Hardage/Criner Site - Oklahoma

Criner, Oklahoma

SSP&A has conducted several investigations at the Hardage/Criner site, a former hazardous waste disposal site facility in central Oklahoma, now in litigation under CERCLA. SSP&A conducted groundwater flow and transport modeling studies as part of the site Feasibility Study. A three-dimensional flow model of the site was constructed, calibrated, and used to assess the groundwater flow and contaminant transport for a number of proposed remedial alternatives, eventually optimizing well locations and pumping rates for the preferred alternative.

Initial investigations at the site involved evaluation and reanalysis of existing data, design of field tests, and analysis of results to determine hydraulic conductivities and piezometric heads in formations of low permeability. Other investigations included analyses to relate fracture spacings and apertures to regional hydraulic parameters; regional flow simulation to estimate hydraulic parameters and to identify potential long-term contaminant migration pathways; evaluation of the potential for dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) migration from the waste mounds; analysis of water-quality data to determine contaminant pathways; simulations of flow and solute transport to analyze the effectiveness of various proposed source-control remedies and groundwater clean-up schemes; and, negotiations with technical representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on source-control issues.

Work on the project has involved interaction with a technical committee representing numerous potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and with other consulting firms. Additionally, SSP&A provided coordination of the activities of an expert panel retained by the PRPs and technical support for legal counsel in charge of the defense. Expert testimony was presented by Dr. Papadopulos on behalf of the client.