Services
Environmental Services
SIL provides environmental engineering services to support public and private clients through development and upgrade of water, wastewater and solid waste infrastructure and treatment facilities; subsurface investigations and associated geotechnical design; and identification and remediation of hazardous materials.
This expertise includes a variety of services for the development, analysis and upgrade of public works infrastructure. Our experience includes providing design, inspection, and monitoring for water supply, treatment, storage and distribution; wastewater conveyance and treatment; and landfill, recycling, and waste-to-energy facilities.
SIL also works with government and industrial clients to resolve contemporary environmental issues, manage health and ecological risk, and help reduce financial liability.
our environmental capabilities
01
GEOTECHNICAL AND SUBSURFACE ENGINEERING
SIL provides geotechnical engineering services to private- and public-sector clients. Our engineers have construction experience and are experts in all aspects of geotechnical engineering for highway, bridge, communication and building projects. We develop cost-effective approaches to large- and small-scale projects utilizing existing data, an in-depth understanding of local geology, state-of-the art subsurface data collection and analyses tools, and innovative design methods. Our engineers have earned the trust of our clients by providing constructible design solutions for shallow and deep foundation designs and soil improvements, as well as seismic and pavement recommendations. Services include:
- Shallow and deep foundation design
- Retaining wall design
- Slope stability analyses
- Geosynthetic applications
- Rock-fall protection design
- Pavement engineering
- Earthquake engineering including seismic hazardous analysis and mitigation and soil-structure interaction.
- Soil/rock laboratory testing.
- Forensic engineering including post failure analysis and remedial/mitigation design.
- Subsurface explorations and in-situ testing
- Standard penetration testing
- Cone penetration testing
- Pressure meter testing
- Dilatometer testing
- Infiltration testing
- Geophysical testing
- Soil resistivity testing
- Vibration monitoring
The Geotechnical Group routinely works on a diverse set of projects ranging from highway design, bridges, and communication towers, high to mid-rise buildings, slope stability studies, excavation support, ground anchors, airports, residential and commercial developments, pavement, storm water management, flood control, water quality, wetland mitigation, environmental restoration and civil infrastructure. Our geotechnical team has worked closely with other disciplines to develop innovative and cost-effective approaches to solving challenging geotechnical, environmental, and civil engineering problems.
02
INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE SERVICES
SIL’s industrial hygienist’s help organizations identify, evaluate and control environmental and occupational health hazards. Our experienced team offers expertise assessment and control of hazardous materials, environmental health and safety consulting, regulatory compliance and comprehensive consulting in the field of industrial hygiene. Whether it’s indoor air quality, biological or chemical hazards, noise or other workplace health threats, we offer expert assistance to control exposures and hazards at a reasonable cost. SIL’s certified and licensed professionals combine knowledge, experience, innovation and sound practical judgment to help protect and enhance the health and safety of people at work and in their communities. Services include:
- Risk assessment
- Asbestos surveying and remediation
- Lead-based paint (LBP) survey, risk assessment and remediation
- Indoor air quality consulting for mold and moisture
- Healthcare infection control risk management
- Ventilation assessment and engineering
- Radon testing
- Vapor intrusion studies
- Laboratory health and safety
- Occupational exposure assessments
- Health and safety training
- Hazardous waste operations oversight
- Industrial and regulatory toxicology
- OSHA compliance auditions
- Safety program development
- Accident/incident investigation
- Air monitoring and sampling
- Nonionizing radiation investigations
- Combustible/explosive dust investigations
- Expert witness services
03
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
SIL works with public works, other public-sector and industrial clients to address the management, disposal and treatment of solid waste. We are experts in the development, design, construction, operation and closure of landfills, recycling plants, transfer stations and waste-to-energy facilities. We develop solutions that address the ultimate disposal of waste, including municipal solid waste, refuse, liquid wastes, ash, and other products derived from both municipal and industrial facilities. In addition, we help our clients earn regulatory approval and public acceptance for their projects. Services include:
- Landfill expansion planning and design
- Landfill closure and capping design
- Transfer station layout, open or totally enclosed, grade separated or at grade, separation of user classes for safety and discharge efficiency
- Truck scales designs including transaction recording
- Tarping stations design
- Truck wash and fueling facilities design
- Public convenience drop-off and recycling drop-off area designs
- Waste-to-energy and resource recovery facility design
- Support facilities designs including reception, administration and staff facilities
- Site planning and design
- Bond feasibility reports and/or engineering opinions for bond financing
- Existing conditions assessments
- Access roadway and parking
- Utilities coordination and design
- Storm drainage and storm water management
- Environmentally sensitive area protection and mitigation
- Site security
- Geotechnical evaluations
- Hydrogeological studies
- Regulatory compliance
- Operations plan and procedures
- Facility start up and staff training
- Construction cost estimating
- Construction management
- Quality assurance monitoring
- Construction schedule review
SIL has the experience for determining design criteria, evaluation conveyance alternatives and facility planning for numerous public and private landfill and related solid waste management facilities. Our team has evaluated landfill gas migration, designed gas control and monitoring systems, and evaluated different capping alternatives.
