All over the State there are thousands of parcels that have been contaminated by prior use. Often from industrial processes that have ceased, but their residues present a health hazard to the general environment. These sites must be remediated to be redeveloped. Often, the properties we address are in-use, and ongoing processes or operations may be complicating the management of vestigial contamination issues.
We satisfy the increasing need to reuse land affected by contamination, rather than develop greenacres/greenfield sites such as farmland or woodland. We clear the environmental issues in advance of planned demolition, construction, or renovation. Furthermore, understanding the actual (original) cause, mechanisms of a release, and the manner it came about is a critical step in our services.
Contamination presenting can create exposure risks to building occupants in close proximity to contaminated buildings, soil, and groundwater; so we evaluate and control environmental exposures as part of our services. Tectonic is focused on confirming the absence of a concern that is demonstrably above background conditions or not the responsibility of others; and if present - delineating its spread, limits, and severity. The studies we perform are outcome-oriented, specifically to enable us to promptly complete only the remediation or clean-up needed.
We are staffed by multiple LSRPs, and a plurality of other environmental professionals (EPs), Professional Engineers (PEs), Professional Geologists (PGs) Certified Industrial Hygienists (CIHs), Certified Hazardous Materials Managers (CHMM), Licensed Environmental Professional (LEP) – all whom possess sufficient specific education, training, and experiences in order to exercise independent, professional, and technical judgment in developing opinions and conclusions regarding conditions indicative of releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances on, at, in, or to a property. Our phased assessments are sufficient to meet the objectives and performance factors of the Federal AAI rule.
Tectonic possesses an abundance of technical, financial, professional, and managerial capabilities with the experience – plus the capacity – to design and deliver licensed site remediation professional (LSRP) services, professional engineering services, and professional land surveying. Also, we maintain our own in-house (multi-state certified) testing laboratory.
A "contaminated site" is wherever chemical pollutants or conditions are present in (or spreading from) an indoor space, a building, or an outdoor area or buried location; that fails to satisfy applicable safety criteria or established conditions. Contamination can be present in air, soil, waters, and from wastes or processes. Contamination exposes people to pollutants through drinking wells, contaminated indoor air, or through toxic or harmful exposures in occupied or confined spaces - where dangerous contamination is nearby, touchable, or inhalable.
Mitigating unacceptable exposures, addressing historical discharges, managing habitat degradation, removing surface water injury, and regulatory compliance services are all related parts of our robust service repertoire.
Investigation | Consulting
Tectonic prepares and implements quality assurance project plans, work plans for delineation, plus Federal self-implementing cleanup plans, and site-specific Safety and Health Plans. We specify unrestricted use and alternative remedies for residences, schools, and child care centers. We perform remedial cost forecasting and estimating associated with planning and permitting.
Documenting | Reporting
Many different parties rely on our expert opinions. We issue subject-specific, concise technical reports and work-plans in plain English; we give expert interpretation and relevant context. We summarize the important findings, identify data-gaps, and disclose uncertainties.
Offering Choices | Alternatives
After preliminary studies & investigations reveal the estimated nature of the present challenges, our staff can provide Remedial Alternatives’ Analysis (RAA) or Feasibility Studies (FS) to best fit a client’s situation and needs. Our recommendations become site-specific remedial action work plans (RAWs), which can be complex or simple (case-by-case) according to the level of effort needed and complexity at a given property.
Response Actions | Contracting
We have the resources, abilities, licensure, and experience (plus insurances) to safely and effectively ameliorate the contamination discovered from any release or spill with specialist sub-contractors and vendors. Our responses include actions to collect, separate, isolate, contain, stabilize, neutralize, remove, encapsulate, recycle, inert, landfill, or destroy impacted media and wastes.
Qualifications
Tectonic’s project teams hold all appropriate individual and corporate licensure and certifications per the former New Jersey Commerce Commission, namely New Jersey -DEP, -DOL, -DCA, and -DOH registries; with comparable licensure in New York. Tectonic knows what clients “must do”, what they “can do”, and what they “should do” – which gives us an important strategic advantage.
Insurance
Tectonic carries the appropriate insurances to cover the unforeseen and unplanned events that sometimes occur with exploratory studies or when remediating hidden conditions. We carry a comprehensive insurance plan that includes Professional Errors and Omissions, and Contractors Pollution Liability policies, which are tailored for our clients’ needs.
Closures
Tectonic obtains Remedial Action Permits (RAP) and issues Final Remediation Documents (FRD) in the form of Response Action Outcome (RAO) letters that are either area-specific or apply to an entire property. Closures are site-specific & location-specific and may be conditional (limited / restricted uses) or for unrestricted use; but are always a product of carefully balanced evaluations of past and future costs of compliance and risk tolerance.
Recordkeeping
Tectonic maintains an electronic storage archive for all our clients and projects. Tectonic offers an online, password-protected client access portal to enable project records’ retrieval on demand.
Tectonic is able to assist clients come into compliance with – or satisfy -- the Rule requirements of numerous environmental programs of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), including the broad Pollution Prevention rules (N.J.A.C. 7:1K), the Discharge Rules (and the claims processing thereof, at §7:1E & §7:1J, respectively), and community Right to Know (RTK) matters (§ 7:1G).
