Green Construction Best Management Practices
Green Construction Marketing
The Public may not be aware that Green Construction Practices are be utilized by the Developer.
Provide signage and interpretation of green construction practices at the entrance of the construction site. Provide a small press release for the press.
Construction Employee and Material Supplier Awareness of Developer's Green Construction Practices
Construction employee and suppliers may not receive the message that the Developer promotes and requires green construction practices at the construction site.
Post green construction information at construction employee safety board. Provide continued information about green construction practices at safety meetings. Provide incentives for employees and suppliers to provide new ideas to enhance green construction practices at work site.
Contract Administration
Contract does not clearly express the Developer's Green Construction values.
Look at each specification section to see where there may be a need to include an environmental measures section within that specification. Include Construction Waste Management Specification in contract documents.
Contract Limits and Erosion Control
As Contractor work escalates at the work site, the site disturbance spreads out farther from the construction site. Public mixes with the Contractor's operations. Additional areas need to be rehabilitated by the Developer's revegetation staff to repair vegetation damage at site.
Identify within the Contract for a minimum level of service for Public while allowing the Contractor the greatest latitude and flexibility to complete the project. Identify Contract limits in the contract drawings. Define and allow only a fixed amount of vehicle parking, storage, stockpiling and staging at site. Have contractor provide a revegetation bond. Provide safety fencing around the exact limits of construction work. Provide combination safety/silt fencing in low areas where runoff from rain or snow will promote sedimentation and also in areas to protect trees. Provide safety fence at all other areas. Safety fence will also prevent blowing debris out side the jobsite.
Tree Protection
Issue: Grading and excavation within the "drip line" of trees will cause damage or loss of trees.
Recommended Remedy: Protect tree with safety/silt fence combination at the perimeter of the trees "drip line". Topsoil Stockpiling Issue: Topsoil at the construction site is not being reserved for revegetation. Local topsoil is extremely valuable to the revegetation effort. Recommended Remedy: Provide an area for topsoil stockpiling prior to construction. Do not pile the top soil more than three feet high as this will degrade the seed material within the top soil.
Stockpiling of Materials
Issue: Stockpiled material contaminates existing site.
Recommended Remedy: Provide filter fabric (or tarp material) placed on top of existing soil prior to dumping materials on site. This will provide for easy cleanup after stockpiling is completed.
Storage of Materials
Issue: Large areas of the site are damaged due to large number of storage containers on site. Recommended Remedy: Provide additional areas for storage of materials off site. Have suppliers and subcontractors share storage containers.
Construction Equipment
Issue: Spillage of hydraulic fluid and fuel contaminates soil and groundwater.
Recommended Remedy: Provide a parking/fueling area within the contact limits which is a earth covered plastic sheet which can be removed after the project is over. Or require a plastic sheet to be placed under the vehicle prior to fueling and long term or overnight parking. Concrete Washout Issue: Job site has numerous areas with concrete washout residue causing concrete/soil contamination. Recommended Remedy: Manage one concrete washout area and note within the contract limits on the drawings.
Introduction of Non-Native Plants
Issue: Hay/Straw bales brought on to job site provide for the potential for introducing non-native plants to area. Vehicles and equipment tires and mud can carry non-native seed sources to job site.
Recommended Remedy: Use other types of erosion control measures, i.e. silt fence and erosion control fabric. Provide or require vehicles and equipment to be washed prior to access to site.
Construction and Food Waste Management
Construction waste accounts for 30 percent of all waste generated at landfills. Roughly 80 percent of the waste on site is recyclable. Waste is currently being commingled in single waste container. Food wastes are being consumed by birds, small mammals, and insects, which will result in these creatures trying to move into the building after it is closed up. These creatures will become unhealthy from the food and become pests both inside and outside the facility. There is always a potential for hazardous materials to be generated on a job site.
Recommend all subcontractors to remove their own waste. Utilize Construction Waste Management specification (See Appendix B). Provide animal proof food waste receptacles. Use the A Builder's Field Guide to Residential Construction Waste Management by the NAHBRC as a reference. Provide a strongly managed Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) reporting system to help identify potential hazardous substances. Encourage or require subcontractors to employ less toxic substitute materials as a way to reduce potential liability.
Fencing
Issue: Not installing work limits fencing will cause excessive vegetative impacts on the site by equipment and vehicles. These impacts will grow to a larger area as the contract progresses. Additional money for revegetation will be required to restore the site. It will be very difficult to restore the site to its original condition. The topsoil is compacted by increasing runoff and not allowing the vegetation to receive moisture.
Recommended Remedy: Install work limits fencing to control contractor use at the site prior to construction. In areas already impacted, run scarifying equipment (use a light tractor) to loosen topsoil after construction. Recommend a forty to fifty foot construction limit around the perimeter of the site. Provide additional areas for staging, stockpiling and storage in disturbed areas.
Road Construction Short Cutting
Issue: Some equipment is short cutting across switch back severely impacting vegetation.
Recommended Remedy: Do not allow short cutting.
Excessive Road Work
Issue: Grading equipment is over-working road areas increasing construction costs and environmental impacts. This is a common construction practice of grading road and side slopes multiple times. Each time the grading creates additional vegetative damage at the site.
Recommended Remedy: Minimize grading work on site. Dragging a section of chain link fence (use a light tractor) can be used to level windrows at construction edges.
Side Slopes Cut Slopes
Click on image to enlarge
Issue: Sudden "break line" at interface between existing slope and new road slope creates excessive erosion at "break line" and does not look natural.
Recommended Remedy: Round edges of cut slopes by three feet. This creates a "softer" edge and reduces the erosion at the "break line".
Fill Slopes
Issue: Fill slopes are not being compacted with the proper compaction equipment. This results in a high potential for future slope failure and reconstruction costs.
Recommended Remedy: Provide the proper compaction equipment to obtain reasonable compaction of the road fill slopes.
Erosion Control Sedimentation Control
Issue: Potential for sedimentation could result from not placing silt control prior to construction.
Recommended Remedy: Place sedimentation devices prior to construction.
Erosion Control Straw Erosion Control and Timber Slash Enhancement
Issue: Straw erosion control and timber slash has a large amount of carbon and cellulose which is difficult to degrade into compost and acts as a nitrogen "sink" which reduces the amount of vital nitrogen to vegetation trying to grow back in disturbed areas. Recommended Remedy:
Add a nitrogen fertilizer to the straw erosion control and slash to offset the carbon loading at the site. I can calculate the amount of nitrogen if requested.
Storage and Stockpiling of Materials and Topsoil
Issue: The potential for stockpiled material contaminating the site exists. The potential for large areas of the site being damaged due to a large number of storage containers on site. Topsoil is not stockpiled separately from excavation material. Stockpiling local topsoil (approximately the first four to six inches below the surface) is extremely valuable to the revegetation effort. Any extra topsoil can be used in other areas in the development.
Recommended Remedy: Provide filter fabric (or tarp material) placed on top of existing soil prior to dumping materials on site. This will provide for easy cleanup after stockpiling is completed. Use previously disturbed areas for stockpiling. Provide additional areas for storage of materials off site. Have suppliers and subcontractors share storage containers. Provide an area for topsoil stockpiling prior to construction. Do not pile the topsoil more than three feet high (if site has a reduced footprint, a higher pile would be acceptable), as this will degrade the seed material within the topsoil.