Prior to commencing an investigation, there is always some public domain information from which a Conceptual Site Model (CSM) can be developed. A CSM begins to tell a story about site conditions and possible pathways for constituent exposure. A CSM should always be performed before commencing field study and should be updated as often as new site information is collected.

CSMs can be as simple as a sketch map or hydrogeologic cross-section, or as sophisticated as a rotatable, 4-dimensional (3 dimensions of space plus time) computer animation of subsurface flow and constituent transport. SEC is a strong proponent of CSM development and for its use as an important tool in communicating with regulatory agencies and the public.

The following are four examples where Mr. Hochreiter has worked with Arcadis personnel to employ CSMs for the Public Communication of site conditions:

  • Former Tect/Danzig drum disposal site in Northvale, New Jersey, where Mining Visualization Software (MVS) was used in monthly public meetings to update local residents on the status of on-site and off-site soil and groundwater investigations as well as to identify potential pathways for constituent transport in fractured bedrock.
  • EPLC NPL site in Old Bridge, New Jersey, where time-trend analyses, regional cross-section analysis, and other visual techniques are routinely used to represent site conditions to the regulators (NJDEP and USEPA, Region II).
  • iPort 440 brownfields redevelopment project in Perth Amboy, New Jersey where BBL personnel created a web portal for the dissemination of historic and current site data. This data, residing in a database, can be queried by the user to produce custom 3-dimensional graphics for constituent distribution, time-trend analysis, and impacted-volume calculations above regulatory thresholds in both soil and groundwater.
  • A confidential client who operated an ink & dye manufacturing plant in Hawthorne, New Jersey, where BBL used existing site data, borehole geophysical and geologic logs, and regional geological data (USGS) to construct a bedrock conceptual hydrogeologic model. This model, coupled with the utilization of Westbay multi-port wells, has enabled BBL to track the transport of nitrobenzene and analine in the fractures of the Passaic Formation Aquifer.