So, to kill time and post an entry for the heck of it - here's a couple photos from yesterday's staff meeting.
Our staff meeting is held monthly. Usually takes about 30 minutes to an hour to catch up on items of general relevance to the whole office. Of course, different groups and teams meet as needed to discuss detailed items.
In the photos above, RS and I are discussing a consulting agreement for one of my projects.
I'm the Project Manager in charge of construction of the Western North Carolina Skilled Nursing Home for the NC Division of Veterans Affairs. For the VA Home we took some unused property from the Department of Corrections and (a small amount) from NC State University.
When we were selecting the site a couple years ago, we discovered what turned out to be a hazardous waste landfill. The hazardous waste landfill is not on the site we are building the VA Home. It's down the road a bit on other NCDOC property.
NCDOC was tasked with investigating (and potentially remediating) the haz site. But - NCDOC has been hit hard by budget cuts over the last 2 years and money for non-critical functions (like investigating 60 year old landfills) is scarce.
So - a couple months ago - we (the Department of Administration - State Construction Office) decided to step in.
We scrounged around and found some money. I'm hiring an Environmental Consultant / Geologist to investigate the site. We'll determine what's exactly in the landfill; how deep (quantity) is the waste; install background and downstream sampling and monitoring wells (checking for groundwater contamination / migration); and we'll come up with a game plan on how to remediate or clean up the site.
RS handles contracting for consultants. I picked out a consultant and had them prepare a services proposal and cost schedule. RS turns proposals into State contracts. Once RS and the consultant get the contract finalized - we'll turn loose the drill rigs.
The investigation and services contract will be a shade under $60,000. My boss is trying to find another 5 thousand +/- so I can add in some additional work that I think needs to be done.
The bottom line of course, is to determine what needs to be done with the waste and how much will it cost.
Based on my experience with sites like this and my "eye-balling" of how much material there is to deal with - I'm guessing a full clean up is going to run between $500K and $1.5M.
If I'm lucky and the environmental regulators (NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources) let me average / categorize the waste to non-hazardous levels - then I can take the waste to the local county landfill for the lower estimate. If testing reveals higher haz waste levels - then I'm looking at the much higher cost.
Either way - I want to get the investigation, report and recommendations done by November. That will give time for my various bosses to include the funding request in time for next winter's General Assembly short session (they convene in February - budget committees start meeting sooner).
A typical moment in a typical day at the office.
FYI
The 2 kids sitting behind us are summer engineering interns. These guys are really sharp and have been a great help this summer.
The one on the left (with the emo mop top hair) is a mechanical engineering student at NC State. He's going to cover for me at a monthly construction meeting this Friday. I have to go to Robeson County Friday to handle a sensitive issue that's flared up at the Lumbee Indian Cultural Center (there's a pun in there - I'll leave it up to you to google if you want to know what it is).
Normally I'd get a senior engineer / peer to go to the construction meeting in my place. But this student is so sharp, he can handle any issues that come up or can brief me if larger decisions are needed.
(Note to self - remember to bring in hair clippers - offer to lend to him - recommend No. 4 (1/2-inch) clipper guard)
The other guy is majoring in Environmental Studies and Economics at Elon University. He's been reviewing the past haz waste site investigations and reports and the current proposal. He's been a great help. I wish he were still going to be here when the final investigation gets underway - I'd turn the entire project over to him.
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