March 2001

Construction Engineering

By Garth Greenan, P.E.

It's time to break ground! The most exciting time for the development of projects is when you start building what you've spent the past several months planning and designing. It's the time when real progress can be seen, and the anticipation builds. You've got a good contractor--so what else do you need?

One of the keys to a well-built project is the construction engineering services. There are four essential components to construction engineering: construction survey, inspection, testing, and construction administration. Not all projects require all four parts, but most projects require at least one of these components. What is involved in each component?

Construction Survey: The locations of buildings, roads, parking areas, and utilities are often shown on a plan, but to determine where exactly they should build in the field requires measurements from known points, such as property corners. Surveyors place stakes in the field indicating to the contractor where improvements are to be located. In addition to location, the elevations of the improvements are indicated on the staking. Accurate placement of site improvements ensures that regulatory requirements, such as setbacks, are met.

Inspection: Inspection includes on-site observation of the contractor's progress. An inspector on a project does not supervise the contractor, but works as the owner's or developer's representative at the work site. The inspector normally keeps as-built measurements, communicates questions and information between the contractor and engineer, and coordinates schedules with other construction services, such as survey and testing.

Testing: Testing is done to ensure the construction methods and materials supplied meet the specifications for the project. Some of the common testing requirements are compaction and gradation for aggregates and bituminous surfaces, pressure testing for piping, and compression testing for concrete. There are a whole variety of other tests that may be required by regulatory agencies for approvals. Coordination of the testing is normally by the inspector working with the contractor and regulatory agencies.

Construction Administration: There are a wide variety of issues to track during the construction of a project. Knowing the status of the project allows the developer or owner to determine schedules and anticipate requests for payment from the contractor. Construction Administration may involve only a few of the following tasks or all of them, depending on the desires and requirements of the developer. Work tasks include preparing bidding documents, soliciting and tabulating bids, preparation of contract documents, reviewing contractor's insurance and bonds, preparing pay estimates, conducting progress meetings, preparation of change orders, coordinating with regulatory agencies for inspections, and project close-out. The complexity of the project dictates effort required maintaining project records and status.

Why should your engineer be involved in construction? Often it is a requirement of the regulatory agency that the construction be inspected and certified that it was built to the approved plans and specifications. Documentation of the proper testing and inspections are necessary for any construction that will become public, such as new streets, water systems or sanitary sewers. Certifications and documentation are necessary for drainage facilities and erosion control.

Construction Engineering provides the continuity with the designer, provides the owner/developer with important information during construction, and is an information conduit for the contractor.

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Transaction Information
Transaction Screens

By Lee Blodgett, R.E.P.A.

More and more frequently Transaction Screens (TS) performed by an environmental professional are being conducted in lieu of Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESA). The perceived advantage is the lessor price for a TS and the cost savings that is realized because much less investigating into the historic uses and activities of the property is conducted for a TS than a Phase I. The intent of the ASTM Standards established for TSs and Phase Is is to provide guidelines that establish consistency for conducting the appropriate level of inquiry into the environmental condition of a property prior to purchase.

The TS standard was developed for use as a formal screening method to determine if a more in-depth investigation of a commercial property is necessary. The TS questionnaire, the essence of the TS, asks pertinent questions of people knowledgeable about the current and historic uses of the property. Based on the responses received, more in-depth investigation may either be necessary which would be focused on a particular identified Recognized Environmental Condition (REC) or it may be necessary to expand the assessment to a Phase I ESA.

An example of the former would be when the historic uses of the site are known to be uses that typically would not involve hazardous substance or petroleum product use; however, a dump site including unmarked 55 gallon drums is observed on the property. The dump would constitute a REC and additional investigation would be warranted. In this scenario, appropriate inquiry may be accomplished by chemical testing of the soil and/or groundwater underlying the dump and a Phase I may not be needed because there is acceptable comfort otherwise in the former uses of the property.

An example of the later would be if the former uses of this property were unknown or it is located in an area with some historic industrial uses. The standard dictates that a presumption exists that further inquiry is necessary in this scenario. In rebutting this presumption, the user should evaluate information obtained from each component of the Transaction Screen process and consider whether sufficient information has been obtained to conclude that no further inquiry is necessary. In this scenario, reasonable argument could be made that appropriate inquiry would require a Phase I be conducted to thoroughly investigate former site use and whether indications of historic activities involving hazardous substances or petroleum products exist in historic documents or are discovered through additional interviews.

In conclusion, the decision of which level of assessment will meet the appropriate inquiry standard for clean up liability protection is a judgement call. This is a cost versus risk decision that an environmental consultant should assist a user in making. However, the final decision rests with the user.

