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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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124 Comments
A client with ongoing site works asks about LEED feasibility
The owner of a project is considering the possibility of the project to become LEED Certified. The current works on site include a excavation of a hill, and the works had been conducted following local codes that don't include many practices required by EPA 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. / 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. or good practices according with LEED.
As the project is in the very first stage, I found reasonable the position of the project owner to become LEED, as much of the work is yet to be done. Once he make his decission, a regular ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan will be in place, and will do the best corrective measures if needed.
In this point, I need some comment. This ESC Plan and corrective measures will be enough to be accepted by USGBC to the prerequisite SSp1, even if in the first months of work there have been less comprehensive control measures and not so much documentation? Considering that most of the works on site will be covered by the ESC Plan, I need to be sure that we won't have any problem complying with the Pre-requisite, as it's mandatory to gain LEED Certification. Any comment on former experiences will be much appreciated.
Same as below. I would begin to implement a plan immediately and follow-up with GBCI directly for confirmation. I would expect that you would be o.k., but that is something for the GBCI to confirm.
Thank you Steve.. To find this confirmation of GBCI, should be via a CIRCredit Interpretation Ruling. Used by design team members experiencing difficulties in the application of a LEED prerequisite or credit to a project. Typically, difficulties arise when specific issues are not directly addressed by LEED information/guide? Or just ask by mail once the project is registered? What's the better way? Thank you in advance.
Late implementation no.2
Hello all,
I have another question regarding late implementation of the EPA’s requirements.
Our project is a shopping mall in Prague, Czech Republic. The client considers LEED certification; however demolition works have been already done (e.g. site clearance, trees removed) without required ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan and also without necessary photo documentation.
Considering that the major ground works will be done according ESC plan, it could be little odd not to be eligible for the whole LEED certification.
Thank you for any suggestion and help!
I would expect that you would be o.k. here. It sounds like demo was a different phase of work? If LEED is on the table for the current scope, you should begin to implement an ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan immediately. I would consider following up with the GBCI directly.
NC Major Renovation with minimal site disturbance
Dear LEEDUsers,
We are working towards certifying our own office building (an existing 50 year old, single story structure of ~7,000 sf on a 0.64 ac lot). We initially registered it as CI&D and now realized that we do not really fit into this category (miscommunication with our LEED AP consultant). We are now aware that we need to re-register as BD&C, which requires satisfying prerequisite 1 in Site Selection Section.
The project is 2-years old, because we are doing most of the work (design, drawings, and some installations) in-house, the progress has been slow. Site elements have been complete long ago, without implementing any sediment control measures. But, because the site is existing, there were only two instances of site disturbance that occurred:
1. Landscaping (pulling up some lawn, and placing flagstone, decorative plants, and mulch) - complete in a few days, during a dry weather period.
2. Pulling up a 15'x45' piece of paving, former parking area (waste was placed directly into the truck for removal) and filled it with organic soil for gardening. This portion was complete in early spring, which soon after was turned into a communal employee garden.
The question is, because of purely aesthetic site disturbances and the size of total property (less that 1 acre), is the erosion and sediment plan required? And how do we take on the satisfying prerequisite 1?
Thank you,
Monika
You will still need to have an ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan that addresses what measures were / will be taken when those minor site improvements take place, and any other site impacts from construction like vehicle traffic, etc. You may want to fill out the Special Circumstances narrative in the prerequisite form to describe how you dealt with ESC in this existing, major renovation project. However, you will not be exempt from the requirement.
SSp1 / ESC plan and the Multi-Building Campus Guidance
Hi there -
I'm working on a 4-building office campus that is being developed all in one phase. The current plan is to certify each building individually and use the Master Site documentation process. Does anyone know why, in the new Multi-Building Campus Guidance that was recently released, SSp1 is designated as an Individual building credit instead of eligible for the Master Site documentation? This project has just one campus-wide ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan, which is what the City required. I would think this is a perfect credit for the Master Site documentation process. Do I just upload the same site-wide ESC plan four times to the individual building LEED Online profiles? We wouldn't be required to create new, building-by-building ESC plans just for LEED, would we?
I can't speak to why the prerequisite was omitted from the new guidance, but I would expect that you could still use essentially the same plan and make minor adjustments to the plan for each building.
Late implementation due to temporary cancelation of project
Hi everyone! Here's a tricky one...
