By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

Environmental Testing & Remediation for Child Care Center, Federal Building

The General Services Administration (GSA) retained Tectonic to provide environmental testing and remediation services. Building restoration work caused Poly-Chlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) -laden debris (from waste caulk) to fall throughout the Federal courthouse plaza and playground of the employee’s day care center. This project had a sensitive population at risk and the falling debris resulted in site-wide contamination above background levels with both state and Federal regulatory triggers.

  • Review, test, and evaluate extent of residual PCBs.
  • Remedial Investigation (RI)
  • Delineated and managed remediation of the PCBs .
  • Regulatory framework included satisfying New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
    (NJDEP) and Federal Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requirements simultaneously.

The site is within a large city; this, and the security issues made the Remedial Investigation a challenge.

By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

Central Park Police Precinct Soil Investigation

Remediation of an existing landmark police precinct building in Central Park. Three leaking underground storage tanks (USTs) were located on the property, adjacent to the existing building, which resulted in petroleum contamination of soils under and adjacent to the building.

A remedial investigation was performed in the building footprint to delineate petroleum impacted soils using shallow test pits, organic vapor screening and soil/groundwater sampling  accordance with NYSDEC DER-10.  A remedial investigation report was prepared including sampling methodology, test pit logs, data analysis, conclusions and remedial alternatives.  An indoor air assessment was conducted with an underslab vapor collection system and SVE remediation system designed and installed.

Tectonic worked with NYCDDC to get NYSDEC approval during these conditions discovered during construction to avoid project delays, remove several feet of petroleum-impacted soils, and address potential vapor intrusion to impacts future occupants.

The project received the following awards: 2013 ACEC Gold Award; 2012 Lucy Moses Award for outstanding preservation efforts; and 2010 ACEC Platinum Award to Tectonic for innovative design of a below grade SVE remedial system minimizing visual effect.

By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

NYSHTFC Environmental Review Services Term Agreement

Tectonic’s provided environmental review services under a three (3) year term contract for environmental review services to the New York State Housing Trust Fund Corporation, a division of the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR). The NYSHTFC was created by Section 45-a of the Private Housing Finance Law for the purpose of providing decent and affordable housing for persons of low-income by making loans, grants and services available to not-for-profit organizations, local governments and private housing developers. Among other activities, HTFC primarily invests in the construction and rehabilitation of multi-unit rental housing for families and elderly persons throughout New York State. HTFC makes awards annually to approximately 150 activities requiring environmental review services.

Services include:

  • Reviewing information and document compliance in accordance with requirements of HUD environmental review regulations at 24 CFR Part 58 for implementation of HUD’s responsibilities for use of federal funds under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
  • Providing technical assistance with respect to the HTFC’s programmatic environmental review process to Local Program Administrators (LPAs) for awards made under the New York State HOME Program.
  • Coordinating the flow of information and documentation between the HTFC and all interested or involved constituencies to produce programmatic environmental review procedures that become part of the revised Administrative Plan for subsequent site-specific environmental reviews.
By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

GOSR Term Agreement for Environmental Review, Management and Testing

In October 2012, the largest storm surge in New York’s recorded history swept ashore. Hurricane Sandy’s effect was devastating, causing widespread damage to core infrastructure. NYS developed a Storm Recovery Plan that focused on meeting the immediate needs for housing and business assistance through HUD in the form of CDBG-DR funding for the immediate acquisition of properties and relief of affected residents through a voluntary buyout program. Tectonic has been providing environmental services for homes and small businesses in State Island and Upstate New York that have been included in the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery’s programs under a two year agreement with a one year extension. Resiliency, repair & reconstruction as well as buyout programs are some of the exciting projects Tectonic has been involved with and continue to work on.

As part of the contract, Tectonic completed environmental review services for the program and demolition of nearly 500 homes in the Oakwood Beach area of Staten Island known as the Oakwood Beach Buyout Program. Tectonic has provided full Type 1 action services under SEQR, including: preparation of a Full Environmental Assessment Form (LEAF), Coast Consistency Assessment, Phase 1 Environmental Assessment, HUD Environmental Assessment NEPA Checklist and the 8-Step public noticing and comment process for Floodplain Management Plan and FONSI.

By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

Multi-Disciplinary Services

Tectonic has a long standing relationship with Central Hudson having performed multi-disciplined services throughout the region over the last 16 years. As part of their Transmission and Substation electrical systems upgrades and improvements, Tectonic has provided the following services:

  • Third party field inspection services, for performance of gas & electric utility facility installation throughout the lower Hudson Valley region for contractors.
  • Civil and structural engineering services for the design of caisson foundations to support transmission lines and utility poles at the Catskill Substation.
  • Subsurface investigation and geotechnical evaluation for the proposed upgrades to the Central Hudson Gas & Electric (CHG&E), 11-mile, 69 kV SB transmission line located between Kingston and Saugerties, Ulster County, New York, and the 12-mile, 69 kV H transmission line located in Catskill, Greene County, New York.
  • Structural engineering services for the design of caisson foundations to support 2 transmission towers on the NW transmission line.
  • Geotechnical investigation and prepared a report describing findings and recommendations for the construction of two (2) steel transmission poles to replace existing wood pole structures on the WM line in Walden, NY.
  • Structural analysis and field investigation of an existing elevated concrete slab and the brick bearing walls supporting the slab within a historic power station building at the Montgomery Street Substation.
By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

Term Agreements

Tectonic has been working with Con Ed through various Term Agreements over the last 15 years. As part of their Transmission and Substation electrical systems upgrades and improvements, Tectonic has provided the following services:

