soil or groundwater releases of hazardous chemicals.  Generally speaking, volatile organic compounds that have been released or spilled into the subsurface display a preference to evaporate into air spaces, or voids, in the soils.  These vapors can then disperse and travel through the soils to nearby buildings.  Contaminated soil vapors are most likely to travel along utility corridors where backfill material, such as sand, typically has more air spaces than the surrounding soils that were laid down naturally by Mother Nature.  Once the vapors travel through a utility corridor, they may migrate into the building through concrete block basement walls, floor drains, drainage sumps or cracks in the floor. Continue reading “Vapor Intrusion and Indoor Air Sampling Expensive Testing – Make Sure It’s Done Correctly”

U.S. Circuit Court Finds Limits to Indiana’s Kiger Decision in Federated’s Unambiguous Policy Language

Posted on by Jeff Carnahan

By David A. O’Neill, J.D., Director of Investigations, Policy Find

The question of how broadly the Indiana Supreme Court’s ruling in American States Insurance Company v. Kiger, 662 N.E. 2d 945 (Ind. 1996) can be interpreted was further decided on March 25, 2010 when the United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit reached a decision in the West Bend Mutual Insurance Company v. U.S. Fidelity and Guaranty Company case.  This appellate decision is a caution to those owners and operators of retail gasoline service stations, who have been waiting to have their properties tested for pollutants in reliance on the effect of the Kiger ruling.  They will now be carefully reviewing the pollution exclusionary and definitions clauses in their policies to determine whether the Kiger or West Bend rules apply to their situations.

 In its published opinion, the Seventh Circuit explained its decision to affirm the U.S. District Court’s interpretation of a Federated Mutual Insurance Company umbrella liability policy which had been found to exclude coverage for pollution of neighboring property occasioned by leaking underground gasoline storage tanks. Continue reading “U.S. Circuit Court Finds Limits to Indiana’s Kiger Decision in Federated’s Unambiguous Policy Language”

It’s a Good Idea to be Proactive!

Posted on by shenshaw

Written by Steve Henshaw, President & CEO, EnviroForensics in collaboration with Justin Gifford, General Counsel, EnviroForensics
As seen in the January 2010 issue of Western Cleaner & Launderer

PDF Version

Opening up Google, a newspaper, turning on the radio or catching the evening news is sure to expose you to the national debate over health care and insurance. Through that exposure, most of us have gained at least a passing familiarity with the issue of “pre-existing conditions.” Insurers either refuse outright to cover a person with a pre-existing condition or exclude that condition from the coverage, leaving the insured to pay for it out of his pocket. Environmental liabilities and using historical insurance to offset those liabilities are not the focus of a lively national  debate, yet the costs incurred by drycleaners each year due to a similar problem are staggering.

We receive calls on a regular basis from drycleaners or property owners already engaged in defining the size of a spill or actively remediating it at the “request” of regulatory agencies asking for our help locating historical insurance to pay for the investigation and cleanup. Often times, we are able to locate that insurance to fund the clean up…but just as often, the twenty, thirty or   hundred and fifty thousand dollars already spent by our client cannot be recovered from the insurer even though the spending was necessary to comply with the regulator’s orders.

Continue reading “It’s a Good Idea to be Proactive!”

How to Select an Environmental Consultant

Posted on by shenshaw

Written by Steve Henshaw, P.G., President & CEO, EnviroForensics in collaboration with Konrad Banaszak, PhD; CPG-Chief Scientist EnviroForensics
As seen in the November 2009, Western Cleaner and Launderer Issue.

PDF Version

Selecting an environmental consultant is a business decision that should be more like selecting a personal doctor than selecting where to buy office supplies.  Most consumers of environmental consulting services recognize that this is a complicated and important decision but still find themselves following a “standard” path that leads to “standard” results and “standard” problems – all of which could have be avoided by taking the time to become a better-educated consumer.  This article will go through some of the selection and screening methods that small business owners use when selecting an environmental consultant to address their environmental liabilities. Continue reading “How to Select an Environmental Consultant”