I am a little confused about the possibility of achieving SSp1 on a project. This project started grading activities on 2009 advancing about 50% of these activities. After that the project was cancelled and in 2011 the owner decided to continue the construction activities, making a lot of chages to the design of the project and deciding to certify it.
Is it possible to comply with SSp1 considering that no or minimum ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation activities were made from 2009 to 2011?
I would really appreciate your help.
Sounds like many things are interacting that may lead to the project being defined by some milestone after the redesign, or considering some portions of the site to be "developed". It is also important to understand the local regulations that have been in effect while this work was done, as they may be equivalent to the EPA requirements for erosion and sedimentation control since clean air and clean water acts influence many municipal policies.
As long as the project has been actively implementing an ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan during the current development of the project site, you should be o.k. The history of the site shouldn't be an issue, just what has been done since LEED has been set as a project goal in the current phase of the project.
ESC Plan and CAPP Plan for Sloped Site
We have a Hotel project which will be constructed on a mountain with the whole site having a slope towards west. The 8 storied building is flush with the mountain such that only one or two sides are having exposure to ambient conditions, remaining sides are flush with the mountain.
Now, since the building is located on a sloped terrain, what types of methods are suitable for ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation? The site area is approx 80000 m2 with a building footprintBuilding footprint is the area on a project site used by the building structure, defined by the perimeter of the building plan. Parking lots, parking garages, landscapes, and other nonbuilding facilities are not included in the building footprint. of approx 15000 m2. Do I need to consider the erosion of bare site area (the site areas except the footprint and hardscape/landscape will not be disturbed during construction) and implement measures to control erosion in those areas?
Currently the BMPs planned are Fabric fencing, water sprinkling, dedicated areas for washing tools etc..My question is how to control the erosion due to stormwater on this sloped site?
Thanks in advance..
Arub,
A civil engineer familiar with the site conditions could better answer your question about what BMPs are most appropriate for your site. It sounds like those currently being planned are on the right track and appropriate. You need to consider all erosion and sedimentation that can be attributed to construction activities and the development of the site. In my experience, that generally includes areas that are otherwise undisturbed but still part of the project site and within the LEED boundary.
Dust Reduction (general and from a concrete crusher)
Our project is located in an extremely dusty location outside of the U.S. with very light annual rainfall. The project footprint is about 30% of the overall site. The rest of the site is exposed soil (this is mostly due to the natural condition of the site, not construction activities.) Landscaping and parking facilities will occur at later stages. We are working with the contractor to meet their LEED requirements and the dust issue keeps coming up, both from our side and from the client. We have an ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan in place (site watering, fencing, wind breaks, and housekeeping as well as some erosion measures) and all are being done routinely and often.
We are also trying to earn MR2 Exemplary PerformanceIn LEED, certain credits have established thresholds beyond basic credit achievement. Meeting these thresholds can earn additional points through Innovation in Design (ID) or Innovation in Operations (IO) points. As a general rule of thumb, ID credits for exemplary performance are awarded for doubling the credit requirements and/or achieving the next incremental percentage threshold. However, this rule varies on a case by case basis, so check the credit requirements. by diverting 95% of the construction waste. In order to do this, we need to crush the concrete waste. We have a crusher on site that does this but it creates a significant amount of dust. We have tried reducing this dust (extra watering, only operating during low/no wind days) but are still having a problem.
There are no applicable local laws similar to EPA 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..
Are there Air Quality StandardsThe level of pollutants prescribed by regulations that are not to be exceeded during a given time in a defined area. (EPA) (PM10 parts per million limits for example) in the EPA CGP? Everything I have been able to find in this standard relates to water issues, not air.
If no specific air quality issues are part of compliance with SSp1, is it your view that the BMPs we are implementing are sufficient to demonstrate compliance? Are further structural solutions for the crusher (we are thinking of enclosing the crusher in a large sheet metal shed or similar) required or suggested?
Any ideas or experience with this is appreciated.
Sam,
I would say that your efforts are on the right track and that any further BMPs that you can implement to support the intent of SSp1 (reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling...airborne dust generation) would be appropriate, including enclosing the crusher. I'm not aware of any specific air quality standardsThe level of pollutants prescribed by regulations that are not to be exceeded during a given time in a defined area. (EPA) in the EPA 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.. Sounds like you have a challenging site but that your implementation of BMPs is on the right track.
