excavation and compaction

September 13, 2016

Earthwork and Land Clearing; Key Elements of Construction Site Development

TRR Demolition, Excavation, Major Construction Project, Owner's Representative, Uncategorized brake even analysys, building in remote locations, comercial parking lots, earthwork, energy and water costs, excavation and compaction, grading, land clearing, major construction projece, Major Construction Projects, Nationwide Consulting, office building construction, Owners Representative, Project Manager, Value Engineering

Land Clearing, Grading and Site Preparation, Many Methods are used, what is Best for You?

With a major project to construct, a land owner has to start with raw space, have you ever thought about land clearing a new piece of property? The site of a major construction project somewhere in the world, with local laws, methods and customs, and doing it on your own? Did you ever happen to think about the other details; does that land clearing have to adhere to rules and regulations unique to a specific area? Are there any special regulations regarding water runoff, storm water collection and distribution, or certain trees and waterways that are protected by law in that local area? Where should you start? What is the equipment you need for this job? Where should you start? What equipment do you need for that unique job? Are there existing underground utilities that may be damaged? Are there any abandoned underground or above ground structures that will need special removal? All these questions and more will be answered in advance, by a competent major projects consulting firm, one like Nationwide Consultants, LLC

A firm ready to begin a project involving raw land with intention of constructing on it, needs the services of competent consultants like Nationwide Consultants, LLC. Chances are that it needs to be cleared of rocks, trees, bushes and any existing structures above and beneath the ground as well as hidden junk that may have accumulated over the years. Other questions may arise that can only be answered with research and the experience to know what to look for. More importantly; it becomes essential to get the answers needed for unique situations, in a timely and efficient reporting system.

The thing to remember is; land clearing is a complex task involving heavy equipment, knowledge of laws and permits, experience with the unexpected and adequate planning. The raw land to be graded following a comprehensive surveying process may need additional services including grading grubbing, tree removal and problems that may only exist on that piece of land.

Today, the methods of land clearing have undergone tremendous change. While in the past, Project Consultants simply resorted to techniques like burning and bulldozing; today, residential and commercial property owners are expected to use various methods available at their disposal, which are much more efficient and environmentally friendly.

Many of these modern techniques of land clearing are environmentally friendly, conforming to local laws that may exist and offer safer alternatives to traditional means. The list of land clearing equipment can range from simple hand held tools to large bulldozers and shearing devices. The larger the trees are that need to be cleared, more powerful and commercial tools will be required. If you ask experts as to which land clearing method is the best; chances are that you will get varied answers.

The method chosen depends greatly on what is done with the cleared trees and bushes. One thing is sure, Land Clearing and Site Preparation is not a job for armatures. An experienced consulting firm like Nationwide Consultants, LLC can take a lot of the guess work out of a major construction project from the first tree removed to the final landscaping if the project, and everything in-between. A good consulting firm takes all the guess work out if a major project, where guessing is not an option.

Basic Methods of Land Clearing Available Today

Bulldozing

For most residential and commercial property owners, choosing Consultants to help with the Site Preparation Services process depends on cost and time. From this viewpoint as well, especially for large properties, bulldozer method is the cheapest, fastest and most well known. However, simply pushing the bushes and trees does not kill them; moreover it leaves the soil uneven. Large bulldozers are not easy to maneuver. They often knock off the bark of hardwoods and oaks the project may want to keep as part of the final look of the properties landscaping. This has a result of leaving these prime trees scared and susceptible to oak wilt, possibly destroying the trees you are trying to save for the finished look of the property. Hence smaller machines are sometimes required to be used like skid-steer tractors (BobCat) with hydraulic shears. These machines are driven into trees like cedar, cut-off at the ground, picked with shears and carried off for burning. This method ensures less damage to surrounding hardwoods.

