Definition of a Release

Friday, April 5, 2013 by August Mack Ohio Office

The purpose of a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment is to identify conditions indicative of an existing release, past release, or material threat of a release of any hazardouse substances or petroleum products on a property. So what defines a release?

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) defines a "release" as "any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing into the...

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The Purpose of a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment

Monday, April 1, 2013 by August Mack Ohio Office

A Phase II Environmental Site Assessment (Phase II ESA) is conducted to determine whether chemicals of concern are present in environmental media at a property, mainly through chemical testing of soil and/or groundwater samples collected from locations where chemicals of concern are most likely to be present, and if present, to gain sufficient information regarding the chemical concentrations to meet the objectives of our clients.

Our extensive experience with subsurface investigations can help...

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What is a Historical Recognized Environmental Condition (HREC)?

Wednesday, December 12, 2012 by August Mack Ohio Office

Historical Recognized Environmental Conditions (HRECs) are often identified during Phase I Environmental Site Assessments. A HREC is an environmental condition which in the past would have been a recognized environmental condition (REC), but which may or may not be considered a REC currently. The final decision rests with the environmental professional and will be influenced by the current impact of the HREC on the commercial property in question. If a HREC is determined to be a REC at the time...

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What is CERCLIS?

Thursday, December 6, 2012 by August Mack Ohio Office

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS) is a list of sites compiled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the EPA has investigated or is currently investigating for potential hazardous substance contamination. CERCLIS sites are investigated for possible inclusion in the National Priorities List (NPL), a list of properties with the highest priority for cleanup.

For more information, call 800.579.0770 and ask to speak to one of...

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Phase I ESA Underground Hydraulic Lift Concerns

Monday, October 29, 2012 by August Mack Ohio Office

During Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (Phase I ESAs), we often encounter underground hydraulic lifts (or cavities where they once existed) at automobile repair facilities. To alleviate concerns with hydraulic oil releases associated with underground lifts, make sure to take appropriate soil and groundwater closure samples when removing old underground lifts. If subsurface sampling is not conducted during the lift removal, a Recognized Environmental Condition (REC) may be identified...

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Phase I ESA Holding Tank Concerns

Tuesday, September 11, 2012 by August Mack Ohio Office

During Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (Phase I ESA), we often encounter concrete holding tanks that accept discharge from floor drains located in car wash bays, automobile service garages, etc. To prevent holding tank contents from impacting the soil and/or groundwater beneath your commercial property, make sure to:

  • Prevent hazardous materials/petroleum products from entering floor drains
  • Hire a waste service company to REGULARLY pump out floor drains/holding tanks and properly dispose of...
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562910 Small Business

Friday, March 2, 2012 by Government Program Development Team

Did you know that August Mack is a self-certified small business?  We can provide many different services as a small business under the environmental remediation NAICS code (562910).  These services include preliminary assessment, site inspection, testing, remedial investigation, feasibility studies, remedial design, remediation services, containment, removal of contaminated materials, storage of contaminated materials or security and site closeouts to restore or directly support the restoration...

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Safety Services

Thursday, March 1, 2012 by Tom Anderson

August Mack Environmental offers safety services to our clients. We can help develop your lockout/tagout program, perform a safety audit, as well as numerous other types of safety projects. But safety is also very important in many of the environmental jobs we perform for a client. Since many of our projects include environmental remediation activities, we must keep safety at the top of our mind. These projects have hazards that must be identified and a health & safety plan must be developed...

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Environmental Remediation Specialists

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 by Tom Anderson

Many times problems have multiple solutions. The goal is to determine the best solution for your set of circumstances. So if you have a remediation project, August Mack can evaluate if there are multiple solutions and give you all the necessary information to determine the best course of action.