Temporary Structure Phase 1A question for ESC...
We have a project that has multiple phases, the first of which is just a the erection of a temporary retail facility. Upon completion of the temporary facility, the majority of the site will be zoned off, the existing building will be demo'd, and a new building will be built in its place.
Do we need to provide documentation that the temporary facility and the required site work for it followed our ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan, or do we need to only provide documentation for the area of the site which is fenced off for the demolition and construction of the new building? The temporary facility was a separate phase of site work. ESC measures are in place to prevent the contamination of the area of the temp facility from the construction work on the new building.
Thank you for any help you can provide.
A corollary to the above question would be, if we have photos, but not "date stamped" photos of the temporary facility ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation work, can regular photos be used in combination with contractor and civil engineer testimonials?
Rick,
Not having date stamped photos shouldn't be an issue. In my experience, providing your own date stamp in the title of the photo works for LEED documentation, supported by a narrative, your ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan, inspection reports, etc. To your question about phasing and scope, an ESC plan should be implemented for 100% of the area you are including in your LEED boundary for 100% of the scope included in your LEED submittal, without any gaps or lapse in implementation. From what I understand you are implementing an ESC plan for all phases of construction and you are just concerned about what is required for LEED documentation.
Thank you Steve. This website is a great resource. I appreciate your wisdom.
BMP for Large Urban Development
Dear All,
In a mixed use project on a previously developedPreviously developed sites are those altered by paving, construction, and/or land use that would typically have required regulatory permitting to have been initiated (alterations may exist now or in the past). Previously developed land includes a platted lot on which a building was constructed if the lot is no more than 1 acre; previous development on lots larger than 1 acre is defined as the development footprint and land alterations associated with the footprint. Land that is not previously developed and altered landscapes resulting from current or historical clearing or filling, agricultural or forestry use, or preserved natural area use are considered undeveloped land. The date of previous development permit issuance constitutes the date of previous development, but permit issuance in itself does not constitute previous development." site, soil will be excavated 135 ft. deep with excavation limits almost on the propertly line (the vertical slopes will of course be stabilized with retaining structures). In case of storm water accumulation during construction, this stormwater will be pumped to storage tanks to be discharged to sewers after the storm event. There are no surface water in the vicinity as this is a very densely developed urban area.
What kind of BMPs are advisable in such a case? We believe that the only way stormwater would leave the construction site is through discharges from these tanks or through vehicles leaving the site.
Due to the nature of the site, storm events will have the tendency to bring sedimentation into this construction site in majority of cases instead of vice versa. Are measures necessary to prevent this?
Thank you.
Omer,
See the information under the "zero lot lines" heading above. You will have to determine what of the EPA 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 and what BMPs apply to your site and be sure to implement those. Write your ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan based on your site conditions and be sure that you are meeting the prerequisite intent. Any piece of the prerequisite requirements that don't apply to your site should be addressed in a narrative and documented.
What is a "date-stamped photo"?
What is a "date-stamped photo"?
The digital camera likely has an option to code the date and time directly onto a corner of the image when the photo is taken, embedded directly into the file.
Licensed Professional Exemption
The LEED-Online submittal form states that a LPE is available to Registered Civil Engineers in lieu of providing an ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan and construction drawings. Plus, there is a "Streamlined Path" option to select if this option is made. What exactly does this require of the registered CE to ensure compliance with this prereq.? The RG is silent on this option.
Elliot,
My understanding is that you just need to provide documentation of your professional credentials via your GBCI account.
...and that you will still need to provide a copy of the ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan and a narrative at a minimum.
BMPs from Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington
for SSp1 would it be acceptable to choose BMPs from the Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington, which is referenced for the GIBp4 prerequisite in LEED Neighborhood Development? or do
many thanks!
Hi,
We have the same issue. The project will be LEED ND Certified but each of the buildings will seek LEED NC cartification. The reference guides for SS Pr1 and GIB Pr4 are different even though they address the same issue - erosion and pollution control. Can someone explain why it`s like this and whether there is a way to use one reference for both certifications? Thank you!!!