Chain Saw Method

Chain saw method for tree removal is an alternative to bulldozing, although it is slower and also a lot more expensive due to the fact that additional personnel are needed beyond that needed for the Bulldozing method. The chain saw is definitely not for most large sites – it requires training and expertise which raises the overall cost. This method is often considered a better alternative to bulldozing as it leads to less land disruption and erosion. The tree stumps are basically left as they are and this provides leverage to enable bulldozers to pop the stump out of the ground. You can also be selective and choose to cut one tree but leave the next and also opt for a barrier between the site property and neighboring properties. Large trees like cedar, once removed, can be burned, chipped into mulch or hauled off.

Earth Grading

The building site also has to be graded and freed from rocks and low growing plants during the site preparation process to make way for lawns, Driveways, parking lots, storm drains and buildings. For this purpose the site will need large backhoes and skid loader equipment. The owner/developer can choose to filter large rocks during this process and use them later for landscaping purposes. The dirt can also be reused later for finishing the grading, once the construction is over. Landscaping services providers can guide you regarding this aspect. Coordinating every aspect of the construction process is what Nationwide Consultants, LLC does, we take care of the details.

Silt Fencing

Silt fencing is a temporary barrier of geotextile fabric, which is placed in land clearing projects and construction sites to prevent sheet erosion during the site preparation and construction process. The disadvantage of this is that it requires maintenance and also is susceptible to UV deterioration. Forest and wildlife laws may require you to place the silt fence to prevent mud and construction waste from going into neighboring property, streams, lakes and ground water.

Before You Proceed

Before you proceed with a land clearing and construction project, it is of importance to see if there may be valuable timber on the grounds. In the case that valuable hardwood timber exists in sufficient quantity, a timber buyer may trade the clearing costs for the lumber they can remove and sell, there by doing the clearing cost free. Nationwide Consultants, LLC can help you in this regard; contact us for more information and any questions on Site Development and Construction Services supervision in general.

Regional Regulations

Apart from these considerations, land owners need to check with their local, provincial and state officials as there may be several rules regarding timber permits, silt framework, mulching, burying of organic materials etc. Some regulations allow you to destroy the trees by fire while others might require you to pulverize the foliage and undergrowth into mulch. For example, St John’s Florida has following regulation regarding tree removal:

“Tree removal on lots less than one acre with an existing home or structure does not require a tree removal permit, as long as the tree does not lie within a conservation area or buffer. However, the lot where the tree is to be removed must maintain a minimum of 80 cumulative tree inches per acre.”

It is laws like this one in Florida, typical of local laws that exist all over the world, unique to a specific area that make the use of a consulting firm like Nationwide Consultants, LLC both useful and cost effective.

When it has to be done right, hit the Expert Button

Call Nationwide Consulting, LLC today for a free consultation and you hit the expert button:

Nationwide Consulting, LLC

Robert E. Hanson

Principal Partner

410.336.4961

Natonwide Consulting, LLC presents Green Life Cycle Facilities Assessment 1

August 21, 2016

Green Life Cycle Facilities Assessment, Community and World Impact

TRR Major Construction Project, Owner's Representative, Uncategorized a Facilities Impact on it’s Community and the World over its Projected Life, building in remote locations, excavation and compaction, Green Life Cycle Facilities Assessment, LCA, life cycle cost analysis, Nationwide Consulting, office building construction, Project Manager, Value Engineering

Building a Green Life Cycle Facilities Assessment: a Facilities Impact on it’s Community and the World over its Projected Life

Building a Green Life Cycle Facilities Assessment in Practice balances benefits against the costs of resource consumption from fabrication to deconstruction of a building.

By comparing the whole building and individual components, architects and engineers can calculate environmental impacts at the outset of a project, and refine those calculations as the project proceeds, to show owners what the potential is for a proposed design option to cause or mitigate global warming, acidification, eutrophication (excess nutrient leaching that causes, for example, algae bloom), fossil-fuel depletion, smog formation, ozone depletion, ecological toxicity, and water use.

