Case study - Coupling ISCO and anaerobic bioremediation at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base wins state award of environmental excellence

Site Description:  The Naval Submarine Base in Kings Bay, Georgia (a former landfill) was impacted with VOCs due to buried drums.

Contaminants:  PCE and its degradation products at concentrations of 9,000 ug/L. Based on investigation efforts conducted by the Navy, DNAPL was also suspected.

Remedial Challenge:  The groundwater plume was moving off site to a residential subdivision, which included 600 homes that used groundwater for irrigation purposes. A pump & treat system was in place, but additional recover wells and an expensive off-gas treatment system would be required to contain the plume.

Remedial Approach: We applied catalyzed hydrogen peroxide for source reduction followed by injection of a vegetable oil emulsion to replenish the organic matter. Based on the success of the coupled approach, the pump & treat system was terminated two months after the ISCO, remediation time was lowered from 35 years to 7 years, costs were reduced from $30 million to $5 million and the State of Georgia Chamber of Commerce recognized the project for the State Award of Environmental Excellence.