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Generally standard practice, anyway
In general, complying with this prerequisite is standard practice in most urban and suburban areas, where most or all of the EPA Construction General PermitEPA's Construction General Permit. Outlines the provisions necessary to comply with Phase I and Phase II of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program. (CGPEPA's Construction General Permit. Outlines the provisions necessary to comply with Phase I and Phase II of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program.) requirements have been...
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4 Comments
SSp1 - New Jersey 5G3 Stormwater Discharge General Permit
The State of New Jersey is the NPDESThe National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) is a permit program that controls water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. Industrial, municipal, and other facilities must obtain permits if their discharges go directly to surface waters. permitting authority for all regulated stormwater discharges (not EPA). We received authorization to discharge under a Stormwater Discharge General Permit (5G3) and we received certification from the local soil conservation district for a commercial project. There will be general construction activities including clearing, grading, and excavation. The 5G3 Permit states that the "soil erosion and sediment control plan or requirements constitute the erosion and sediment control component of the facility's SPPP". If we submit the Permit and copies of the approved soil erosion and sediment control plan, do we achieve credit SSp1? Is a separate SPPP document required? Thank you.
Lisa Marshall replied Senior Green Building Consultant, KEMA Services Inc. Jun 08 2010
Hi Tom: I would include a copy of the SPPP in your uploaded docs area, but you should also have an project specific erosion control plan that highlights those items in the SPPP you are implementing. Also the Civil drawings should show these BMPBest Management Practice's, I would upload these plans and some pictures of these measures being implemented.
Licensed Professional Exemptions
My project is looking to pursue the LPE streamlined path for this credit, but the template on LEED Online is not populating properly. What documentation do I need to upload if I am pursuing this path? Just the site plan showing all on-site natural areas contributing to credit achievement and highlighting areas of native/adaptive vegetation or other ecologically appropriate features as well as the erosion and sedimentation control measures implemented on site? Or do I need to include additional documentation? Please clarify.
Lisa Marshall replied Senior Green Building Consultant, KEMA Services Inc. Jul 26 2010
Hi Heather: Typically the contractor is the professional who would sign off on this credit. As the Civil engineer is the professional who sets up the erosion and sediment BMPBest Management Practice's and the contractor must follow these BMP's. Typically you would upload the civil drawings showing the erosion and sediment control measures and as construction is being done, the contractor takes photographs to prove the procedures were followed. The photographs are uploaded as proof. This credit is one of the easier credits to document, so I would recommend against the LPE route. The following is a post from Tristan Roberts regarding LPE in general that's posted elsewhere on the forum:
The Licensed Professional Exemption is basically a streamlined documentation path that is available for certain credits, particularly design-oriented credits where a licensed professional such as a Landscape Architect or a P.E. would be in a position to judge whether the project is compliance. In most credits this option is not available due to the nature of the credit, e.g. an MR credit that requires actual tracking of purchases.
It basically involves substituting the signature of a professional for some portion of the usual documentation. This is shown in LEED Online in the relevant credits.
Unfortunately, USGBC or GBCI have not released much information on the LPE path, such as a list of the credits where it's an option, and general guidance on using the exemption. There is a small amount of info on it in the LEED Reference Guide.
The benefit of the LPE path is obvious—efficiency. The downside is that in order to feel confidence signing off on a credit, the professional may need to develop all the documentation that LEED would require, anyway, and instead of putting their professional authority on the line, they might as well simply submit the documentation.
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