The life-cycle assessment (LCA) process usually includes all participants in the planning, design, construction, and operations of a facility and begins with setting the goal and scope of the LCA. The LCA might focus on one specific impact, such as global warming potential. Step two, inventory analysis, would then quantify the input and output of each element of the design being analyzed to determine how many units of greenhouse gases will be released or embodied (in this case, measured as CO2 equivalents). The impact could then be analyzed, based on the set goals, and decisions can be made based on the resulting interpretation.

The process is heavily dependent on the regional accuracy of government databases and hampered by the one-off nature of building design and construction. Government and nongovernment organizations are currently working to refining both the databases and the software that crunches the numbers to make sense of the reams of raw data for non-technical decision makers.

The Rationale

As the architectural and construction industries increasingly emphasize sustainability, more comprehensive methods are being developed to evaluate and reduce environmental impacts by buildings.

It recognized in the current construction environment, that limitations of LCA—particularly the current nascence of client demand and comprehensive databases make Green Life Cycle Assessment a rarity—one that looks ahead to the next emerging discipline in measuring building design, construction, and operations sustainability.

Some of the more outstanding and relevant assessments preformed in addition to all the usual LCA factors within a Green Life Cycle Assessment include:

Global Warming Potential (GWP)

Global Warming Potential, or GWP, has been developed to characterize the change in the greenhouse effect due to emissions and absorptions attributable to humans in a Green Life Cycle Facilities Assessment. The unit for measurement is grams equivalent of CO2 per functional unit of product (note that other greenhouse gases, such as methane, are included in this category, thus the term “CO2 equivalent” is an impact and not an emission).

Acidification Potential (AP)

Acidifying compounds emitted in a gaseous state either dissolve in atmospheric water or fixed on solid particles. They reach ecosystems through dissolution in rain. The two compounds principally involved in acidification are sulfur and nitrogen compounds. The unit of measurement is grams of hydrogen ions per functional unit of product.

Eutrophication Potential (EP)

Eutrophication is the addition of mineral nutrients to the soil or water. In both media, the addition of large quantities of mineral nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous results in generally undesirable shifts in the number of species in ecosystems and a reduction in ecological diversity is considered in a Green Life Cycle Facilities Assessment . In waterways, excess nutrient leads to increased biological oxygen demand (BOD) from the dramatic increase in flora that feed on these nutrients, a subsequent reduction in dissolved oxygen levels, and the collapse of fish and other aquatic species. The unit of measurement is grams of nitrogen per functional unit of product.

Fossil Fuel Depletion

This impact addresses only the depletion aspect of fossil fuel extraction, not the fact that the extraction itself may generate impacts. The unit for measurement is mega joules (MJ) of fossil-based energy per functional unit of the product. This category helps demonstrate positive environmental goals, such as reducing the energy needed to produce a product, or such as producing a product with renewable, nonfossil- based energy.

Smog Formation Potential

Under certain climatic conditions, air emissions from industry and fossil-fueled transportation can be trapped at ground level, where they react with sunlight to produce photochemical smog. The contribution of a product or system to smog formation is quantified by this category. The unit of measurement is grams of nitrogen oxide per functional unit of product. This highlights an area where a regional approach to LCA may be appropriate, as certain regions of the world are climatically more susceptible to smog.

Ozone Depletion Potential

Emissions from some processes may result in the thinning of the ozone layer, which protects the earth from certain parts of the solar radiation spectrum. Ozone depletion potential measures the extent of this impact for a product or system. The unit of measurement is CFC-11 per functional unit of the product.

Ecological Toxicity

The ecological toxicity impact measures the potential of a chemical released into the environment to harm terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The unit of measurement is grams of 2, 4-dichlorophenoxy-acetic acid per functional unit of product.

Water Use

Water resource depletion has not been routinely assessed in LCAs to date, but researchers are beginning to address this issue to account for areas where water is scarce, such as the western United States. The unit of measurement is liters per functional unit is used in a Green Life Cycle Facilities Assessment.

