Pre-Acquisition Phase I and Phase II Site Assessments

NEPA

Biological Resources

Floodplains

Water Monitoring

Client: URS and CH2MHill

Completion:

February 2005

Cost: $114,200

Pinyon provided environmental consulting services to URS Corporation and to CH2M Hill, co-leaders for the Colorado Department of Transportation's(CDOT) US Highway 36 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Pinyon's initial role was to perform only the Hazardous Materials section of the EIS; however, the prime consultants assigned Pinyon additional tasks based on their workload, and Pinyon's ability to understand other aspects of the project. Pinyon completed all assigned tasks on time, and substantially below the allocated budget.

The EIS addresses transportation improvements in the US 36 Corridor between Denver and Boulder, Colorado. The US 36 Corridor Study Area includes the cities of Denver, Westminster, Broomfield, Louisville, Lafayette, Superior, Boulder, and Arvada, and parts of Boulder, Denver, Adams and Jefferson counties. The purpose of the EIS Project is to identify and explore local and regional multi-modal transportation improvements that will increase mobility in the corridor by: increasing trip capacity; providing multi-modal opportunities; and, upgrading outdated highway facilities. The transportation improvements will be considered along the roughly 25-mile long roadway alignment (US 36 from Boulder to Denver) and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad corridor that somewhat parallels US 36.

Population and employment growth along the corridor has resulted in inadequate capacity of the current facilities and increased congestion. Alternatives to be considered early in the process include highway widening,
new HOV lanes, bus rapid transit lanes, light rail or regional rail along US 35 and/or BNSF, and a variety of complementary alternatives.

Pinyon prepared the Hazardous Materials sections of the Draft and Final EIS, including an inventory of the existing conditions of hazardous materials along the current US 36 right-of-way, evaluating potential impacts of each alternative, and responding to public comments that address hazardous materials. Pinyon also assisted URS in the assessment of floodplain conditions and potential effects to floodplains, and assisted CH2M Hill in characterizing impacts to water quality.

Golden, Colorado

Categorical Exclusion

Biological Resources

Asbestos

Lead Based Paint

Cultural Resources

Client: DMJM Harris

Completion: April 2007

Cost: $25,000

Pinyon is a subconsultant of DMJM Harris (DMJM) for evaluation of potential threatened and endangered species, wetlands, noxious weeds, cultural resources, and hazardous materials for the replacement of the State Highway 58 bridge over West 44th Avenue. This bridge is scheduled for replacement in 2007. The project is a federally funded project administered by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), and is covered under a Categorical Exclusion (Cat Ex), based on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Pinyon conducted a thorough on-site assessment of the entire project site for the presence of jurisdictional wetlands as defined under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Through concise project management, communication, and coordination between Pinyon and DMJM, the wetland areas were identified within a month of project initiation; therefore, construction plans were designed so that there would be no wetland impact.

A noxious weed survey was completed according to the guidelines provided by the Colorado State Weed Coordinator and the local governmental agencies having jurisdiction over the project, which included the City of Golden, CDOT, and Jefferson County. Based on the proposed construction limits, CDOT and Pinyon determined that herbicide treatment to be the best form of weed control for this project. The application guidelines will be included in the plan set.

The area was also carefully examined for the presence of threatened and endangered species.

Pinyon also worked with a historian and archaeologist who evaluated several old buildings as historic resources. A cultural resources inventory and evaluation was prepared for review by the State Historic Preservation Office(SHPO) based on Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and compliance with Section 4(f) of the DOT Act.

Pinyon conducted a full Phase I Environmental Site Assessment. Potential environmental concerns were identified, which included lead-based paint (LBP) on the bridge, potential asbestos containing building material, and potential soil contamination associated with the railroad located within the project limits. Pinyon collected samples from the bridge materials to evaluate the potential for LBP and asbestos.