Facilities and equipment operations and maintenance

• GeoEngineers was awarded a contract with FWS to keep the refuge’s infrastructure operational while the agency evaluated long-term operating options. GeoEngineers provided municipal-type services that included operating the power and water distribution systems, maintaining and operating fuel distribution and port facilities, providing operational staff and inventorying equipment and facilities.

Midway spill response and remediation

• A fuel valve failed during routine operations at Midway Atoll in 2003, resulting in the loss of 100,000 gallons of JP5 fuel. GeoEngineers immediately mobilized a team of 20 that quickly stopped the lateral fuel migration at the spill site and recovered 30,000 gallons of fuel during the initial, month-long emergency phase. GeoEngineers also performed a site characterization of the spill site and implemented a product recovery system that Refuge personnel could maintain.

• GeoEngineers later evaluated post-spill risks to humans and the Refuge environment and developed risk-based clean-up goals for contaminants associated with the release and procedures for future spill prevention.

Hazardous waste removal services

• GeoEngineers served as the on-site coordinator to characterize, classify and segregate the various types of waste present on Midway. GeoEngineers supervised the packaging, labeling, manifesting and loading of 75,000 pounds of containerized hazardous waste onto a large ocean barge that transported it to the mainland for appropriate disposal.

Infrastructure evaluation

• GeoEngineers’ staff conducted a detailed engineering and architectural evaluation of the former defense facilities at the Refuge. The team identified failing or unmanageable existing systems and recommended replacing them with reliable, sustainable alternatives that fit the site’s current use and minimized the need for external support services.
• Facilities evaluated included an airstrip, roadways, dwellings and industrial buildings, utility systems, a 4-million-gallon fuel farm, electrical transmission lines, water treatment and septic systems and other infrastructure elements. The evaluation resulted in a Right-Sizing Plan for infrastructure decommissioning and replacement that was finalized in close coordination with FWS and other stakeholders.

Lead-based paint sampling

• Albatross chicks born on the reserve exhibited symptoms of lead toxicity, likely as a result of ingesting lead-based paint chips that had fallen from the old buildings and structures on the island. A GeoEngineers team collected and analyzed hundreds of soil samples to assess lead levels across the Refuge. This project determined the extent of the lead contamination, developed removal alternatives and estimated cleanup costs. The team’s findings were intended to guide subsequent phases of the project, including the abatement of lead from existing structures and cleanup of the contaminated soil.