Resources:

American Wood Council

CODES & STANDARDS

ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION

GREEN BUILDING

PUBLIC POLICY

Wood and Green Building: The Role of Green Life Cycle Facilities Assessment

AIA Guide to Building Green Life Cycle Facilities Assessment in Practice

PDF Imbedded

Where does Your Steel Come from?

PDF Imbedded

Athena Sustainable Materials Institute Guide to Whole-Building LCA in Green Building Programs

Imbedded PDF

When it has to be done right, hit the Expert Button

Call Nationwide Consulting, LLC today for a free consultation and you hit the expert button:

Nationwide Consulting, LLC

Robert E. Hanson

Principal Partner

410.336.4961

August 15, 2016

Common Pollutants on the Construction Site: Problems, Solutions

TRR Demolition, Excavation, Major Construction Project Common Pollutants on the Construction Site, earthwork, energy and water costs, excavation and compaction, Nationwide Consulting, Owners Representative, pollutants, Project Manager, storm sewer, stormwater, underground utilities, Value Engineering

Understanding Common Pollutants on the Construction Site with Nationwide Consultants, LLC

There are a number of potential storm water pollutants that are common to a developing construction site, whether on virgin land or a recycled site. The soil-disturbing nature of construction activities and the use of a wide range of construction materials and equipment are the sources of Common Pollutants on the Construction Site and contaminants with the potential to pollute storm water discharges.

One of the items Nationwide Consulting LLC personnel can monitor is the over looked area of ground water and storm water pollutants caused by new construction site preparation. Without proper planning, due diligence and close attention to these details, the owners as well as the contractor could be subject to major and avoidable fines and penalties for many of the Common Pollutants on the Construction .

Common construction activities that increase the potential for polluting storm water with sediment include:

Clearing and grubbing operations
Demolition of existing structures
Grading operations
Soil importing and stockpiling operations
Clear water diversions
Landscaping operations
Excavation operations

There are other areas of concern, areas that Nationwide Consulting, LLC can monitor and circumvent before they become an issue. When a large corporation has a remote construction project, often details become overlooked, Nationwide Consulting, LLC becomes that never closing eye on the job, that presence that keeps your foot in the game. Where we are involved, no “unplanned mistake” or “overlooked detail” is ever acceptable. Planning, details, due diligence and supervision are the difference between under budget and ahead of schedule or vastly over budget and late on delivery of a project.

Common construction materials with the potential to contribute Common Pollutants on the Construction , other than sediment, to storm water, and potentially derail a project with local and state governments include the following:

Vehicle fluids, including oil, grease, petroleum, and coolants
Asphalt concrete (AC) and Portland cement concrete (PCC) materials and wastes
Joint seal materials and concrete curing compounds
Paints, solvents, and thinners
Wood products
Metals and plated products
Fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides

Any of these pollutants have no business getting into storm water, or run off of any kind from a properly run construction site, unless that site is lacking proper authority and site management.

Construction-related waste must also be managed to prevent its introduction into storm water. Typical waste and Common Pollutants on the Construction on construction sites includes:

Used vehicle fluids and batteries
Wastewater from vehicle cleaning operations
Green waste from vegetation removal
Non-storm water from dewatering operations
Trash from materials packaging, employee lunch/meal breaks, etc.
Contaminated soils
Slurries from sawing and grinding operations
Wastewater/waste from concrete washout operations
Hazardous materials waste
Sanitary waste

MONITORING AND INSPECTION PROGRAM

Nationwide Consultants, LLC Engineers are responsible for ensuring that construction site personnel monitor the contractor’s water pollution control practices and maintain compliance with the approved project parameters.

Review the Storm Water Quality Construction Site Best Management Practices.

Nationwide Consultants, LLC personnel with storm water responsibilities all familiarize themselves with Best Management Practices regarding pollutants escaping into the storm water systems of Florida. In particular, they become familiar with (1) the rainy season dates for our area, (2) the requirements for soil stabilization and sediment control and the BMPs for the season and specific rainfall for areas affecting the construction site.

