To increase water efficiency and move towards zero liquid discharge (ZLD) at a manufacturing facility, while continuing to provide a reliable water system, a confidential client hired Barr to perform an in-depth water system evaluation and recommend improvements. After modeling the facility's water usage and distribution network, our recommendations included reducing source-water withdrawal reductions, adding internal water treatment and reuse, and repurposing water discharges. We also developed a multi-phase implementation plan to construct the needed improvements to the client's infrastructure that would avoid disruption of plant operations.
Barr reviewed operating procedures and record drawings of more than 20 building connections, 18 booster pumps, seven storage tanks, and two treatment systems to develop a new conceptual recycle water treatment and supply system to meet facility needs. A hydraulic model was used to confirm pump operation, tank water levels, and system pressures. The project deliverables included conceptual drawings of the system, operational parameters, and a construction cost estimate.
(Stock photo shown above.)
Great Western Minerals Group hired Barr to complete a resource estimate for its rare-earth-element project at Hoidas Lake in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Exploration drilling at the site provided the opportunity to upgrade the deposit to a classified resource, a fundamental step toward developing mining activities at Hoidas Lake. The project had a compressed schedule and required mobilization on short notice before winter conditions prevented air travel to the remote site.
The resulting resource-estimate technical report, which complied with Canadian National Instrument 43-101, was provided to the client to submit to the Canadian Securities Administration and the Toronto Stock Exchange, which is required before mining companies issue statements about economic resources to investors. Exploration and further mine development then proceeded at the Hoidas Lake property. Barr provided due-diligence work for subsequent investor statements posted on the Great Western Minerals Group website.
In 2016, the Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission assembled a committee to help the commission define its role in aquatic invasive species management. Barr attended and assisted with the committee meetings, which included staff from the commission, the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, lake groups, and state and regional agencies. The committee determined the activities needed to address aquatic invasive species (including early detection and monitoring, vulnerability assessments, boat launch management, education, and invasive species treatments), identified the entities already filling those roles, and determined ways the commission could augment those activities.
The committee’s recommendations included development of a rapid response plan for key aquatic invasive species (starry stonewort, Eurasian watermilfoil, and zebra mussels) in priority lakes. In early 2018, after discussions with various organizations, Barr completed the plan, which outlines the actions required to address new infestations. These actions included communication, monitoring, permitting, containment, and design and implementation of treatments. Barr continues to assist the commission as it implements the rapid response plan to prevent new aquatic invasive species infestations and address new infestations, such as zebra mussels and starry stonewort in Medicine Lake.
When C12 Energy, a company that uses CO2 for enhanced oil recovery, was considering acquiring oil and gas assets in North Dakota and Arkansas, they asked Barr to provide environmental review and due diligence support. The assets included hundreds of oil leases and injection wells, and associated documentation such as spill logs, sundry notices, and well redevelopment and maintenance records.
To accommodate C12’s timeline, Barr screened the lease site information and focused our efforts on the sites with the highest potential for environmental problems or costly repairs. We also conducted a reconnaissance of CO2 pipeline routes, using our GIS reconnaissance tools to narrow the field visits to critical areas such as wetlands and water crossings.
Barr’s innovative approach helped reduce the due diligence cost by more than 80 percent compared to a typical evaluation, and let C12 act quickly to capitalize on the opportunity.
An ethanol production facility was required to demonstrate that the coarse particulate (PM10) and fine particulate (PM2.5) emissions from its grains-receiving and loadout building were at or below the ambient air quality standards. To meet this requirement, the facility decided to undertake a first-of-its-kind capture-efficiency-testing program rather than face potentially severe operational restrictions.
Barr was hired to develop a combined testing and air-dispersion-modeling approach and worked with the client and the regulatory agency to gain approval of the methodology. Our stack testing specialists measured the PM10 and PM2.5 emissions from the building over several days under various operating and weather conditions. The measurements were used to develop site-specific and wind-dependent (speed and direction) emission factors for operations occurring in the building. These factors were then incorporated into an air dispersion model, which demonstrated the facility’s compliance with ambient-air-quality standards.
Our client is now able to operate without significant restrictions on operations and is well-positioned to pursue future projects and maintain compliance with ambient standards. In addition, the approved methodology we developed has been cited by the regulatory agency as the standard for these types of capture-efficiency tests.
