Environmental Compliance
Environmental Compliance Services
HZW’s Environmental Compliance Group services industrial, municipal, and commercial clients in areas such as environmental compliance audits, air permitting, waste management, hazardous material reporting, Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting, SPCC, and industrial SWPP Plan development. HZW also provides day-to-day environmental compliance assistance to industrial sector clients to help meet permit conditions and keep up with ever-changing environmental regulations. We strive to assist our clients in maintaining or enhancing environmental compliance, while remaining sensitive to the production and financial needs of a facility. HZW has diverse and extensive experience with assisting companies in obtaining permits that allow for maximum operational flexibility with minimum burden. After a permit is obtained, we also assist facilities in establishing record keeping and reporting routines that ensure continuous compliance.
Environmental Compliance Project
HZW is helping RES Polyflow, an Ohio-based company, obtain air and wastewater permits for a new plastics-to-fuel recycling plant in Northern Indiana. RES Polyflow will manufacture liquid petroleum products from types of plastics that cannot be traditionally recycled. Once under construction, we will complete an SPCC Plan, stormwater management plan, and other regulatory reporting as required by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. RES Polyflow is hoping to build similar plants in Ohio and throughout the midwest.
“You always provide top-notch work. I am always happy with your work and service.”
State Agency
Environmental Site Assessments
Quality Site Assessment Services
Beginning with a Phase I ESA, HZW utilizes a multi-disciplinary methodology to investigate potential soil and/or groundwater contamination using our own Geoprobe® sampling equipment. We have over 25 years of experience in satisfying due diligence requirements during property acquisitions or property transfers and redevelopment. HZW has expertise in Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESA), Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, underground storage tank closures and corrective actions, and hydrogeologic investigations.
Phase I ESA Project
HZW was contracted to complete a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment on the historic former US Coast Guard/Life Guard in Cleveland Harbor. This iconic structure was designed by the same architect as Cleveland City Hall and housed Cleveland’s Lifesaving Service headquarters between 1940 and 1976. The property is owned by the City of Cleveland and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Cleveland Metroparks will lease the property to create an innovative center for sustainability, education/research and recreation.
Phase II ESA Project
HZW is conducting the Phase II Environmental Site Assessment work within the Opportunity Corridor area in Cleveland. This project area measures 3.6 miles long and has required extensive coordination with the City of Cleveland, private property owners, the project engineer, and the Ohio Department of Transportation. Our 3 Geoprobe® units have allowed us to be flexible in scheduling and have increased access to difficult-to-reach areas.
“HZW is the best. I have used you for Phase I and wetlands. Nobody has such a good track record with Ohio EPA. Matt Knecht is a tremendous quarterback with the agency.”
Developer Client
Lead & Asbestos Testing
HZW maintains the requisite training and licensing required to provide asbestos, lead, and/or hazardous material related-services. These services encompass the following:
- Conducting physical surveys to identify the presence of these materials prior to renovation and/or demolition activities being performed.
- Developing operations and maintenance (O&M) plans to assist clients in the continual evaluation and management of these materials.
- Developing detailed abatement specifications to assure these materials are handled and disposed of in accordance with applicable regulations.
- Providing project oversight and air monitoring services during abatement activities to ensure abatement activities are conducted in accordance with applicable regulations and project specifications.
Asbestos Abatement Project
HZW completed an asbestos, lead, and hazardous materials survey at a Cleveland FirstEnergy Lakeshore Plant in 2015. During 2016, HZW has been providing abatement oversight and clearance sampling during asbestos abatement. This familiar landmark is planned to be demolished.
“You always provide top-notch work. I am always happy with your work and service.”
State Agency
Safety, Industrial Hygiene & Indoor Air Quality
Safety Services
HZW safety services include Safety Compliance Audits, Safety Program Development and Safety Training, and Industrial Hygiene (IH) Assessments:
- The Safety Compliance Audit is a systematic and objective tool that provides you with feedback on workplace compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. We first conduct a walk-through of your facility to determine applicable regulations and to determine how your workers are following the safety regulations as well as your internal policies and procedures.
- Safety Program Development includes an evaluation of safety processes, completion of job hazard analysis, development of written programs and procedures, and establishment of a safety training matrix. HZW also provides OSHA-compliant Safety Program Development and classroom Safety Training that is specific to your needs.
Our IH Assessments evaluate chemical, physical, and biological health hazards associated with processes and job tasks performed at your facility. We obtain a thorough understanding of the contaminants/constituents that are associated with each process/job task from initial discussions with you and through the evaluation of safety data sheets (SDS) associated with each process/task and review of past exposure monitoring data. We also review past OSHA logs and relevant industry standards to define Similar Exposure Groups (SEGs) so that subsequent exposure monitoring can then be performed. HZW can also assist you in the prevention and control of any health hazards identified during the IH Assessment.