Review the Project Plans.

Naturally Nationwide Consulting, LLC Reviews the Project Plans in the context of storm water pollution control. We visualize storm water run-on and runoff flow patterns when reviewing the plans. We review the general layout and existing drainage courses. Identify potential problem areas where storm water may run onto the site or discharge off site.

Identify the locations where structures are being constructed or modified. We are familiar with the right-of-way and easement limits. We determine the limits of clearing and grubbing activities. Identify the project phase or stage. Try to determine Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs).

When it has to be done right, hit the Expert Button

Call Nationwide Consulting, LLC today for a free consultation and you hit the expert button:

Nationwide Consulting, LLC

Robert E. Hanson

Principal Partner

410.336.4961

February 5, 2016

Stormwater Piping; Affects During and after Construction

TRR Major Construction Project, Parking Lot Design, Uncategorized, Underground Utilities comercial parking lots, enterance and exit road design, Excavation, excavation and compaction, Nationwide Consulting, office building construction, Owners Representative, Parking Lot Design, Project Manager, storm drane, storm sewer, stormwater, underground utilities, Value Engineering

What is Stormwater Piping and How can it Affect a Construction Site?

Most storm sewer piping and stormwater piping flows by gravity, no pumps create pressure. The storm water drops into the system by inlets or roof drains then flows downhill. Obviously, the grade of the pipe matters. A low spot, or belly, in the pipe makes a trap, while a high spot, or hump, creates a dam. So the pipe crew needs to keep the pipe inverts (the lowest spot in the pipe where the water flows) installed in a straight line, at the slope required on the site drawings.

While the storm sewer piping rarely appears on the critical path of a project schedule, it’s surprising how many times the storm sewer installation becomes a problem and delays a project. Some of the common issues that occur with storm sewer piping are:

Unexpected rock or obstacle excavation.
Existing pipes in the way, discovered only during the installation.
Design errors that only become apparent during the installation.

Because of these type problems, a company like Nationwide Consulting, LLC can head off problems that may arise in the site development process and pay special attention to the storm piping and other underground infrastructure. The goal for the pipe work should be a speedy installation that surpasses the specification requirements (i.e. leakage, line, grade, backfill, etc.). Even if the pipe work is subcontracted, it is detrimental to the project to allow unacceptable pipe work to continue. If the pipe work has to be dug-up and redone at a later date, many other trades will be adversely affected.

Nationwide Consulting, LLC can inspect every item of work on the project if necessary. From our experience, one can predict the final quality (or acceptability) of pipe work by how the pipe foremen organizes the work. If the transit is set-up, the backhoe always digging, trenches are straight, and the pipe fitters are working methodically, the pipe work will typically be successful. On the other hand, a disorganized foreman and crew that appear to start and stop and constantly change methods are headed for trouble. At Nationwide Consulting, LLC we are aware of how the underground pipe works progresses and we try to head-off quality problems early. This type of qualified and experienced supervision can save days or in some case weeks of time and labor in the long run.

It’s also important to have a basic understanding of the common pipe types. Most projects we see these days use High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe. There are lots of variations of HDPE available, and we have worked with most of them. Sometimes concrete pipe still comes through as the best choice, due to its strength and durability. Corrugated metal pipe (CMP) may also be used in some site plans; we have worked with everything over the years at Nationwide Consulting, LLC.

The degree to which storm sewer or stormwater pipe must be water-tight is normally made clear in the project specifications. Sometimes, a bit of water leakage from storm sewer piping is acceptable (often a trade off for lower cost and easier installation) and other times the storm sewer piping must be water-tight under a low pressure.

The most important thing to remember about your site and its stormwater piping, is to have an experienced professional firm handle it cost effectively. At Nationwide Consulting, LLC, we are proud to say, we are that firm, we handle all aspects of developing your full construction project from site to finished structure, to spec efficiently, cost effectively and on time.

