NEWS – BEC Environmental

December 5, 2019

American Planners Associate – Nevada Chapter Outstanding Rural Plan – 2019

The APA-Nevada Chapter acknowledged Nevada Department of Transportation’s Interstate-11 Northern Nevada Alternatives Analysis Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) Project as the Outstanding Rural Plan for 2019 at the Annual Conference in October. BEC Environmental, Inc. is proud to have supported NDOT and the rest of the team on this “generational” project. Kevin Verre was the NDOT Project Manager and the consultant team supporting him included Wood-Rodgers, CH2M Hill/Jacobs, BEC Environmental, and Broadbent and Associates.

The goal of Interstate 11 (I-11) is to establish a high-capacity, limited-access transportation corridor ultimately connecting Mexican ports and manufacturing areas with Canada, traversing Nevada’s largest regional, national, and international manufacturing and economic activity centers. The I-11 corridor has the potential to become one of the first north-south, high-capacity routes through the Intermountain West that could greatly improve commerce, tourism, and international trade opportunities across the West.

The goal of the project was to seek and incorporate public and stakeholder input and evaluate potential community, economic, engineering, land use, and environmental constraints and opportunities along numerous alternative corridors from northwest Las Vegas to a logical interconnect with Interstate 80.

The extensive public and stakeholder involvement effort to engage each of the rural and urban communities along the corridor was significant, covering over 1000 miles of travel and engaging almost 700 participants.

The resulting documents will help inform the planning and environmental processes for this critical economic conduit for years to come.

Judges comment: “…For me, one of the best parts was the attention given to the concerns of those rural towns most likely to be affected by the extension of the corridor and the additional meetings spent talking about the project and possible implications with them and setting the stage for additional conversations with other potentially affected jurisdictions.”

July 30, 2019

BEC is proud to be a part of the first successful cleanup completed by the Nevada Rural Brownfields Partnership!

The FBO Building at the Tonopah airport was in disrepair and desperate need of redevelopment. Since January 2014, Nye County has been collaborating with BEC and many other parties to assess and redevelop this site without risk to human health and the environment. The contaminants found on site were safely removed and the building was demolished. A new fixed-base operations building was constructed with clear runway views and, of course, an advanced air conditioning system!

On July 30, 2019, representatives from Nye County, the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe, EPA, NDEP, the Northern Nye County Hospital District, the Tonopah Town Board, White Pine County, Senator Rosen’s office, BEC, and other interested members of the community all happily came together to celebrate the cleanup.

Lorina Dellinger, Nye County Assistant Manager, stands in front of two poster boards welcoming attendees to the first successful brownfields cleanup of the Nevada Rural Brownfields Partnership. She speaks of the years of effort and involvement of multiple stakeholders leading to this successful cleanup. — Lorina Dellinger, Nye County Assistant Manager, speaks of the years of effort and involvement of multiple stakeholders leading to this successful cleanup.

Lisa Hanusiak, EPA Brownfields Project Manager, stands inside in front of a small crowd, and two posters welcoming attendees to the first successful brownfields cleanup of the Nevada Rural Brownfields Partnership. She talks about the long history of Nye County’s involvement with the Brownfields Program. — Lisa Hanusiak, EPA Brownfields Project Manager, talks about the long history of Nye County’s involvement with the Brownfields Program.

Mark Peterson, FBO Building Operator, stands inside in front of two poster boards welcoming attendees to the first successful brownfields cleanup of the Nevada Rural Brownfields Partnership. He discusses the history of the Tonopah Airport, and the history associated with the Fixed Base Operator Building. — Mark Peterson, FBO Building Operator, discusses the history of the Tonopah Airport, and the history associated with the Fixed Base Operator Building.

Lorinda Wichman, Nye County Commissioner, stands inside in front of two poster boards welcoming attendees to the first successful brownfields cleanup of the Nevada Rural Brownfields Partnership. She talks about the support of the Commission for the Brownfields Program and the people in the community. — Lorinda Wichman, Nye County Commissioner, talks about the support of the Commission for the Brownfields Program and the people in the community.

: Amelia Earhart, the black-and-white feline Tonopah Airport tour guide/mascot, trots on a sidewalk with construction equipment in the background. — Amelia Earhart, Tonopah Airport tour guide/mascot

A picture of the Tonopah FBO building prior to demolishment displayes text of a brief History of the FBO Building stating: The site was first developed in the 1940s as the operations building for the Tonopah Army Airfield. Nye County has owned and operated the facility as a general aviation airport since July 29, 1949. Desert Flying Services has leased the fixed base operations building since 1975.
The FBO Building Cleanup timeline on this photo states: Jan 2014: Approved for Brownfields Site Evaluation. Feb 2014: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment completed. Mar 2014: Sampling and Analysis Plan Completed. May 2014: Phase II Environmental Site Assessment completed. Lead, asbestos, and petroleum, contamination identified. Sept 2014: Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives completed. Cleanup and Reuse Plan Completed. Initial Historic Preservation Review submitted. Dec 2014: NDEP waived requirements for enrollment in the Nevada Voluntary Cleanup Program. Jan 2015: Historical Evaluation submitted. Oct 2015: Nevada State Historic Preservation Office concurred: no historical properties affected by demolition. Aug 2017: Biological Evaluation Completed. Sept 2017: Environmental Protection Agency concurred: no federally listed species affected by demolition. Apr 2019: FBO Building demolished. May 2019: Sampling and analysis confirmed concentrations of contaminants no longer pose a risk to human health or the environment. — A brief history and timeline of the Tonopah FBO Building.

Before and after photo comparison showing the old FBO building, in disrepair with an above-ground storage tank above it on the left and showing the foundation of the demolished building and construction equipment on the right.

July 13, 2019

On July 13, 2019, BEC had the wonderful opportunity to attend

The Shade Tree of Las Vegas Art Day!

There were many donations received and very lovely, inspiring paintings created!

Thank you to The Shade Tree for all you do to help those women, children, and their pets in need in our community.

June 21, 2019

Join us in Los Angeles, California for the National Brownfields Training Conference, December 11‐13, 2019, with pre‐conference programming on December 10!

The conference is set to be a dynamic educational program of speakers, discussions, mobile workshops, films and other learning formats that are designed to provide you with case study examples, program updates, and useful strategies for meeting your brownfield challenges head on. Register for the conference and book your hotel stay now!

Learn, Network, and Explore!

For updates, check out Brownfields 2019 on twitter!

[link: https://twitter.com/Brownfields2019]Register for the conference and book your hotel stay now!