The American Council of Engineering Companies of New York (ACEC), a chapter of the country’s largest organization of engineers, announced that the Posillico Wash Plant, a project designed in conjunction with Melville-based H2M architects + engineers (H2M), has been selected for a 2022 ACEC New York Diamond Award. The project is also eligible to win the Empire Award, which is given to the highest-rated project in New York State and is a finalist to represent New York State in an ACEC national competition.
The wash plant, located in Farmingdale, NY, is the world’s largest contaminated soil washing facility and the only one of its kind in the United States.
“In recent years, there have been many high-profile incidents in which contaminated material was illegally dumped in neighborhoods across Long Island—even in a community park,” said Posillico Materials Senior Partner Michael Posillico. “This same story is playing out across the country. Clearly, the need for this facility increases every day as we focus on the need for sustainability and renewable materials, especially at a time when construction supplies dwindle to historic lows.”
“The Posillico Soil Wash Plant is unlike any other facility in the United States, and technology and equipment from around the world are used at this important facility,” said Ernest V. Ianucci, P.E. LEED A.P., Vice Presidents, MEP Discipline Director of H2M architects + engineers. “Every aspect of design and construction is based on sustainability and environmental protection, including the power needed for the washing process.”
The Posillico Wash Plant provides a solution to the skyrocketing costs and the dwindling supply of new virgin materials from sand mines.
Posillico utilized recycling equipment from a manufacturer in Northern Ireland for the planned soil wash process, which has proven efficient at extracting contaminants and sorting the materials for reuse in industry. By combining and enhancing existing soil separation and water treatment technologies, the Soil Wash Plant is revolutionary in its results.
Posillico Materials worked with Global environmental company SUEZ to design, construct and operate the wash plant. SUEZ provides wastewater treatment in many countries, but the soil wash plant presented a unique opportunity for SUEZ.
“SUEZ has a century-old tradition of innovation and dedication to providing solutions that result in sustainability and environmentally-focused service to bring clean water and wastewater to hundreds of millions of people in every corner of the world,” said Nadine Leslie, CEO of SUEZ North America. “Applying our experience and abilities to address such a pressing environmental and economic issue was a great challenge, and we are proud to have been a part of the team that brought the wash plant to reality.”
Darren Eastwood, Regional Director of CDE, commented, “We are delighted for Posillico in winning such a prestigious award. Their success is our success and CDE’s partnership with the team at Posillico demonstrates our collective commitment to maximizing the potential and return on investment of every project. Posillico’s innovative and strategic approach to this project is testament to their success and CDE will endeavor to collaborate with Posillico to support their ambitions. We are very proud of this pioneering partnership which is delivering for the Long Island community.”
Water is used in the washing process to extract the contamination in the soil. As a closed-loop system, the onsite wastewater treatment plant cleans and recycles the contaminated water for reuse in the process. Rather than constantly tapping into fresh potable drinking water, the soil wash process is designed for recycling millions of gallons of water and even incorporating the rainwater collected in the onsite containment system.
The Wash Plant provides disposal services for various materials, including excavation waste, RUCARBs, contaminated fill, general fill, vacuum truck, dredge wastes, and mixed loads. Contaminated material includes petroleum-contaminated fill, Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), Semi volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), and metals-contaminated fill.
“The results of the processing at the Posillico Wash Plant help eliminate many of these poisonous compounds and helps end the age-old practice of burying contaminated soil, causing the chemicals to leech into our drinking water, as well as our bays, lakes, and streams,” said Posillico. “The final product of the wash plant is reusable and returns resources into the industry.”
The plant made an impact immediately upon operation two years ago. In two months of startup, the Soil Wash Plant processed over 60,000 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil from Harbor Isle, an 11.6-acre former petroleum storage facility in Nassau County that was part of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Brownfield program.
The impacted soil meets the NYSDEC cleanup objective to reclaim polluted land. The success of this effort is monumental, showing the potential to clean other Brownfield sites and recent locations plagued by illegal dumping of contaminated soil. In addition, the plant can recycle 3,000 tons of dirt per day.
Other environmental and financial benefits abound. For example, cleaning contaminated soil allows companies to reduce their carbon footprint by reducing the number of trucks traveling to dispose of the material.
Environmental groups continue to celebrate the project.
“We have had tremendous support from some of the region’s most prominent and influential environmental advocates and organizations,” said Posillico. “They continue to herald the success of the wash plant, both present, and future.”
Posillico also noted the importance of the support of state and local officials as the project was designed, constructed and commissioned.
“The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, Town of Babylon Supervisor Richard Schaeffer and other elected leaders made the entire project possible,” said Posillico. “This was a true public/private partnership.”
The Posillico Wash Plant has also revolutionized the development industry, allowing many projects that have languished due to significant soil contamination to move forward finally.
“The collaboration between Posillico Materials, H2M, SUEZ and CDE Engineering has been nothing short of inspiring, as both companies realized the dire need for such a facility and the amount of ingenuity and expertise it would take to design, build and operate,” said Posillico. “This is a legacy project for both companies, as the work that is happening at the plant is bringing new life to many contaminated sites that can be used for smart development and returning the land to a natural, healthy condition.”
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