When it has to be done right, hit the Expert Button, call Nationwide Consulting, LLC

Call Nationwide Consulting, LLC today for a free consultation and you hit the expert button:

Nationwide Consulting, LLC

Robert E. Hanson

Principal Partner

410.336.4961

February 4, 2016

Excavation and Compaction; how they Affect Construction Sites

TRR Excavation, Major Construction Project, Uncategorized comercial parking lots, Compaction, earthwork, Excavation, excavation and compaction, Nationwide Consulting, office building construction, Owners Representative, Project Manager, road design, Value Engineering

What can Nationwide Consulting, LLC teach you about Earthwork Excavation and Compaction?

Earth excavation and grading can be a fascinating part of a construction project. The powerful heavy equipment, used to best advantage by a skilled operator, is a joy to behold. The scope of the excavation job varies from digging footings for a small building to moving millions of cubic yards of earth. The one thing all excavation jobs have in common, though, is that careful planning is the key to success.

There are several terms which should be defined. Excavation is often used as a broad term which includes cut (or excavation) and fills (or embankment). Cut is defined as removing material to lower the elevation of an area. Fill is defined as placing material to raise the elevation of an area. Compaction must take place during a fill operation to increase the density of the soil material being placed. Another common breakdown in excavation work is bulk excavation and trench excavation.

Swell and shrinkage are two important, and often misunderstood, terms. Consider the simple example of digging a 1.0 cubic yard hole with a shovel and throwing the dirt into wheelbarrows. In the ground the 1.0 cubic yard of soil is in its virgin (or natural) state. Upon being shoveled into the wheelbarrows the soil is in a loose (or lower density) state and probably has a volume of 1.2 to 1.4 cubic yards. This process of soil increasing in volume from its virgin state to a loose state is called swell.

Shrinkage, on the other hand, occurs when that same soil is placed back in the one cubic yard hole and is properly compacted. Depending on the soil type, the final volume could be 0.9 cubic yards or 1.1 cubic yards. The above explains why when one digs and refills a hole, sometimes there is not enough soil to fill the hole and sometimes there is soil left over.

An excellent table showing weights, swell factors, and shrinkage factors for various materials is included below. The table of characteristics is a growing body of knowledge with many contributors over the past 100 years. All the values given are necessarily approximate. The rock materials are labeled in the following way: I, igneous; S, sedimentary; or M, metamorphic. The cubic yard in cut column assumes natural moisture and has + 10 percent variation. The cubic yard loose column has a +33 percent variation. For example, damp clay with a given swell of 40 percent should be assumed to have a swell range of 30 percent to 53.2 percent. The cubic yard in fill column also has a 33 percent variation and assumes mechanical compaction at appropriate moisture levels.

In earth excavation and site grading some of the most common problems encountered are improper compaction, incorrect final elevations, and working beyond the specified area to be disturbed. There are no magic, simple answers or procedures to make the above problems not happen.

Improper soil compaction is a common and often difficult problem. Soil Engineering and Geology, a previous section, discusses the technical aspects of soil compaction. The practical, in the field problems include:

Soil too wet: must be aerated or mixed with dryer materials.
Soil to dry: must add water
Soil lifts for compaction too deep: lessen lift depth
Different types of soil: check if the proctor test (the test which measures the density of the soil sample for other tests to be measured against) matches the type of soil encountered
The soils inspector holds-up the compaction operations to takes tests: try to create a team environment and plan test taking for everyone’s advantage.

The problems of incorrect final elevations and working beyond the specified contract limits are more straight-forward. The excavation contractor certainly should be responsible for their own work, the only real problem involves determining the mistake. The site developer should be aware of this potential problem and develop his own solution to resolve it.

In general, the best solutions follow:

The Construction Supervisor should be aware of the specific requirements as much as possible (i.e. understand the whole job) and spot check on occasions.
Whenever practical the subcontractors following the site grading should check and accept the previous work prior to beginning.