SIL organizes into multi-disciplined teams for large waste management projects. Our experience in life cycle financial analysis, construction cost and operating cost estimates provides a decision-making database. Capital and energy costs, together with escalation factors, are examined to determine the economic feasibility of a project and various alternatives. After organization, selection and critical path identification, our in-house staff implements the technical design phase. In-house construction managers, resident engineers, and inspectors provide independent quality control to oversee on-site contractors.
04
Water and Wastewater Engineering
SIL provides a variety of services for the development and upgrade of water and wastewater systems. Our experience ranges from feasibility studies to new facility construction to rate structure analysis for water supply, treatment, storage and distribution, as well as wastewater conveyance and treatment. We understand the issues associated with the demand for safe drinking water and the safeguarding of ground and surface waters. Our engineers and scientists deliver interdisciplinary solutions to meet a wide range of client needs. Services include:
- Alignment studies
- Modeling
- Condition assessments/audit
- SSES investigations
- Inflow/infiltration analysis
- SSO/CSO evaluation/elimination
- Water quality and supply studies
- Sewershed studies
- Subsurface disposal systems
- Financial proforma
- Hydrogeological studies
- Booster and pump station design
- Subsurface utility engineering
- Transmission, collection and conveyance design
- Sludge treatment and disposal
- Industrial pretreatment
- Enhanced nutrient removal upgrades
- Regulatory strategies and negotiations
- NPDES permitting
- Mechanical/electrical engineering
High density development, aging infrastructure, adequate capacity and adherence with more stringent environmental regulations are issues that many government, commercial and private companies are faced with in today’s environment. Our team’s in-depth experience includes the full range of services from feasibility studies, to construction of new facilities, enhanced nutrient removal to analysis of rate structures. SIL has also facilitated federal, state and local permitting requirements; developed design alternatives and rehabilitation plans; performed complex hydraulic modeling and analyses; conducted wetlands investigations, watershed protection studies, water supply studies, and diver inspections; developed environmental impact statements; and resolved hazardous remediation issues.
Our clients have come to rely on our breadth of expertise and our ability to keep even complex projects on schedule and within budget. We’ve achieved success in the industry because our professional staff of civil, sanitary, and process engineers; environmental scientists and other specialists work as a team to deliver interdisciplinary solutions to our clients’ needs.
05
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
SIL works with government and industrial clients to resolve contemporary environmental and hazardous waste issues, manage health and ecological risk, and help reduce financial liability. Our team has proven itself capable of planning, organizing, monitoring and controlling large, long-term, and technically complex projects that require multi-disciplined technical staff. SIL has successfully managed more than 5,000 environmental projects, including site assessments, field investigation, remediation design, remedial oversight, remediation systems operation and maintenance, and site closures. Our combination of planners, engineers, scientists, chemists, risk assessors, and construction managers gives SIL the unique capability to provide total environmental management, investigation and remediation services.
- Comprehensive site investigations
- Underground/aboveground storage tank (UST/AST) evaluations
- Geophysical survey
- Drum or container sampling and analysis
- Soil gas survey
- Surface soil sampling and analysis
- Subsurface soil sampling and analysis
- Groundwater investigation and sampling
- Surface water and sediment sampling and analysis
- Membrane interface probe (MIP) survey
- Field quality assurance/quality control procedures
- Agency coordination
- Report generation
- Risk assessment
- Modeling
- Asbestos screening survey
- Lead-based paint (LBP) screening survey
- Occupational worker health and safety impact survey
- Drinking water studies
Our staff is trained and familiar with the current state of the art investigation practices including various MDE, US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards and guidelines, new technologies, and risk assessment techniques. We help our clients redevelop properties with degraded environmental conditions, turning them into sustainable economic resources. Our expertise includes contamination and hazardous waste assessments, Phase I and II environmental site assessments (ESA), asbestoscontaining materials (ACM) and lead-based paint (LBP) surveys, soil gas surveys and methane gas investigations, hydrogeological studies, remedial design and implementation, groundwater contaminant flow assessment, air quality monitoring, and health and safety evaluations.