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Bulletin
EC&S Assists MDEQ with
Tire Fire Investigation

 

Site of tire fire

EC&S is providing environmental consulting services directly for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to investigate potential contamination for the residue left at the site of a large tire fire near Traverse City, Michigan. EC&S has installed and sampled numerous monitoring wells and soil borings to determine the extent to which ash and buried tires have caused contamination of the underlying soil and groundwater. A hydrogeological study is being conducted to determine groundwater flow and potential contaminant transport characteristics, the extent of buried ash and tires, and an evaluation of exposure risks posed by the ash residue. Ongoing work will address source cleanup for areas of acute exposure risk.

EC&S, as a result of project work on several Michigan tire fire sites, has developed a unique expertise in environmental impact and cleanup of contamination from tire fires

$880,000 Brownfield Redevelopment Single Business
Tax Credit Lands Anchor Tenant For Speareflex Project

EC&S procured one of the first Brownfield Single Business Tax Credits under PA 143. The ability to assign this SBT Credit enabled the developers of the Speareflex Project, a downtown city of Kalamazoo brownfield redevelopment, to land an anchor tenant for the project.

Click here for more information.

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Enviromental Bulletin
Wetland Delineations

By Ben Komrska, P.G.

In my previous article, I discussed how the presence of water would cause a number of physical, chemical, and biological characteristics to develop in the soil. These characteristics are used to identify and locate wetlands.

If your on-site assessment concludes that wetlands are present, then it is necessary to determine whether the wetland is under the State or US Army Corps' jurisdiction as this will decide if a permit from them is necessary.

Wetland

Jurisdictional wetlands include:

• Wetlands contiguous or within 500 feet of an inland lake or stream
• Wetlands contiguous or within 1000 feet of the Great Lakes
• Wetlands hydrologically connected to other jurisdictional wetlands
• Wetlands that are greater than five acres in size

If it is concluded that a permit is necessary, your permit application will require you to complete a wetland delineation. A wetland delineation defines the boundary of the wetlands and uplands. To perform delineation will require inspecting the properties plants, soils, and hydrology in great detail:

1. Plants--identification and location of wetland (hydrophilic) plants

2. Soils--determine if wetland characteristics are present

• organic soils, mucks, oxygen reduced indicators or conditions

3. Hydrology

• Depth to water table
• Presence of water marks on trees, exposed roots and ground surface
• Other physical factors, pH, hydraulic conductivity, etc.

Once the on-site investigation and flagging is completed, a site map showing the wetland/upland boundary should be prepared for future reference.

Due to the dynamic nature of wetland resources and the ever-evolving determination methodology, wetland determinations and delineations are valid for no more than three years, i.e., three growing seasons. In the event that site conditions should change prior to site development, the site investigation should be confirmed.

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Land Development News
Modern Roundabout

By Garth Greenan, P.E.

This spring, northwestern Michigan will have construction complete on its first modern roundabout. No, it's not in Traverse City, but in Peshawbestown. As part of the new Eagle Valley (Mgizi Booskdinaag) development, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians is completing the construction of a modern roundabout. This will be the first implementation of the true modern roundabout in the area. Design is currently complete, and construction has been underway since last spring. EC&S Engineering is the designer, R. Clark & Associates is the land planner, Comstock Construction is the Construction Manager, and Elmer's is the contractor. If you are curious to see a modern roundabout, pay a visit to Peshawbestown. The Eagle Valley (Mgizi Booskdinaag) site is on Mc Keese Road. Take Stallman Road west from M-22 to Mc Keese; turn north on Eagle Valley Road to the roundabout.

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By Mark Chilcott

Qualified Taxpayers can receive a Brownfield Single Business Tax Credit equal to 10% of their eligible investment. Eligible investment activities include demolition, building rehab/redevelopment, new construction and equipment (for the owner of the project and/or the lessee of a project). The Qualified Taxpayer (project owner/developer) can assign this single business tax credit on a prorata basis to other entities that make up the Qualified Taxpayer and/or assign the single business tax credits to a Lessee. This is a powerful tool for attracting certain investors to your project who can benefit from single business tax credits. Additionally, it provides a competitive advantage to procuring tenant(s) for your project.

The brownfield project must be included in an approved Brownfield Redevelopment Authority Brownfield Plan and a pre-approval application must be submitted to the State. Pre-approval is necessary before eligible investment activities can begin.

If you have a brownfield development project in process or contemplate starting a brownfield project, utilization of the single tax credit can improve your bottom line profitability and generate a greater return on investment.

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2748 Garfield Road North, Suite 9 Traverse City MI 49686		Phone 231-941-2366 • Fax 231-941-2375 Email info@ecswebsite.com