Tectonic is fully-conversant with County environmental processes (§7:1H) and State environmental procedures - incl. the Underground Tank rules (§7:14B), Administrative rules (§7:26C), Technical rules (§7:26E), and Industrial rules (§7:26B) for the clean-up of contaminated property under the Licensed Site Remediation (LSR) program (§7:26i) when remediation work becomes necessary.
Tectonic efficiently screens commercial property against losses during portfolio transactions using NJDEP or ASTM protocols, in accordance with a client’s needs or specific requests. Tectonic remediates soil and ground water to various acceptable end-points based upon future site use, proximity to receptors, plus cost and schedule constraints: Optimal outcomes.
Tectonic assists our clients to meet the Pollutant Discharge rules and (§7:14A) and the statewide Remediation Standards (§7:26D) in flexible and measured ways.
This work often involves the management of solid wastes (§7:26) hazardous waste (§7:26G and beneficial recycling (§7:26A) wherever possible. Tectonic is a subject matter expert regarding clean fill and alternate fill, based upon soil chemistry.
Tectonic can also manage more specialist aspects of redevelopment work, including historic places (§7:4) and endangered plants (§7:5C) that may be threatened or impacted. Furthermore, Tectonic can manage the requisite permitting under the coastal zone rules (§7:7), freshwater wetlands, (§7:7a) and other land use programs.
In addition Tectonic is an expert regarding dam engineering (§7:20) and restoration (§7:24A) procedures in New Jersey. Our survey division can produce all forms of land survey documents required that will satisfy the numerous NJDEP programs (§13:40), incl. Green Acres and Blue Acres.
With Tectonic’s experience with the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) programs, Tectonic can assist with the evaluation and abatement of lead hazards (§5:17), historic preservation compliance (§5:100-102), plus asbestos (§5:23-8), radon (§5:23-10) and playground safety (§5:23-11) issues whenever they present associated with public-, private- or charter-schools’ feasibility review and construction, or environmental safety screening of proposed child care centers (CCC) under the Madden Act.
As a Licensed Indoor Environment Consultant, Tectonic can perform all manner of appropriate testing (sampling and analysis) for Department of Health (DOH) - regulated contaminants: Asbestos Containing Material (ACM), Lead dust and paint hazards (LBP), organic & inorganic compounds, formaldehyde, pesticides, Radon, and Mold.
Tectonic coordinates and combines such studies into our Indoor Environment Health Assessments (IEHAs) (§8:50). Tectonic’s Certified Industrial Hygienists (CIHs) Certified Hazardous Materials Managers (CHMMs) and other specialty and safety professionals review our receptor exposure studies.
Tectonic can perform the studies required under the procedures of New Jersey’s Executive Order (EO) № 215 - regarding the completion of Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements associated with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) based upon the use of public funds on a project. Further, Tectonic is adept at efficiently satisfying the intent of EO № 140, to complete the expedient, enhanced review provisions of sites where groundwater has been impacted and the site may be used as residential housing, or for educational purposes, or for a playground, or a ball field.
The New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF) has physical facility requirements under the Manual of requirements for child care centers (§52:5) that include verification of environmental suitability and specific metrics based on known hazards associated with prior property use and occupancy, and current building conditions. Tectonic can review the property condition and ensure the appropriate engineering evaluations are completed on a case-by-case basis. DCF compliance incorporates DCA, DEP, and DOH clearance.
Regarding Educational Facilities (EFs), the Department of Education (DOE) rulemaking (§6A:26) has numerous environmental requirements, and Tectonic can complete capital project (cost) reviews (§6A-26-3) for anticipated environmental remediation costs; identify environmentally sensitive areas; complete Madden Act compliance actions; and make applicability determinations as to whether the land is subject to any environmental statutes, regulations or executive orders during land acquisition (§6A-26-7).
Tectonic can also prepare the required environmental site reports with civil engineering determinations on water and sewer availability; (coastal and freshwater) wetlands; Green Acres land; stream encroachment; historical or archaeological resources; and threatened or endangered plant & animal species under the land acquisition procedures.
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Tectonic maintains multiple survey crews, each having specific areas of proficiency in boundary, topographic, right-of-way, construction stakeout and global-positioning-systems (GPS) surveying. Our staff is fully equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and software, providing clients with fully automated services, including 3D laser scanning and mobile LIDAR. Field services include acquisition/ROW, aerial control, ALTA/ACSM land title, certified boundary, geodetic control, GIS mapping, property subdivision, route surveys, topographic, and wetland delineation.
Tectonic’s civil engineering capabilities encompass a full range of services from due diligence to preparation of contract plans and specifications. Land use planning and site design is a primary focal point of our civil design group, providing clients with in-depth expertise in developing site plans that comply with environmental and land use restrictions imposed by governing regulatory agencies while achieving maximum usage. The final product of these planning and design services is a site development plan that meets specific performance criteria and can be built in a timely and cost effective manner.
Tectonic’s transportation group provides design and construction phase services for projects throughout the NY Tristate region. Our team has extensive experience working with the following agencies: NJTA, NJDOT, NYCDDC, NYCDOT, NYSDOT, CONNDOT, and PANYNJ. We have provided construction management and inspection for these agencies on roadway and bridge maintenance, drainage improvement, and pavement reconstruction projects. Our inspectors hold appropriate highway construction certifications from the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET), American Concrete Institute (ACI), Society of Asphalt Technologists of New Jersey (NJSAT), and Rutgers University Traffic Control Coordinator program (TCC).
Tectonic also provides other support services including environmental and regulatory permitting and geotechnical engineering.