Erin Palko, P.G., LSRP

Principal, Investigation and Remediation

Erin Palko, P.G., LSRP Principal, Investigation and Remediation

Ms. Erin Palko is a licensed geologist and licensed site remediation professional (LSRP) with more than 25 years of consulting experience in the environmental field. Her primary focus is on soil and groundwater investigations and remediation, work at active chemical and manufacturing industrial sites, due diligence, and site investigation and remediation. She is routinely responsible for project scoping, coordination of multidisciplinary technical teams, client communication, scheduling, and work product delivery. She has experience working at sites affected by an array of chemicals, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at refinery complexes and industrial facilities. Ms. ...

Erin Palko, P.G., LSRP

Principal, Investigation and Remediation

PFAS/Emerging Contaminants

Remedial Investigation, New Jersey Principal in charge responsible for the design and implementation of a remedial investigation of PFAS in groundwater, drinking water, surface water, soil, sediment, and sediment porewater. Responsible for managing immediate environmental concern conditions involving potable water and mitigation; preparing responses to agency requests; developing work plans and agency response documents, and communications to project technical and legal team; and managing regulatory requirements and time frames for the project. Provide expert consulting support, investigate potential third-party source contributions, review notifications/communications, and advise on sampling program design.

Remedial Investigation, Bayonne, New Jersey Retained as the LSRP at former paint manufacturing facility. PFAS and 1,4-dioxane were detected in groundwater above New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Groundwater Quality Standards (GWQS) during site redevelopment activities. Developed and implemented an unknown source/background investigation to successfully confirm that the source of PFAS and 1,4-dioxane impacts found in site groundwater were from multiple upgradient sources unrelated to the Bayonne operations.

Site Investigation, Denver Area, Colorado Served as technical advisor for multiparty site for investigations of PFAS in groundwater. Provided technical support to develop a comprehensive sampling program for approval by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Completed an independent field audit and third-party laboratory data validation to ensure that data collection and analysis were in compliance with the approved sampling and analysis plan developed for the project.

Remedial Investigation Former North Pole Refinery, Fairbanks Area, Alaska Serving as project manager responsible for the design and implementation of a remedial investigation of PFAS and sulfolane in groundwater, including an assessment of potential receptors. Responsible for developing work plans, implementing large-scale field programs, preparing agency response documents, and maintaining communications with project technical and legal team.

PFAS Site Assessment, Confidential Manufacturing Facility, Mid-Atlantic Area, United States Completed PFAS site assessments for a manufacturing facility associated with third-party impacts to the facility industrial supply and potable supply wells. Coordinated sampling activities and data review, communications with facility personnel, general counsel, and the responsible party regarding implementation of a remedy to allow the water supply to provide treated water for potable and industrial purposes

PFAS Site Assessment, Multiple Sites, United States Completed facility PFAS site assessments for the oil and gas industry. Conducted inventory of aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), evaluated AFFF training areas and incident responses where AFFF was deployed, and evaluated potential areas of concern for further actions. Provided strategy on storage of AFFF materials and disposal of existing stock of AFFF.

PFAS Technical Advisor, New England Area, United States Provided technical review of the groundwater management plan associated with redevelopment in areas potentially impacted with PFAS and developed the protocol for management of PFAS-impacted groundwater. Assessed the applicability of state-specific regulatory standards for residential and construction worker scenarios.

PFAS Regulatory Report, National Manufacturer, Multiple, United States Provided regulatory review and support to a North American manufacturing corporation regarding potential risk associated with PFAS in both manufactured and imported products. Reviewed facility documentation in context with federal, state, and, if applicable, international requirements for shipping materials from national and international suppliers to ensure compliance with regulatory and company sustainability requirements.

Site Investigation

Remedial Investigation and Remedial Action under the Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA), Bayonne, New Jersey Retained as the LSRP for a former paint manufacturer located in northern New Jersey. Conducted a full review of historical and current areas of concern and developed a comprehensive site investigation and closure strategy to incorporate current and future site use into remedial options analysis. A combination of active remediation, to address residual ethylbenzene in soil and groundwater, and engineering and institutional controls will be used to address areas of concern with exceedances of applicable NJDEP remediation standards.