Even though the excavation contractor is ultimately responsible for their work, project schedule or quality can be ruined if errors are found too late. The above are some problems encountered in the field with possible solutions. In many cases the solutions seem simple to apply but are quite difficult and costly. Regardless of the complexity, the site work is almost always critical to the timely completion of the project and must be a priority for the Site Supervisor, like Nationwide Consulting, LLC. It is important to have the experience that stretches over vast numbers of projects in the same area to fully understand and overcome possible outcomes.

When you have a construction project that involves earthwork, Hit the Expert Button; call Nationwide Consulting, LLC

Call Nationwide Consulting, LLC today for a free consultation and you hit the expert button:

Nationwide Consulting, LLC

excavation and compaction

Land Clearing, Grading and Site Preparation, Many Methods are used, what is Best for You?

Basic Methods of Land Clearing Available Today

Bulldozing

Chain Saw Method

Earth Grading

Silt Fencing

Before You Proceed

Regional Regulations

When it has to be done right, hit the Expert Button

Call Nationwide Consulting, LLC today for a free consultation and you hit the expert button:

Nationwide Consulting, LLC

Robert E. Hanson

Principal Partner

410.336.4961

Building a Green Life Cycle Facilities Assessment: a Facilities Impact on it’s Community and the World over its Projected Life

The Rationale

Some of the more outstanding and relevant assessments preformed in addition to all the usual LCA factors within a Green Life Cycle Assessment include:

Global Warming Potential (GWP)

Acidification Potential (AP)

Eutrophication Potential (EP)

Fossil Fuel Depletion

Smog Formation Potential

Ozone Depletion Potential

Ecological Toxicity

Water Use

Resources:

CODES & STANDARDS

ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION

GREEN BUILDING

PUBLIC POLICY

Where does Your Steel Come from?

When it has to be done right, hit the Expert Button

Call Nationwide Consulting, LLC today for a free consultation and you hit the expert button:

Nationwide Consulting, LLC

Robert E. Hanson

Principal Partner

410.336.4961

Understanding Common Pollutants on the Construction Site with Nationwide Consultants, LLC

Common construction activities that increase the potential for polluting storm water with sediment include:

Clearing and grubbing operations

Demolition of existing structures

Grading operations

Soil importing and stockpiling operations

Clear water diversions

Landscaping operations

Excavation operations

Common construction materials with the potential to contribute Common Pollutants on the Construction , other than sediment, to storm water, and potentially derail a project with local and state governments include the following:

Vehicle fluids, including oil, grease, petroleum, and coolants

Asphalt concrete (AC) and Portland cement concrete (PCC) materials and wastes

Joint seal materials and concrete curing compounds

Paints, solvents, and thinners

Wood products

Metals and plated products

Fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides

Construction-related waste must also be managed to prevent its introduction into storm water. Typical waste and Common Pollutants on the Construction on construction sites includes:

Used vehicle fluids and batteries

Wastewater from vehicle cleaning operations

Green waste from vegetation removal

Non-storm water from dewatering operations

Trash from materials packaging, employee lunch/meal breaks, etc.

Contaminated soils

Slurries from sawing and grinding operations

Wastewater/waste from concrete washout operations

Hazardous materials waste

Sanitary waste

MONITORING AND INSPECTION PROGRAM

Review the Storm Water Quality Construction Site Best Management Practices.

Review the Project Plans.

When it has to be done right, hit the Expert Button

Call Nationwide Consulting, LLC today for a free consultation and you hit the expert button:

Nationwide Consulting, LLC

Robert E. Hanson

Principal Partner

410.336.4961

What is Stormwater Piping and How can it Affect a Construction Site?

While the storm sewer piping rarely appears on the critical path of a project schedule, it’s surprising how many times the storm sewer installation becomes a problem and delays a project. Some of the common issues that occur with storm sewer piping are:

Call Nationwide Consulting, LLC today for a free consultation and you hit the expert button:

Call Nationwide Consulting, LLC today for a free consultation and you hit the expert button:

Nationwide Consulting, LLC