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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPENNY FLATS (BLOCK 33) - FDP - 32-05/A - CORRESPONDENCE - CITY STAFF (3)--- --- - -- - -- -- - ------ . _ -_ _ --- - ---- - - Afine Aspren -IRe: Fwd Penny Flats: Grou-4 Water Testing as a Prerequisite to Constr •-"ion Dewatenng me, or John with any questions or comments. Sincerely, Dan Rotner Daniel R. Rotner, AIA I Senior Architect Coburn Development, Inc. 1811 Pearl Street I Boulder, CO 80302 303 442 3351 x1113 <htto://www.coburndev.com/> <htto://www.cobumdev.com/> <hnp://www.cobumdev.com/> n Afire Aspen_Re_ Fwd: Penny Flats_Grour; Water Testing as a Prerequisite to Constn 1^tion Dewatering Page Impact this will have on their requirements. Hopefully, this will turn out to be a non-event, but it has the potential to stop everything. I will keep everyone informed and in the meantime, does anyone have a direction for me? Let me know. >>> "Dan Rotner" <drotner(rDcoburndev.com> 11/20/2006 3:51 PM >>> Helen: Following up on our conversation today, here is our proposed approach to the question of ground water testing at the Penny Flats site. Since the Fort Collins Stormwater staff are now requiring that the ground water at the site be tested for contaminants prior to construction dewatering, we have determined that it is in the best interests of Penny Flats, LLC to sample the water now rather than waiting for the commencement of construction. Prior to testing, the City and Penny Flats, LLC need to reach an agreement on the testing standards for the ground water samples. The owner's concern is that they have relied upon the latest Phase 1 ESA and the information furnished by the City during the due diligence process to understand the character of environmental issues associated with the site. To the best of our knowledge, these documents did not recommend that additional ground water sampling be undertaken as a prerequisite to development of the site. This information was an important consideration in the owner's assessment of the property value of the parcel. Had the requirement for ground water testing been established prior to completion of the Purchase and Sale Agreement, Penny Flats, LLC would have had the opportunity undertake testing and characterization prior to establishing a purchase price and any relevant contingencies in the contract. If the characterization of the ground water ends up having a substantial impact on the property value or project development costs, Penny Flats, LLC may need to seek a renegotiation of the purchase agreement in order to maintain the feasibility of the project. Terracon has represented that the piezometers installed on the site for water level monitoring are constructed as monitoring wells that are suitable for this procedure, so the actual mechanics of the testing are not complicated. I would like to reiterate that the establishment of testing standards for the samples deserves special consideration. I think the next step is for your staff to present us with the proposed standards for consideration. One other thought: You may want to check with the Stormwater staff regarding their experiences during the recent installation of the storm drain outfall structure through Block 33. This work bisects the Penny Flats Site and includes excavation to a similar elevation as we are - proposing. I would expect that they would have encountered ground water during construction. Perhaps they established testing standards or have testing data from that project that could help us in this case. Considering the the scope and location of that project, I think they would have learned a lot about the underground conditions on the site. Thanks again for your time and effort on this matter. Please contact AnTPe Aspen - Re: Fwd Penny_Flats; Grounri Water Testing as a Prerequisite to Construction Dewatering _ Page 1 From: Mike Smith To: Anne Aspen; Gregory Byrne; Helen Matson; Ingrid Decker; Ken Mannon Date: 11/22/2006 3:01:03 PM Subject: Re: Fwd: Penny Flats: Ground Water Testing as a Prerequisite to Construction Dewatering Greg, If this was a city project we would still need to sample and test any groundwater that was going to be discharged to the stormwater system. The previous tests performed on this site seem to indicate that there was not a problem at that point in time, so the likelihood of the developer encountering a problem is probably slim. But, as they say, it is better to be safe than sorry, especially when it involves the possibility of violating state regulations. The following is what is recommended with regard to testing: Sample and analyze groundwater prior to discharge for the following contaminants: polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pentachlorophenol (PCP), and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH - diesel fraction). These constituents are indicative of any groundwater contamination that may be present. If these constituents are not present, the groundwater may be discharged to the City's storm sewer system. If they are present (above detection), the groundwater would need to be discharged to the sanitary sewer, provided they meet discharge limits set by the City's Industrial Pretreatment program. The groundwater may be collected in situ, or can be pumped into tanks and sampled. A sample would be required for each tank. Mike >>> Gregory Byrne 11/21/2006 2:01 PM >>> All, it seems ironic that Stormwater's own tests show no problem, yet they want to have PF re -do the same testing. Is this an abundance of caution? Will the PF project excavate deeper for the garage than the Howes Project did? I'm copying Mike Smith on this message in hopes that he can give us some direction on how to move this forward quickly. Greg >>> Helen Matson 11/20/2006 5:28:01 PM >>> Hi all - Dan had contacted me over a week ago about the de -watering requirements on the site. This is a result of a permit Penny Flats ("PF") needs for construction. The City's Stormwater was requiring PF to do water testing prior to discharge. PF was concerned and asked me to get involved in this because it is still City property. I called Susan Strong in Stormwater and let her know that we had environmental reports on the property. Her staff reviewed our reports and made copies of what they felt was pertinent. I talked to Susan again and she is still working on the requirement letter for PF, but as of last week she thought she would require PF to test the water for on the appropriate substance, a form of petroleum. I talked to Dan Rotner today about the conversation about testing and he relayed that PF does have concerns about a potential liability with the water. They had used our env. reports and their environmental contractor, Terracon, to make their decision to go forward with the acquisition. When I got the message below, I did call Jay Rose, the City's project manager of the Howes Outfall Project. Jay told me that the City had used Terracon as their environmental agency. They performed testing of the water prior to construction. The tests were clean and all the groundwater taken out for the HUGE pipe was clean, they did not have any trouble with contaminated water or soil. I called Susan Strong and gave her this information. She is going to check the project files and will let me know what