CDM has earned the Association of Engineering Geologists' 2002 Outstanding Environmental and Engineering Geologic Project Award for the firm's contributions to remediation of the Sparks Marina Park in Sparks, Nevada.
The property served as an aggregate quarry from 1967 to 1992. During that period, approximately 9.6 million cubic yards of material were removed from the site, and constant dewatering took place to facilitate aggregate mining. In 1988, hydrocarbon-contaminated soil and groundwater were discovered at the quarry, and hydrocarbon and solvent contamination plumes were found to originate at nearby industrial facilities.
CDM was retained to design, build, and operate the cleanup facilities, which included biological treatment and vapor extraction processes, a denitrification system, a sophisticated supervisory control and data acquisition system, and other treatment facilities. CDM's innovative approaches have earned engineering excellence awards and widespread recognition within the industry for successfully removing the fuel additive methyl tert-butyl ether, or MTBE.
The fast-track design-build approach, coupled with the system's high mass removal rates, have effectively controlled contaminant movement at the site and protected human health. Water quality in the area has improved significantly, and the city of Sparks has been able to move forward with plans to redevelop the property into a multi-use recreational facility featuring an 80-acre, 1.7-billion-gallon lake that has proven to be a good habitat for fish, including rainbow and brown trout.