Occupational health hazards are not limited to the industrial setting. Often, they may be encountered in the office environment. “Sick building syndrome is a general term for unknown, chemical, physical or biological factors which adversely affect an employee’s health and well-being”. Similar to HZW’s IH Assessment, our Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Evaluation involves the collection of ambient air samples to evaluate employee exposures to various pollutants as well as the collection of bulk or surface samples from building materials that potentially could be adversely affecting the building’s air quality and causing building occupant complaints.
Industrial Hygiene Project
HZW and OSHA conducted a side-by-side industrial hygiene sampling at a coating line in a Portage County, Ohio plant. To protect our client, HZW conducted side-by-side sampling with OSHA. The results from OSHA were above the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL). HZW’s results were not. Due to our documentation of the sampling event, the quality control in sampling and chain of custody, OSHA accepted HZW’s results over their own, saving our client thousands of dollars in potential fines and engineering costs.
“You always provide top-notch work. I am always happy with your work and service.”
State Agency
Voluntary Action Program
HZW – a Proven Leader in Ohio’s VAP
HZW’s Certified Professionals provide complete guidance through each aspect of Ohio’s Voluntary Action Program. Since 1994, we have been recognized as a leader within Ohio’s VAP / Brownfield Redevelopment Program. HZW obtained the first Covenant Not to Sue in Ohio and our Certified Professionals have written the most No Further Action letters in the state. Our experience includes site assessments, soil and groundwater sampling with our own Geoprobes®, completing human health-based risk assessments under VAP standards, soil gas sampling, indoor air sampling, and vapor intrusion modeling.
Environmental Services VAP Project
The Columbus Coated Fabrics (CCF) site was a 20-acre campus of 60+ buildings that dated from the early 1900s. When active, the facility was involved in the manufacture of fabrics coated with plastic, such as the faux leather furniture material known as “naugahyde,” or plastic coated wallpapers for institutional settings. Essentially abandoned in 2001, the site quickly became the target of illegal salvage operators and vandals. In 2006, when HZW first became involved, the entire office complex had been subjected to three separate devastating fires, and the street that ran past the front of the facility was closed by the City of Columbus out of concern that the facility would collapse onto the road. Street gangs had also taken possession of the site, and the CCF property became a major source of blight for the surrounding residential neighborhood of Weinland Park, where the poverty rate exceeded 50 percent. Young children from the neighborhood who used the dilapidated industrial buildings as a playground were exposed to the dangers of the structure, gang violence, and environmental contamination from plastics, petroleum compounds, metals, PCBs, chlorinated solvents, and 35 former USTs.
HZW performed VAP Phase I and Phase II Property Assessments, and an asbestos survey of the entire complex in 2006. Even though other certified professionals told the City of Columbus that the site could not be remediated for less than $10 million, HZW completed the project for half of that estimate. We wrote the Remedial Action Plan (RAP) that enabled the site to receive a $3 million Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund (CORF) grant. Demolition of the structures ensued in 2007, and remediation of the site was conducted in 2008. Of the approximately $4.5 million in funds to remediate the site, HZW’s assessment fees were only 13.3% of the project total.
Not only was HZW able to salvage the site, we also prepared an RAP that enabled 95% of the site to meet unrestricted residential land use when remediation was complete. HZW’s successful remediation through the VAP and the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) Track eliminated the site from the Ohio EPA and U.S. EPA’s 2020 list. We are very proud that we removed a clear and immediate threat from an impoverished residential neighborhood.
“They’re highly capable, creative and are very well experienced. They understand both what will work in terms of regulatory approval and what’s practical for the client.”
Joe Koncelik
current client
Wetland Assessments and Ecological Studies
Permitting and Environmental Monitoring Services
HZW is experienced in conducting ecological assessments to identify regulated water bodies and significant ecological features prior to designing a site layout. The team also assists clients in navigating through the regulatory channels using standard permitting practices and creative design in order to implement their development plans.
We provide monitoring services for created, restored, or enhanced wetlands. Ecological surveys and field samplings are preformed to support design planning processes. HZW’s ecological risk assessment is a resource used to determine the effects of man-made and natural compounds on wetland resources. We provide on-site mitigation and stream restoration by way of collaborative bioengineering techniques.
Wetland Assessment and Watershed Restoration Project
HZW is assisting the City of Mentor and the City of Westlake to plan and implement local watershed restoration plans. We identify existing aquatic resources within the project areas, develop strategies to utilize the existing features, and incorporate new design features for watershed improvements. The final constructed designs will use natural resources to increase biodiversity, connect heavily impacted streams to their respective floodplains, as well as increase many of the wetland and stream functions that have been impaired by urban impacts.
“They’re highly capable, creative and are very well experienced. They understand both what will work in terms of regulatory approval and what’s practical for the client.”
Joe Koncelik
current client