Project Name: Family Eye Care Optometry Clinic, Lemoore, Kings County, California
Project Deliverables: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Report in accordance with ASTM 1527-05, 40 CFR, and U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Standard Operating Procedure 50 10 5. Ground Penetrating Radar Report. SBA Reliance Letters and coordination.
Resources Dedicated: Environmental Scientists conducted onsite surveys and agency records reviews and interviews with former property owners to evaluate an empty parcel of land in the City of Lemoore, California. Ground Penetrating Radar specialists were used to scan the subsurface of the property to determine the presence of underground petroleum storage tanks.
Project Duration: Due to a funding requirement set by the Small Business Administration, the eye doctor proposing to build a clinic to serve the low income residents of the City of Lemoore was required to have all evaluations completed within a two week time period. Due to the lack of records indicting the removal of previously installed underground petroleum storage tanks, the uncertainty of the suitability of the site to qualify for an SBA loan threatened to cancel the critically needed construction loan for the project. After exhausting all attempts to find file records for the site, Bole & Associates utilized ground penetrating radar to produce a 3-D picture of everything under the ground to a dept of sixty feet. The radar scan confirmed that the tanks had been removed and the loan was funded in time to complete the construction of the clinic.
Narrative: The agricultural nature of the job force in the City of Lemoore was impacted by the economic downturn in California to a greater degree than other more industrialized cities. An eye clinic to serve the low-income residents was in jeopardy of being built due to federal requirements to lend money only on uncontaminated commercial lots. Without confirmation that the former underground petroleum storage tanks were removed, the site was not eligible for a low-interest Small Business Administration loan, Conventional methods of finding underground tanks involves extensive excavation, thousands of dollars and time. The innovative use of ground penetrating radar was able to confirm the removal of the time on-the-spot for the cost of a few hundred dollars. The Small Business Administrative was impressed and pleased with the entire process.
Completed facility shown below.
