Erler & Kalinowski, Inc. (EKI) services

EKI has assisted public, private-sector, and non-profit clients with acquisition and redevelopment of environmentally impaired properties or brownfields. EKI has devised remedial strategies that have allowed reuse of such properties as former canneries, oil refineries, foundries, military facilities, manufactured gas plants, federal Superfund sites, bulk fuel storage facilities, and petrochemical manufacturing operations.

EKI conducts environmental assessments and compliance audits tailored to meet the needs of our clients nationwide and throughout the world.  Environmental assessments range from screening evaluations that identify the potential magnitude of environmental liabilities associated with properties under consideration to formal studies that conform to ASTM E1527 Phase I environmental due diligence standards for prospective purchasers of contaminated properties.  Depending upon our client’s objectives, the compliance audit may be limited to comparing facility operations with audit criteria (e.g., environmental regulations, polices, and commonly accepted practices) or expanded to incorporate recommendations for corrective actions.

In support of the entitlement and environmental review processes for brownfields development, EKI provides comprehensive planning and design services for projects’ water demand, water supply, and water and wastewaster treatment components.  Specifically, EKI has experience developing defensible water demand estimates for proposed new developments that accurately reflect the proposed land plan and the level of water efficiency that is anticipated as part of the development project.  EKI also has extensive experience evaluating project water supply options and reliability in the context of the SB 610 Water Supply Assessment framework, and conducting planning-level designs of water, wastewater, and recycled water treatment facilities and distribution/collection systems.  We provide strategic and technical support to our clients in dealing with the public and the permitting and regulatory agencies on all water-related issues.

EKI provides environmental litigation support.  For certain properties where EKI has conducted investigative and remedial actions we have acted as fact witnesses that facilitated our clients recouping their expenses pursuant to purchase and sales contracts, lease agreements, or private party cost recovery rights available under CERCLA.  We have also served as expert witnesses on projects involving the source and extent of contamination, appropriateness of remedial actions taken, and allocation of costs.  In addition to giving depositions and testimony during trial or alternate dispute resolution, EKI can assist clients and their counsel with establishing the technical strategy to support their case, creating inventories and managing documents with Summation^® or other commercially available software, and preparing exhibits and expert reports.

EKI provides litigation support services and expert testimony relating to water supply issues and groundwater resources.  In this capacity, EKI has developed groundwater models to assess impacts of extraction, performed sustainable yield assessments for groundwater basins, and utilized Landsat satellite imagery to assess cropping patterns and water usage in conjunction with Farm Service Association (“FSA”) records and evapotranspiration data.  Senior staff at EKI are currently serving as designated experts in groundwater basin adjudication proceedings in the Antelope Valley Groundwater Basin in California.

Municipalities and private entities that provide water, wastewater, and storm water utilities are faced with numerous challenges, including changing regulations, aging infrastructure, system security, and budgetary constraints.  EKI provides planning and engineering to help our clients address these challenges.  Our capabilities include master planning; cost of service analysis and rate studies; replacement and rehabilitation of existing infratstructure; design of water supply storage, collection, and distribution systems; program management for capital improvement program implementation; and construction management during project construction.

Water treatment is an integral part of EKI’s water services. We specialize in utilizing both conventional treatment and Membrane advanced technologies to treat water to levels that are appropriate for the intended use, whether it is for potable supply or for a reuse application. EKI has extensive experience designing and constructing water treatment systems for groundwater and surface water that address chemicals of concern such as iron, manganese, nitrates, chromium 6, arsenic, lead, volatile organic compounds, and other contaminants.

EKI has completed investigation and remediation studies for a variety of contaminated sites.  We have prepared EE/CA, RI, and FS reports, QAPPs, and treatability study work plans for federal Superfund sites that are consistent with CERCLA.  EKI has assisted at RCRA facilities where hazardous waste releases have occurred by performing the RFA, RFI, interim actions, CMS, and CMI, as warranted.  In addition to our CERCLA and RCRA experience, we have helped clients with performing investigation and remediation studies necessary to satisfy state-specific and local requirements.  EKI has prepared RAPs for DTSC that comply with Section 25356.1 of Chapter 6.8 of the California Health and Safety Code and has assessed environmental conditions or achieved closure for sites in Texas under TRRP, in Massachusetts under MCP, in New Jersey under ISRA, in Louisiana under RECAP, in Maine under VRAP, and in Illinois under TACO.

Obtaining insight on how contaminants change and move in the environment may be important in distinguishing the party responsible for a release, judging if a significant potential for chemical exposure exists, or determining appropriate remedial actions.  EKI is accomplished in fate and transport modeling of contaminants in the vadose zone, groundwater, surface water, and atmosphere.  We have conducted vapor intrusion to indoor air analyses, performed natural attenuation evaluations of chlorinated solvents, petroleum hydrocarbons, hexavalent chromium, pesticides, and other contaminants, and completed groundwater flow simulations ranging from the use of simple analytical equations to numerical computer codes such as MODFLOW.

EKI conducts human health and ecological risk assessments in support of remedial actions designed to achieve regulatory agency closure of releases or to facilitate redevelopment of brownfields properties.  A defensible risk assessment requires an understanding of the chemical distribution in environmental media, definition of the reasonably anticipated land uses, and estimation of potential chemical exposures.  Based upon this knowledge, it can be determined if the risk at a site can be judged by simply comparing chemical data to published screening levels, such as EPA PRGs or state criteria, or whether the risk and site-specific remediation goals must be calculated following EPA RAGs or state guidance.  EKI has applied various risk-based corrective action methods to address the issues posed by site contamination.