Remedial Investigation and Remedial Action under ISRA, Bayonne, New Jersey Retained as the LSRP for a set design and fabricating facility operating across multiple buildings undergoing site redevelopment for logistics and warehousing. Conducted a preliminary assessment, site investigation, and remedial investigation. Engineering and institutional controls will be used to address areas of concern with exceedances of applicable NJDEP remediation standards.

Remedial Investigation and Remedial Action, Newark, New Jersey Retained as the LSRP for a car rental facility to address releases related to the storage of fuels, motor oils, lubricants, and waste oils in aboveground storage tanks and underground storage tanks (USTs). Soil and groundwater are impacted with gasoline and fuel oil volatile and semivolatile organic compounds and lead. Remedial investigation is ongoing.

Remedial Investigation and Remedial Action, UST, Bridgeton, New Jersey Retained as the LSRP at a brownfield site to address releases from three USTs. The remedial investigation was completed within 3 months from retention as the LSRP, and a complete site remedial investigation report, receptor evaluation, and classification exception area were all submitted under the required NJDEP time frame. Remediation to address residual xylenes and ethylbenzene in soil and groundwater was successfully implemented to reduce source mass.

Remedial Investigation and Remedial Action under ISRA, Irvington, New Jersey Managed remedial investigation and remedial activities at a former metal fabricating facility. The accidental disposal of waste solvents in a UST led to the release of waste oils to the subsurface, impacting soil and groundwater. 1,1,1 Trichloroethane (TCA) and associated daughter products were present in soil and groundwater above their respective NJDEP Soil Remediation Standards (SRS) and Groundwater Quality Criteria, triggering remedial actions. To address the soil above the nonresidential SRS and impact to groundwater screening levels, a combination of targeted excavation and an in situ chemical reduction soil amendment was designed and implemented. In addition to removal of impacted soils, the excavation was backfilled with Daramend®-amended backfill to address low-level residual contamination. To address groundwater, Ferox Plus®, an emulsified vegetable oil/zero valent iron mixture, was injected into shallow groundwater. Post-remediation results (180 days) showed that concentrations of TCA and daughter products have decreased to below NJDEP GWQS in the source area.

ISRA Closure, Active Industrial Facility, Belleville, New Jersey Prepared a preliminary assessment and developed and implemented site/remedial investigations for soil under the ISRA program rules at a former adhesives manufacturing facility in New Jersey. Areas of concern included aboveground storage tanks containing resin materials and related venting, abandoned USTs, a thermal oxidizer unit, and a hydraulic unit located in an exterior stairwell. Project responsibilities included development of investigative and remedial scopes of work, preparation of site investigation reports, and closure negotiations with NJDEP to achieve a “no further action” (NFA) determination. Project received NFA status within 4 months of submittal of site/remedial investigation reports to NJDEP.

Rolling Knolls Landfill, Chatham, New Jersey Served as the project manager and field data collection lead for completion of the baseline ecological risk assessment (BERA) at the approximately 200-acre Rolling Knolls Landfill Superfund site. Provided support to the team to complete the risk assessment field program and submittal of technical memorandums and the BERA report to the NJDEP and EPA. BERA was completed as part of the RI/FS.

Sayreville Landfill, Sayreville, New Jersey Serve as the site administrator on behalf of the responsible party group for the Sayreville Landfill Superfund Site. Manage the activities required under the closure plan for the landfill including routine landfill maintenance, submittal of key operations and maintenance reports, landfill gas monitoring, and NJDEP-required biannual reports for the deed notice and classification exception area.

Bridgeport Rental and Oil Services (BROS) Superfund Site, Bridgeport, New Jersey Served as project task manager, field team leader, and database manager (EQuIS) for the groundwater sampling, wetlands evaluation, and water budget components of the $10 million RI/FS at the BROS Superfund site in Bridgeport, New Jersey. The RI/FS involved the delineation of groundwater impacts in three hydrostratigraphic units within the Potomac Raritan Magothy (PRM) system, delineation of light and dense nonaqueous-phase liquid at the site, assessment of sediment and surface water quality in more than 500 acres of wetlands and the adjacent Delaware River, human health and ecological risk assessments, aquifer pumping tests in two units of the PRM, and modeling of groundwater and surface water flow and interactions. Also served as the project task manager of the treatability studies to evaluate aerobic and anaerobic in situ biostimulation and chemical oxidation and preparation of a feasibility study.