Jutta,
If you are working on a NC project, you can only use a different standard if it is more stringent than the referenced standard.
one ESCP plan, two projects
Dear Tristan
My earlier query is referred
In summary, there are two projects, with sites adjacent each other. They are going for separate LEED certification
However the ESCP plan and implementation is awarded to a contractor which implements it for both sites
Hence am i correct to say that this one ESCP plan and monitoring data will be submited for both projects which are going for separate LEED certification?
That should be fine. Just make sure you have photos documenting measures on both sites. Also be careful with the selection of your LEED boundary. Check the MPRs in that regards.
New York City
Does anyone have an example of what they did for this credit in New York city or any other major urban area with Zero lot lines?
I have done projects like this before. You basically just have to make sure that trucks leaving the site, don't track dirt. So tire washing station is a good idea. Also dust control during construction is an issue. Last but not least depending an how you do the groundwork you might have a little bit of soil exposed around the site. Make sure that sand and soil doesn't get swapped off site by the rain (silt fence). A drawing really is not necessary for this, if anything you'll need a site plan with the property line. Also keep in mind that staging areas have to be included too.
I hope this is helping you at least a little bit.
Air Pollution
SSp1 was marked under pending for my current project. The review tells me to provide a revised LEED Prerequisite Form that includes a detailed narrative describing the measures taken for the prevention of polluting the air with dust.
As part of the original submission I've provided a narrative describing the measures we took to avoid air pollution (The area was hosed down with water as needed to avoid air pollution. Soil was kept damp to avoid soil loss by the wind.)
What else do I need to put in my narrative? I've already added that we used mats to avoid tracking material in the building and also vacuumed or swept at least one daily to avoid polluting the air with floor debris. This is a Prerequisite so it is very important that I get this point. Any advice?
Katie - I assume this is occurring during the Construction Final Review of your project and that you have confirmed that the template had a narrative portion included. In addition, you need to have uploaded photo documentation of the Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation) plan being implemented with the following: 1) sample dates 2) inspection frequency 3) at least 3 inspections equally spaced over the site work period 4) Descriptions of any corrective action taken.
At this point, make sure the narrative has adequately described the ESC plan in all aspects and be clear that it complies with EPA's 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. requirements. (If local code is more stringent, then a thorough comparison in a narrative is necessary.) Your project's civil engineer may be able to review and expand the narrative, or choose the streamlined path to confirm compliance. At this point it seems you have addressed the comment adequately.
Is demolition also part of the ESC-plan
Hello,
I have got a question concerning a project which will start within the next weeks.
Before the start of earth and construction works, an old building on the site has to be demolished. Do we already have to develop and install an ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation-plan for the demolition works or is it compliant to start afterwards when the excavation and earth works for the basement of the new building will begin?
Thanks for helping!
Christian, the ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan should be in place for the whole project. If demolition is in the scope of the project, then the ESC plan should be applicable to that.
Requirements for existing building in NYC
We are undertaking a gut renovation of an existing NYC building on a zero-lot line. The only exterior work involved is the replacement of the roof. The project is registered for LEED NC due to the scope of the renovation. What documentation would we require to meet SSPr1? Would completing the special circumstances narrative be sufficient?
Thanks
Ilana
Ilana, please see the guidance above under Bird's Eye View for zero-lot-line buildings, and earlier discussions on this forum. There is a bit more to it than that...
Existing site
We are going to build an office space (5000ft2) within an industrial plant and will renovate completely and existing office building attached tho the industrial plant. The office space will use one existing wall of the plant and also three other walls from previous offices, also the roof will be existing. All the inner spaces and so the concrete slabs, including the slab on grade will be demolished to include the proper new foundations. So basically the main shell is going to be maintained. The question arises because we are planning to certify the building as NC 2009 and we don't know how the ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan was executed when they first built the existing space. Is it valid to do a new ESC plan since we will have to do some earth work inside the envelope to dig the foundations of the new structure? Does the ESC plan will have to include some measurements about dust coming out of the demolition process? Thanks.
The ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation Plan has to include any areas, which will be impacted by your scope of work of this project. So if you have areas, where building materials get stored, spaces for construction equipment or any such thing, when your plan has to include these areas.
Measures to prevent dust during the demolition phase will have to be included.
You would necessary use the old ESC plan, because it's a different scope of work now. But it might be helpful for the new ESC plan to know, what was done during the original construction.