March 2 Webinar

Friday, February 3, 2012 by Marketing Department
Be sure and register here for the August Mack webinar on March 2, 2012 titled "How Do You Manage Your Safety Risk in Environmental Remediation Projects?" When you have an environmental remediation project, there are many aspects that you need to consider. For example, what technologies or approach will you be utilizing? Regardless of the answer, safety should always be an important component of any project. This webinar, which will be co-presented by August Mack and EFS (Environmental Field...Read More »

Register for Webinar One Month Away

Thursday, February 2, 2012 by Health and Safety Account Team
One month from today August Mack Environmental will be co-presenting a webinar entitled "How Do You Manage Safety Risk in Environmental Remediation Projects".Although the goal in environmental remediation is to get a property to a regulatory acceptable clean-up level, safety must always be at the forefront of these projects. Depending upon the site and site conditions, the workers on-site many times must have special training. To learn more, click on the photo icon below to register for the...
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Environmental Remediation Consulting

Tuesday, January 17, 2012 by Tom Anderson
August Mack Environmental started as a company in 1988 and was actually named Hoosier Environmental at that time. The name was changed in 1992 after more and more work was extending beyond the borders of the Hoosier state.  Now nearly 24 years later, we have worked in over 40 states as well as in Canada and Mexico.  In our infancy, we concentrated on environmental remediation and that still remains one of the cornerstones of our business. But since those early days, we have many other services...
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Why Should I Hire a Consultant to Conduct an Audit?

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 by Marketing Department
Hiring an environmental compliance consultant will add credibility to your result in the eyes of your external stakeholders. These individuals or firms usually have an already established relationship with the environmental governing bodies and are knowledgeable in how to submit reports correctly.

If you suspect a violation may be present or you become aware that a facility should have been complying with a law but has not, a consultant can come in and offer environmental compliance solutions.

Mos...Read More »

Phase I ESAs and Non-Scope Considerations

Monday, October 10, 2011 by Marketing Department

It is very important, and most times required, by lenders to have a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) performed prior to a property transaction. The purpose of an ESA is to identify environmental risks associated with the property and to protect against liability related to existing site conditions. However, there are a number of environmental considerations which are outside the scope of a Phase I ESA; commonly referred to within an ESA as “non-scope considerations.” These additional...

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Two Days From Today

Tuesday, October 4, 2011 by Marketing Department
One of August Mack's experts at environmental remediation will be giving a webinar on Thursday, October 6th. His topic of discussion will be Groundwater and Contaminate Migration. Join him to learn from his insights on this topic. To register, click on the link on the right-hand side of this blog related to our webinars. This webinar is being presented as part of our free webinar series. This month marks the completion of six years of free webinars.

Green Remediation

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 by Marketing Department

Green remediation is a term used to describe the process of considering sustainable environmental practices during remediation of contaminated sites. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Green Remediation Technology Primer in April 2008 to provide “topical introductory information” relating to Green Remediation. The EPA defines green remediation as “the practice of considering all environmental effects of remedy implementation and incorporating options to maximize...

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Upcoming Webinar on The History of Chlorinated Solvent Use

Monday, August 15, 2011 by Marketing Department
Chlorinated solvents (TCE, PCE and 1,1,1-TCA) have had a long history of use in the United States. But, do you know when production and use of these solvents began? This webinar will explore the history of TCE, PCE and 1,1,1-TCA use in the United States from the early 1900s thru present day.

Register for this November 3rd Environmental Remediation Consulting webinar.

Environmental Analysis and Remediation - Why the tedious work is important

Friday, August 12, 2011 by August Mack Employees

Intern Tyler Hill's work has included entering new data in existing tables while also updating previous information. The data tables are of soil and groundwater sampling constituent concentrations. As further remedial investigations are done, new data becomes available which needs to be entered into our existing tables in order to be compared with previous data. This task is often meticulous and tedious, but it is important that the updates are done correctly.

Tyler Hill shares his perspective of...
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Upcoming Webinar on The Basics of Transferring Liability on Contaminated Property

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 by Marketing Department
Individuals, communities and corporations unnecessarily hold on to their contaminated property for a variety of reasons. It may be the funds are not available to perform the clean-up necessary to attract a prospective purchaser, or it could simply be they feel stuck with the thought there are no real credible options to offload their contaminated property. Environmental liability transfers are not as complicated and one-sided as many may believe and those who have taken advantage of this...
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August Mack Awarded GSA Project

Thursday, April 14, 2011 by Government Program Development Team
Congratulations to August Mack Environmental! 

August Mack was recently awarded a task order to provide extraction pilot testing services to a federal government client.  These services will be performed through our GSA Schedule Contract under the 899-8 Environmental Remediation and Reclamation Services SIN.