A gold mining company planning to expand an open-pit mine in Turkey hired Barr to evaluate the mine’s stability and develop designs for safe, stable pit walls. The mine dates back to Roman times, and several of its features continue to pose challenges today. These include:
• gold-bearing ore that extends 1,000 feet below ground
• geology comprising five different rock formations
• rock with major jointing and faulting
• a seismically active location
We prepared a site-specific drilling program to gather geologic information for the pit area. This program incorporated oriented drilling in order to obtain highly accurate geotechnical data for analyzing joint patterns. The data helped specify laboratory tests for determining the rock’s physical parameters. Test results then allowed us to model scenarios with state-of-the-art software programs that produced safety factors for potential pit-wall designs.
Barr worked closely with Alacer to develop final designs, which included blasting and monitoring requirements for a subsequent feasibility study.
The Traverse recreational trail is a sustainable, multi-use trail system linking neighborhoods and people to parks and other green spaces in the Duluth area. The 100-mile-long natural-surface path, designed for mountain bikers but open to other users, is the longest trail in the U.S. entirely within an urban environment. The trail connects one end of the city Duluth to the other, as well as almost all the mountain-bike trail systems in between.
Before constructing the trail, the city hired Barr to assess the environmental impacts. We completed an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (a Minnesota-required document) for the trail, which involved developing construction SWPPPs; conducting historical and threatened-and-endangered-species reviews; preparing federal, state, and local permit applications; coordinating regulatory consultations and approvals; and preparing state and federal environmental review documents.
The assessment showed that environmental impacts from trail construction and use would be minimal, due largely to the fact that the project adhered to the International Mountain Bike Association’s sustainable-trail guidelines, which minimize maintenance and potential erosion problems. The IMBA designated the Duluth Traverse network of trails as a gold-level “ride center,” one of only six in the nation.
When Xcel Energy decided to burn natural gas instead of coal at its Black Dog generating plant, the utility company turned to Barr for assistance with environmental investigations and engineering design to support closure of coal-related facilities. We performed a risk evaluation demonstrating that onsite materials did not pose a significant risk to human health or the environment. Leaving these materials in place saved Xcel tens of millions of dollars while meeting state environmental requirements and leaving the site available for future development.
Barr also prepared and helped to implement coal-yard closure and reclamation plans. Work entailed a soil and groundwater investigation, a surface-water assessment, a remedial action plan to identify site closure activities, and design of site remediation construction. Decommissioning activities have included removing the coal stockpile and closing onsite ponds and coal-related facilities. Remediation construction began in 2016 and is now substantially complete. The site has been reclaimed and the property is now available for redevelopment by Xcel. Final reports documenting environmental response actions are in preparation and it is anticipated that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will provided a Letter of No Further Action to Xcel, meaning that environmental concerns have been addressed.
For an asphalt client, Barr performed a stationary-source determination to ascertain whether two facilities located on the same property should, for air permitting purposes, be considered a single source.
The two facilities had previously been owned and operated by the same company and covered under a single permit, but now a portion of the facility, including one emission source, was leased by a new operator.
After considering all relevant factors in state and U.S. EPA guidance, Barr concluded that for air permitting applicability, the portion of the facility leased by the new operator should be considered a separate stationary source.
Barr was hired to complete Phase I environmental site assessments of properties a confidential client is considering for construction of a mining and processing facility. The properties totaled more than 20,000 acres, were under the control of approximately 50 different owners, and were largely inactive or used for timber management. Some of the parcels, however, had long histories of iron ore and taconite mining and processing.
The assessment included a regulatory review; an inspection of previously developed portions of the property; a review of historical aerial photographs and maps; reviews of previous investigations; interviews with site managers, city staff, and state agency staff; review of topographic maps; and a review of well and boring records and a geologic report. These tasks enabled Barr to evaluate the properties in detail to identify target locations for onsite field reconnaissance work and efficiently review the property area for potential environmental conditions based on an understanding of the changes in land use that occurred over time on the properties. Our report detailed its findings and the environmental conditions of the properties, helping the client tailor its property acquisition plans to avoid areas of potential environmental concern and determine how to manage former mining areas.