Projects

Small Business Administration Phase I Report

Project Name: Family Eye Care Optometry Clinic, Lemoore, Kings County, California

Project Deliverables: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Report in accordance with ASTM 1527-05, 40 CFR, and U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Standard Operating Procedure 50 10 5. Ground Penetrating Radar Report. SBA Reliance Letters and coordination.

Resources Dedicated: Environmental Scientists conducted onsite surveys and agency records reviews and interviews with former property owners to evaluate an empty parcel of land in the City of Lemoore, California. Ground Penetrating Radar specialists were used to scan the subsurface of the property to determine the presence of underground petroleum storage tanks.

Project Duration: Due to a funding requirement set by the Small Business Administration, the eye doctor proposing to build a clinic to serve the low income residents of the City of Lemoore was required to have all evaluations completed within a two week time period. Due to the lack of records indicting the removal of previously installed underground petroleum storage tanks, the uncertainty of the suitability of the site to qualify for an SBA loan threatened to cancel the critically needed construction loan for the project. After exhausting all attempts to find file records for the site, Bole & Associates utilized ground penetrating radar to produce a 3-D picture of everything under the ground to a dept of sixty feet. The radar scan confirmed that the tanks had been removed and the loan was funded in time to complete the construction of the clinic.

Narrative: The agricultural nature of the job force in the City of Lemoore was impacted by the economic downturn in California to a greater degree than other more industrialized cities. An eye clinic to serve the low-income residents was in jeopardy of being built due to federal requirements to lend money only on uncontaminated commercial lots. Without confirmation that the former underground petroleum storage tanks were removed, the site was not eligible for a low-interest Small Business Administration loan, Conventional methods of finding underground tanks involves extensive excavation, thousands of dollars and time. The innovative use of ground penetrating radar was able to confirm the removal of the time on-the-spot for the cost of a few hundred dollars. The Small Business Administrative was impressed and pleased with the entire process.

Completed facility shown below.

City of Elk Grove and California Department of Transportation

Project Name: West Stockton Blvd / Laguna Creek Bridge Replacement, City of Elk Grove, Sacramento County, CA.

Project Deliverables: Wetland Delineation, Natural Environment Study, Cultural Resource Inventory, Restoration Plan, Hazardous Materials Disposal Plan, Work Awareness Training, Biological Monitoring, Agency Negotiation, Regulatory Permit Applications and Coordination.

Resources Dedicated: Wetland Biologists and Botanists conducted surveys for federally jurisdictional wetland habitats and field surveys asssments for the federally threatened giant garter snake, Thamnophis gigas and the northwestern pond turtle, Clemmys marmorata. Staff Environmental Planners coordinated permit requirements and designed avoidance, minimization and compensation measures to prevent adverse impacts to jurisdictional wetlands, federal and state endangered fish, amphibian, insect and plant species.

Project Duration: Critically designed to avoid impacts to the federally protected giant garter snake, the project was completed within a three month period.

Narrative: Designed to correct critical stream flow deficiencies, the new bridge was also necessary to accommodate increased traffic and pedestrian passage demands along West Stockton Boulevard. The project was completed ahead of schedule with no adverse impacts to the environment.

Project Name: Expansion of the San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery, Santa Nella, California

Project Deliverables: Environmental Assessment in accordance with Council on Environmental Quality (NEPA). Phase I Environmental Site Assessment in accordance with ASTM 1527-5. Wetland Delineation, Biological Assessment, Cultural Resource Inventory, Restoration Plan, Hazardous Materials Disposal Plan, Work Awareness Training, Biological Monitoring, Agency Negotiation, Regulatory Permit Applications and Coordination

Resources Dedicated: Wetland Biologists and Botanists conducted surveys for sensitive wetland habitats and assessments for the federally endangered San Joaquin Kit Fox. Staff Environmental Planners coordinated the Environmental Assessment and Phase I Report requirements and designed avoidance measures to prevent adverse impacts to the federally protected Kit Fox.

Project Duration: Due to an unexpected demand for available gravesites for World War II and Korean War Veterans in the Bay Area, the San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery proposed an immediate expansion into previously undisturbed land. Expedited surveys and regulatory agency coordination was required to ensure that the expansion could take place in a timely manner without impact to sensitive federally protected wildlife species.

Narrative: Scientists from Marcus H. Bole & Associates were able to conduct all protocol level site surveys and acquire all permit authorizations to allow the critically needed gravesites to be constructed within the required construction window. The gravesites were in place to serve the veterans and their families without having to delay any funerals.

Designed specifications and performed a Level one (Phase I) Environmental Liability Site Assessment, utilizing the “American Society for Testing and Materials” (ASTM 1527-05), AAI federal directives, and the Small Business Administration’s Standard Operating Procedures 50-10 (5) for the Neighbors Financial Corporation, 2831 G Street, Sacramento, California.

The Phase I included:

• an evaluation of the historic transfer of title, and regulatory agency information
• site inspection of the property to determine existence of possible sources of contamination
• an evaluation of possible contingent off-site liabilities
• an asbestos survey in accordance state and federal regulations, a ground penetrating radar scan to determine the possible existence of underground petroleum tanks
• area/site maps.

During the 2000 to 2012 time period, Marcus H. Bole & Associates conducted over 500 Phase I ESAs and Transactional Screen Analyses for Small Business Administration contracts for private and public agencies.

Project Name: Star Bend Boat Ramp Upgrades, Feather River, Yuba County, CA.

Project Deliverables: Wetland Delineation, Biological Assessment, Cultural Resource Inventory, Restoration Plan, Hazardous Materials Disposal Plan, Work Awareness Training, Biological Monitoring, Agency Negotiation, Regulatory Permit Applications and Coordination.

Resources Dedicated: Wetland Biologists and Botanists from Bole & Associates conducted surveys for sensitive wetland habitats and assessments for the federally endangered Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle. Staff Environmental Planners coordinated permit requirements and designed avoidance measures to prevent adverse impacts to federal and state endangered fish, amphibian, insect and plant species.

Project Duration: Designed to avoid critical impacts to federally protected migratory fish species, the project was completed within a six weeks “window” during the summer of 2009.

High water events during two consecutive winters significantly altered the Feather River bed and raised silt deposits within the Star Bend boat basin rendering the boat ramp unusable to the Yuba County Sheriff’s Swift Water and Technical Rescue Team. The boat ramp is the only access to the Feather River for rescue operations below the treacherous falls associated with Shanghai Bend. To prevent impacts to federally protected migrating and spawning fish species, the entire dredging project was limited to a six week “window” during the summer. The boat basin was isolated from the river using a specially designed bladder dam, and over 5,000 cubic yards of silt were removed and transported to an engineered disposal site during day and night operations under continuous biological monitoring by Bole & Association’s biologists. The project was completed ahead of schedule with no adverse impacts to the environment.