ECT has served as a key environmental consultant for the remediation and renovation of the 66-acre Chevy Commons site, formerly known as Chevy in the Hole, since 2009. The former General Motors manufacturing property is situated along the Flint River in Flint, Michigan. An abandoned brownfield after the last buildings were demolished in 2004, the site suffered from soil and groundwater contamination from volatile organic compounds (VOCs), various metals, and light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL).
ECT provided brownfield and assessment services on the blighted property, including the coordination of millions of dollars of state and federal grant funds, community outreach, planning services and additional assessment activities. The conceptual site environmental model depicted the relationship of the known soil and groundwater conditions with proposed future recreational land uses. With the luxury of time and physical space, the near-term remediation plan incorporated the demonstration of innovative green technologies, including phytoremediation which relies on vegetation to help clean up contaminated soil, air, and water. In total, more than 1,500 trees were planted for the purpose of phytohydraulics—uptaking shallow groundwater contaminated with VOCs and metals prior to its discharge to the Flint River.