Site Characterization and Remediation, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania Managed a $2 million soil and groundwater characterization and $5 million remediation project at an active stainless steel tubing manufacturing facility located in northeast Pennsylvania (site is managed under Special Projects in the Environmental Cleanup Program). Delineated the vertical and horizontal extent of chlorinated solvents in overburden and fractured bedrock. Investigation activities included a combination of traditional sampling and innovative techniques resulting in a cost savings for the client. Site investigation activities incorporated completion of a geologic assessment including mapping and fracture trace analysis, the completion of a receptor evaluation (vapor intrusion assessment, sediment and surface water sampling), installation of 85 bedrock and overburden monitoring wells, groundwater sampling using passive diffusion bag samplers, installation of soil borings to assess four separate source areas, Gore® vapor module survey, and aquifer parameter evaluation including step tests, packer tests, and subsurface geophysical investigations. Also conducted rock matrix sampling to determine preferential pathways for contaminant migration and to assess the mass of contaminant in the rock matrix. Results of the packer testing/rock matrix sampling were used to design the remedial technologies including a combination of excavation to remove source material in soils and electrical resistance heating to address sorbed mass in the rock matrix, and engineering controls (existing buildings/asphalt paving). Negotiations with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection reduced the number and frequency of wells monitored post-remediation, which resulted in a significant cost savings for the client.

Act 2 Site Characterization, Remediation, and Closure at a Former Metal Fabricating Facility, Levittown, Pennsylvania Managed a soil and groundwater characterization investigation and remediation project at a former metal fabricating facility located in Levittown, Pennsylvania. The project involved soil and groundwater investigations targeting the former septic system that was determined to be the source of TCE in soil and groundwater. The investigation focused on the vertical and horizontal delineation of chlorinated solvents in overburden and bedrock. In situ chemical oxidation was identified as the most cost-effective technology to clean up the source area and has successfully reduced TCE concentrations by over an order of magnitude in groundwater in the source area. Natural attenuation was accepted to address bedrock groundwater. In addition, the request for a non-use aquifer determination for the site was approved. A release of liability was granted under Pennsylvania’s Act 2 Program within 3 years of the initial site characterization activities.

Act 2 Site Characterization and Closure, Former Quarry, Malvern, Pennsylvania Managed a groundwater remedial investigation at a former limestone quarry located in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The investigation focused on the vertical and horizontal delineation of chlorinated solvents in fractured bedrock. Activities included fracture trace analysis, potential receptor evaluation, analysis of hydrologic characteristics of local drainage basins (gaining/losing streams and recharge and discharge zones), installation of bedrock and overburden monitoring wells, aquifer parameter evaluation (short-term pumping tests and slug tests), and oversight of surface and subsurface geophysical investigations. The results of the site characterization were used to support the application of background and residential used aquifer medium-specific concentrations under the Pennsylvania Act 2 program. A release of liability was granted under Pennsylvania’s Act 2 Program. The site is currently undergoing redevelopment as an office park.

RCRA Facility Investigation and Remediation at an Active Metals Fabricating Facility, Florence, South Carolina Managed a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) corrective action project at a 110-acre metals finishing facility in Florence, South Carolina, for the legacy operator. Designed and implemented the groundwater investigation activities to complete delineation of the chlorinated volatile organic compound plume and conducted negotiations with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control regarding number and placement of permanent wells and long-term monitoring obligations. Responsible for the preparation of the Part B permit renewal that included major permit modifications to reduce the analytical parameter list and frequency of sampling at the site, the removal of two extraction wells from operations and implementation of an “optimization” plan to reduce overall pumping at the site, and inclusion of additional technologies for groundwater remediation. Routine responsibilities associated with management of the Part B permit included strategic planning and managing the closure of the area of concern and solid waste management unit, managing the groundwater remediation system, and preparing permit modifications, ensuring public notification, and preparing corrective measures study reports and semiannual and annual reports required under the RCRA permit.

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