Thanks Susann, the issue here is that I don't even now if there was an ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan for that construction, probably not. I've heard that if you are going to certify EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. and the building didn't have an ESC plan you are not able to certify it. So my question is due to the fact that there will be some earth movement, demolition, etc. during this construction, if I follow an ESC plan I want to be sure that I will be able to certify it, even though previous development hadn't.
Best
I'm assuming that you have an existing building, which hasn't been build recently, right? (I ask that questions, because otherwise it might look like you are excluding that to get around the ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation Plan for the total building construction work.) If you are basically using this building and change it as well as add to the building and certify that scope according to LEED NC, then you would created a new ESC Plan for your scope of the project and that would be it.
I haven't heard of any requirement in regards to an ESC Plan for an existing building. Is the existing building certified LEED NC or LEED EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems.?
No the existing building is not certified,it is like 20-30 years old. It is and industrial plant with an office building attached to it. Basically we are major renovating the office building, which includes some earth movement, demolition, stock piling, trucks, etc. Of course the LEED boundary will not include the industrial plant so our ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan will be just for the areas we are going to touch.
Yes. You would include only your scope of the project into the ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan, but be sure to include any areas, which are used for materials or equipment as well as preparations during the construction work. Also areas where you stock pill / store soil need to be included into your ESC Plan. Basically any areas, which gets in anyway used or disturbed by the your construction work. Also your areas has to include at a minimum your LEED project boundary.
LEED NC SSp1 Is Esc always required? All phases?
We are working on a phased construction project for the (major) renovation of a small single-story City owned recreation center (+/- 1200 sf) and associated site improvements. Phase 1 involved all site work including new parking and vehicular access and walkways, etc. An ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation Plan was developed and implemented in accordance with local and 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. requirements for Phase 1. Phase 2 is now about to commence and involves the renovation of the building itself. The local agency (who is also the owner/operator of the proposed community center) indicates than an ESC Plan is NOT required for Phase 2 to meet local and NPDES requirements. As the LEED project administrators, should we mandate an ESC Plan to satisfy SSp1 or are we ok with a certification from the City that one is not required? Obviously, our concern here is not satisfying a Prerequisite and blowing any shot at LEED certification. Thanks in advance for your collective wisdom.
In new construction projects, it is reasonable to have an ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan only for the phase of the project that involves site impacts. As your project continues into the next phase of building renovation, this is still all part of your LEED NC submission and this initial phase work should be sufficient.
Be prepared to upload the ESC plan, describe the ESC measures in the template, and have back-up documentation from the contractor regarding the implementation of the measures to be reviewed during the LEED Online Construction Review process.
SHoring
we are working on a project with 6 basements.The excavation is done after hammering steel sheets(shoring) in the perimiter of the excavation area ground (so no slope exacavation is made) and in case of rainwater pumping is done to remove rain water by hoses to closest rain water outlet.
so as the contractor claim no erosion control plan is required is this correct?
An erosion control plan is always needed—it may be very short and basic in a case like this. See our advice above under Bird's Eye View on what must be covered, including advice for for zero lot line buildings.
Hello Tarek:
Tristan is correct, you still need to have an erosion control plan in place and follow the measures within the document. This document will need to be uploaded along with a narrative of the measures implemented on site during construction. I would guess that your equipment doing the shoring would pickup soil and damage certain area's of the site, therefore you will need to have a plan in place to clean the equipment prior to leaving the site as this is a form of soil erosion. Your civil engineer should be able to help you develop your erosion control plan for the project. Make sure to take photo's of these measures being implemented, so you can provide proof of implementation.
SS P1 outside of the United States
For a building starting construction in February 2011 do we follow the 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. 2003, like it says in the reference guide, or do we refer to the newer Construction General Permit 2008? Is there any difference in content? Do we have to follow 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. for a project outside of the United States? Or do we simply state in our narrative that the Construction General Permit and NPDES are not relevant as the project is outside of the United States and refer to local codes, even if less stringent, in our ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation Plan? What if there are no local codes?
Hi Catherine: I would assume for permitting, you would need to use the most current version, and the reference guide does state that you use the most stringent local standards. In the case of working outside of the US and no local codes exist, I would create your own best practices and follow them and document them the same as you would a project in the US. I don't have personal experience with working on projects outside the US, so I am not the authority, but the intent of the credit should still be upheld. Hope this helps.
Cleared land - How to consider stockpilling?
