A Report on Internships at Donovan Law and Federated Department Stores, Inc
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ABSTRACT A REPORT ON INTERNSHIPS AT DONOVAN LAW AND FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, INC. by Andrew James Halfhill In order to complete the requirements for a Master of Environmental Science degree, I completed two successive six-month internships. At Donovan Law, I provided environmental and technical assistance while reviewing, retrieving, and coding documents. These documents were related to a litigation involving the Paoli Rail Yard Superfund site, which had been contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). With the SPACE department of Federated Department Stores, I assisted in the daily management of several environmental programs. These programs included asbestos management, hazardous waste management, underground and aboveground storage tank management, indoor air quality, and other programs. These internships provided me an opportunity to apply academic knowledge to real world problems, to solve problems in areas that I had only minimal prior experience, and to further develop specific skills that I can offer future employers, including program management and writing skills. A REPORT ON INTERNSHIPS AT DONOVAN LAW AND FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES, INC. An Internship Report Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Science Institute of Environmental Sciences by Andrew James Halfhill Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2005 Advisor________________________________ Dr. Susan Paulson Reader_________________________________ Dr. Vincent Hand Reader_________________________________ Dr. Sandra Woy-Hazleton TABLE OF CONTENTS ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS....................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................... iv INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 RELEVANT BACKGROUND INFORMATION ............................................................. 3 EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND............................................................................... 3 DONOVAN LAW .......................................................................................................... 5 Relevant Environmental Legislation........................................................................... 5 Early History of the Paoli Rail Yard........................................................................... 7 Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) ............................................................................. 8 Paoli Rail Yard Site Remediation............................................................................... 9 Paoli Rail Yard Site Litigation................................................................................... 11 FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES .................................................................... 13 Overview.................................................................................................................... 13 SPACE and Environmental Services......................................................................... 14 Asbestos Management ............................................................................................... 15 Hazardous Waste Management.................................................................................. 16 Underground and Aboveground Storage Tank Management .................................... 17 Indoor Air Quality/Industrial Hygiene....................................................................... 18 RESPONSIBILITIES AND WORK PERFORMED......................................................... 19 DONOVAN LAW ......................................................................................................... 19 Review/Retrieval of Documents................................................................................ 19 Provide Technical Assistance to Attorneys ............................................................... 22 Code Documents into Summation® ........................................................................... 22 Assist in Preparation for the Trial.............................................................................. 25 Provide Environmental Experience to Legal Team................................................... 26 FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES .................................................................... 27 Asbestos Management ............................................................................................... 27 Hazardous Waste Management.................................................................................. 29 Underground and Aboveground Storage Tank Management .................................... 30 Indoor Air Quality/Industrial Hygiene....................................................................... 30 Other Projects............................................................................................................. 31 LESSONS LEARNED AND TRANSFERRABLE SKILLS............................................ 33 CONCLUSIONS................................................................................................................ 37 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 38 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A: Record of Decision for Paoli Rail Yard Superfund Site Appendix B: Federated Department Stores 2004 Corporate Fact Book ii ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS ACM – Asbestos-containing material Amtrak – National Railroad Passenger Corporation APU – American Premier Underwriters AST – Above ground storage tank BUSTR – Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulation CERCLA – Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act CESQG – Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator Conrail – Consolidated Rail Corporation CTDEP – State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection ECHO – Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization EPA – Environmental Protection Agency EPCRA – Emergency Response and Community Right-to-Know Act FACS – Financial, Administrative, and Credit Services FCM – Federated Corporate Marketing FCS – Federated Corporate Services FLO – Federated Logistics & Operations FMG – Federated Merchandising Group FSG – Federated Systems Group GDNR – State of Georgia Department of Natural Resources GE – General Electric Company GPLPE – General Permit to Limit Potential to Emit HVAC – Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning IES – Institute of Environmental Sciences LQG – Large Quantity Generator NPL – National Priorities List O&M – Operations and Maintenance OSHA – Occupational Safety and Health Administration PaDEP – Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection PCBs – Polychlorinated biphenyls ppm – Parts per million PRP – Potentially responsible party RCRA – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act RI/FS – Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study ROD – Record of Decision SARA – Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act SEPTA – Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority SPACE – Store Planning Architecture Construction Engineering SPCC – Spill Prevention and Countermeasure Plan SQG – Small Quantity Generator TSCA – Toxic Substances Control Act USAID – United States Agency for International Development UST – Underground storage tank iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are several individuals at Miami University who have helped me throughout the IES program. First, I would like to thank Dr. Susan Paulson for her willingness to serve as my advisor and for her support during my pursuit of educational endeavors. Second, I would like to thank Dr. Vincent Hand for all of the hours that he invested in me when I served as his graduate assistant, for his support and guidance as I pursued internships, and for serving on my committee. Third, I would like to thank Dr. Sandra Woy-Hazleton for all of the help she provided me throughout my coursework, for helping me understand the importance of social sciences to the environmental science field, and for serving on my committee. I would also like to thank the rest of the IES staff for their help over the past three years, including Dr. Gene Willeke, Betty Haven and Christine Ingham. I am also very grateful to the many friends that I made through the IES program, who taught me a great deal about environmental science and life in general. I would like to thank Mary Jill Donovan and Carol Wood for “thinking outside the box” by giving a graduate student without any experience in law the opportunity to work on the Paoli case. I am also grateful to Elena Pfarr, Environmental Services Administrator, and Paul McConocha, Director of Engineering and Environmental Services at Federated Department Stores for the opportunities and experiences that they provided me during my internship with Federated. I am grateful to my parents and to the rest of my family for their support over the past three years. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Hannah, for her love, support, and encouragement. I pray that with your help, this degree will be a stepping stone that will enable me to help the people of this world who need it the most. iv INTRODUCTION As part of my fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Environmental Science (M.En.) degree through the Institute of Environmental Sciences (IES) at Miami University, I completed two professional internships that spanned a total of twelve months. From May 2004 until November 2004, I interned