Jacob A. Horner

Borehole Completion and Conceptual Hydrogeologic Model for the IFRC Well Field, 300 Area, Hanford Site

A tight cluster of 35 new wells was installed over a former waste site, the South Process Pond (316-1 waste site), in the Hanford Site 300 Area in summer 2008. This report documents the details of the drilling, sampling, and well construction for the new array and presents a summary of the site hydrogeology based on the results of drilling and preliminary geophysical logging.

Investigation of Hexavalent Chromium Flux to Groundwater at the 100-C-7:1 Excavation Site

Deep excavation of soil has been conducted at the 100-C-7 and 100-C-7:1 waste sites within the 100-BC Operable Unit at the Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site to remove hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) contamination with the excavations reaching to near the water table. Soil sampling showed that Cr(VI) contamination was still present at the bottom of the 100-C-7:1 excavation. In addition, Cr(VI) concentrations in a downgradient monitoring well have shown a transient spike of increased Cr(VI) concentration following initiation of excavation. Potentially, the increased Cr(VI) concentrations in the downgradient monitoring well are due to Cr(VI) from the excavation site. However, data were needed to evaluate this possibility and to quantify the overall impact of the 100-C-7:1 excavation site on groundwater. Data collected from a network of aquifer tubes installed across the floor of the 100-C-7:1 excavation and from temporary wells installed at the bottom of the entrance ramp to the excavation were used to evaluate Cr(VI) releases into the aquifer and to estimate local-scale hydraulic properties and groundwater flow velocity.

Renewable Energy Opportunities at Fort Sill, Oklahoma

This document provides an overview of renewable resource potential at Fort Sill, based primarily upon analysis of secondary data sources supplemented with limited on-site evaluations. This effort focuses on grid-connected generation of electricity from renewable energy sources and on ground source heat pumps for heating and cooling buildings. The effort was funded by the U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) as follow-on to the 2005 Department of Defense (DoD) Renewables Assessment. The site visit to Fort Sill took place on June 10, 2010.

Hydrogeology of the Hanford Site Central Plateau – A Status Report for the 200 West Area

The Remediation Decisions Support (RDS) function of the Soil and Groundwater Remediation Project (managed by CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company [CHPRC]) is responsible for facilitating the development of consistent data, parameters, and conceptual models to resolve technical issues and support efforts to estimate contaminant migration and impacts (i.e., the assessment process). In particular, the RDS function is working to update electronic data sources and conceptual models of the geologic framework and associated hydraulic and geochemical parameters to facilitate traceability, transparency, defensibility, and consistency in support of environmental assessments. This report summarizes the efforts conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) scientists in fiscal year 2008 (FY08) that focused primarily on the 200 West Area, as well as a secondary effort initiated on the 200 East Area.

Evaluation of Analytical and Numerical Techniques for Defining the Radius of Influence for an Open-Loop Ground Source Heat Pump System

AbstractIn an open-loop groundwater heat pump (GHP) system, groundwater is extracted, run through a heat exchanger, and injected back into the ground, resulting in no mass balance changes to the flow system. Although the groundwater use is nonconsumptive, the withdrawal and injection of groundwater may cause negative hydraulic and thermal impacts to the flow system. Because GHPs are a relatively new technology and regulatory guidelines for determining environmental impacts for GHPs may not exist, consumptive-use metrics may need to be used for permit applications. For consumptive-use permits, a radius of influence is often used, which is defined as the radius beyond which hydraulic impacts to the system are considered negligible. In this paper, the hydraulic radius of influence concept was examined using analytical and numerical methods for a nonconsumptive GHP system in southeastern Washington State. At this location, the primary hydraulic concerns were impacts to nearby contaminant plumes and a water su...

Renewable Energy Opportunities at Fort Campbell, Tennessee/Kentucky

This document provides an overview of renewable resource potential at Fort Campbell, based primarily upon analysis of secondary data sources supplemented with limited on-site evaluations. This effort focuses on grid-connected generation of electricity from renewable energy sources and also on ground source heat pumps for heating and cooling buildings. The effort was funded by the U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) as follow-on to the 2005 Department of Defense (DoD) Renewables Assessment. The site visit to Fort Campbell took place on June 10, 2010.

100-NR-2 Apatite Treatability Test: Fall 2010 Tracer Infiltration Test (White Paper)

The primary objectives of the tracer infiltration test were to 1) determine whether field-scale hydraulic properties for the compacted roadbed materials and underlying Hanford fm. sediments comprising the zone of water table fluctuation beneath the site are consistent with estimates based laboratory-scale measurements on core samples and 2) characterize wetting front advancement and distribution of soil moisture achieved for the selected application rate. These primary objectives were met. The test successfully demonstrated that 1) the remaining 2 to 3 ft of compacted roadbed material below the infiltration gallery does not limit infiltration rates to levels that would be expected to eliminate near surface application as a viable amendment delivery approach and 2) the combined aqueous and geophysical monitoring approaches employed at this site, with some operational adjustments based on lessons learned, provides an effective means of assessing wetting front advancement and the distribution of soil moisture achieved for a given solution application. Reasonably good agreement between predicted and observed tracer and moisture front advancement rates was observed. During the first tracer infiltration test, which used a solution application rate of 0.7 cm/hr, tracer arrivals were observed at the water table (10 to 12 ft below the bottom of the infiltration gallery) after approximately 5 days, for an advancement rate of approximately 2 ft/day. This advancement rate is generally consistent with pre-test modeling results that predicted tracer arrival at the water table after approximately 5 days (see Figure 8, bottom left panel). This agreement indicates that hydraulic property values specified in the model for the compacted roadbed materials and underlying Hanford formation sediments, which were based on laboratory-scale measurements, are reasonable estimates of actual field-scale conditions. Additional work is needed to develop a working relationship between resistivity change and the associated change in moisture content so that 4D images of moisture content change can be generated. Results from this field test will be available for any future Ca-citrate-PO4 amendment infiltration tests, which would be designed to evaluate the efficacy of using near surface application of amendments to form apatite mineral phases in the upper portion of the zone of water table fluctuation.