  • Structural engineering services for more than sixty (60) of Con Edison’s transmission towers.
  • Geotechnical and Environmental engineering. Geotechnical and environmental services including: performance of subsurface investigations, laboratory testing, geotechnical and environmental analyses, report preparation and geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring services.
  • Controlled inspection and materials testing services for soils, concrete, masonry, asphalt, and structural steel materials, preparation of inspection reports and performance of on-site investigations.
  • Land and property surveys, title searches, ROW and easement surveys, topographic surveys, hydrographic surveys, including soundings, construction and quantity surveys, transmission surveys including subsurface or overhead electric, gas and steam lines, and route feasibility surveys and studies.
By Greg Lopez 0 Comments

Solar Rooftop Installation Design at Cornell Bloomberg Building Cornell Tech’s Roosevelt Island Campus Construction

This project included the construction of a new Cornell Tech campus including two million square feet of state-of-the-art buildings, over two acres of open space that will become home to over 2,000 graduate students and hundreds of faculty. The construction included the installation of solar panels on the Bloomberg Center and Bridge building. When completed, the 12-acre campus will be known as one of the most environmentally friendly and energy efficient campuses worldwide. Tectonic provided engineering services for the installation of a rooftop solar system at the Bloomberg Center Building and Bridge Building.

Tectonic performed structural analysis and design of the proposed solar mounting steel support system. The support system for Bloomberg was composed of steel members and Unirac rails and the Bridge building was composed of Unirac rails at an 8-degree tilt. The design included a design to span the large 25’ and 30’ spans as required to support the PV panels. Tectonic also drafted structural design drawings and was involved with the permitting process with the NYC DOB.

By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

PANYNJ Geo Term Contract

Tectonic has been working with the Port Authority to provide professional geotechnical, environmental, and controlled inspection services as requested on a “call-in” basis through 2017 for various locations throughout New York and New Jersey.

Tectonic has provided, and is currently providing, the following services:

  • Subsurface investigations, inspections of soil test borings, rock coring, monitoring well installation, and soil identification.
  • Preparation of detailed logs of the daily work for review by the Port Authority Supervisor.
  • Concrete testing, fill placement, subgrades, asphalt pavement, and precast concrete inspections.

Recent projects completed under this contract include:

  • Freedom Tower at the World Trade Center complex
  • Lincoln Tunnel
  • Goethals Bridge
  • JFK Airport – Terminals 5, 6, 8 and 9 Redevelopment – parking garage
  • Staten Island Railroad Connection to Chemical Coastline, Elizabeth, NJ
  • Teterboro Airport Taxiways P & Q Extensions, Teterboro, NJ
  • PATH Grove Street Station, Jersey City, NJ
  • Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) South Fuel Farm Subsurface Remediation
  • Stewart International Airport Runway
  • LaGuardia Airport Expansion
By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

Lehman College Science Center

Tectonic worked with the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York to provide construction phase engineering and environmental services at the City University of New York Lehman College Science Center for waste characterization sampling and testing of on-site soils and real time air monitoring of particulates and volatile organic compounds (VOC) during the earthwork and excavation phase of construction of the building.

Tectonic performed the following services on site:

  • Waste characterization sampling of the existing on-site soils and provided analytical testing of the samples. Sampling indicated that the fill was primarily cinders and ash with high concentrations of metals and semi-volatile organic compounds.
  • Preparation of a Community Air Monitoring Plan (CAMP) for the project construction phase in accordance with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYCDEC) guidance and implemented the plan during the construction of the new building.
  • Positioning air monitoring stations, equipped with MiniDate Ram 1000 and a MiniRae 2000 for the particulate and VOC monitoring respectively, at upwind and downwind points near the perimeter of the site,
  • Checking air monitoring stations and making field observations throughout the day to ensure air quality levels were not approaching or exceeding the limits set forth in the CAMP for the project.
  • Notifying the contractor of elevated readings so that dust suppression measures would be implemented until the elevated readings subside.
  • Preparation of weekly field reports containing a summary of the site activities, tabulated summary of the monitoring data for the week (i.e. exceedances, peak and average readings, weather conditions, and monitoring duration), the air monitoring raw data, and any pertinent site photographs.
By Juan Lopez 0 Comments

USDA Animal Import Center Facility

Tectonic provided multi-discipline services as a subconsultant to government contractor, Clark Nexsen, for the preliminary design, support and oversight of the design-build construction on the New York Animal Import Center (NYAIC) at Stewart International Airport. This 10,000 square foot, LEED-Silver Administration building is one of 2 air/ocean-borne animal import centers on the eastern seaboard that is operated by the U.S. Department of Agricultural Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (USDA-APHIS). The NYAIC was created as part of a multi-phased modernization plan to inspect and quarantine animals before their ultimate release and transfer to their final destination within the U.S.

Tectonic provided the following services:

  • Preliminary design: surveying, geotechnical subsurface investigations, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) screening, New York State Historic Preservation Office (NYSHPO) consultation, and code review.
  • Preparation of NEPA and New York State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) documentation addressing potential environmental impacts, and coordination of the process and determination with the USDA’s environmental liaison.
  • Development of a Program of Requirements (POR) and preliminary site plan to address the functional and operational compliance with USDA design standards, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) tenant construction requirements, airport individual State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) Permit limitations, and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) circulars/regulations.
  • Utilization of sand filters, pre-manufactured pretreatment units, and green technologies (stormwater planters and vegetate swales)

The information obtained from the pre-design phase and preliminary site and stormwater designs will be utilized by a design-build team in the final design and construction of the project.