If a site has been bought with all vegetation removed by the previous owner the stockpiling will not longer be available because the site has been already clared-out of any existing vegetation, if there was any at all.
How does LEED consider this type of sites so the can comply with SSP1?
Thank you.
I am not familiar enough with the ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation requirements to give you specific advice relative to stockpiling. However, I would say that LEED would require you to do everything possible to comply with ESC measures going forward. If something has been done in the past that makes this difficult, you'd be expected to mitigate it as best as possible.
Stockpiling of soil isn't a requirement, but should be implemented when applicable and relevant. Stockpiling is a BMPBest Management Practice for managing excavated soil and is an alternative to hauling excavated soil from the site and purchasing soil and/or fill later.
Limit Boundary -
The project is located on a 2.67 ha L-shaped site and it consists on the following:
• 4 underground levels of parking
• 3 levels of retail (covering the entire site)
• 3 towers that come out of the retail (the three towers start out at the 4th level)
This project will be built on different phases being the 1st phase:
• One of the three towers (office building)
• The retail under the office building
• The 4 subfloors for parking under the retail
All 1st phase will apply for LEED certification. The 1st phase is currently under DD and the MEP is not yet specified. This 1st phase will have separate MEP from the rest of the project.
According to the MPR 3 MUST USE A RESONABLE SITE BOUNDARY:
The LEED project boundary must include all contiguous land that is associated with and supports normal building operations for the LEED project building, including all land that was or will be disturbed for the purpose of undertaking the LEED project.
Is it ok to establish the LEED project boundary as only a portion of the site since only the 1st phase will apply for certification?
We need to establish what the LEED Boundary will have to cover so we can know if the erosion and stormwater sedimentation controls regarding SSP1 need to be implemented on the entire site or only in the portion of it.
It sounds to me like this is reasonable.
However, why would you not implement an ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan on the whole site?
Hello Tristan,
I am particularly interested in this question since I have a similar situation myself. The problem of implementing an ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan in the whole site in a situation like this is cost.
So what do you think? Will the prerrequisite sill be met or not with the ESC measures implemented only in a portion of a site?
You would have to meet the ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation measures on the entire LEED Project Boundary, and the LEED boundary has to be set to take in the scope of work relative to the LEED project. There is more info on that in the Reference Guide and Minimum Program Requirements.
I would question whether it's really within the spirit of LEED to only do the minimum requirement here. In the U.S.., this prerequisite is generally standard practice, anyway. Can you try to do the plan on all of the affected site area?
We do think the same way. Some of the measures can be full implemented, such as;
1. No runoff is leaving the site
2. All stormwater is being filtered
3. Due to regular weather conditions all soil is wet mostly of the time so no dust is airborne
4. All trucks are covering debris comming out of the site
5. Streets surrounding the site are always free of mud/dirt
But that's about it.
What if dust prevention and stormwater runnoff mitigation measures are fully implemented at the site (they are standard practice in Panama), however the slope protection is just covered within the LEED project boundary.
Like i mentioned before, it is a matter of cost. I need to be 100% sure the prerrequisite will be met.
Thank you for your help tristan.
I think it's a bad idea and not what LEED is about to only use slope protection within the LEED project boundary. Also, I am not clear on why you would have disturbed site area that is not within the LEED boundary.
Ok, I think I didn't explain myself properly. First of all I would like to start by defining the LEED Project Building then try to define what the LEED Project Boundary will be (I need some help in this), this is a particular situation that I think will be of interest by others.
This is the project:
-Zero lot line mixed use project with three buildings and underground parking.
-Only one of these building will apply for LEED certification.
-The project will be built by phases, being phase 1 the construction of the LEED project building and the entire uderground parking lot that will be shared with all buildings (LEED and not LEED buildings), this phase 1 is defined by a construction joint.
-The LEED building will have separate MEP from the rest of the buildings
My first question is:
1. ¿How would you draw the LEED Boundary in this case? My assumption is that, since the LEED Project Building will be delimited by the construction joint and will have independent MEP, this joint will be our LEED Project Boundary. ¿Will this be acceptable?
Yes, I would say that definition of the LEED boundary makes sense.
Thank you Tristan. Like I mentioned before the entire underground parking will be built along with the LEED Building, and this parking uses all site meaning it goes beyond the LEED project boundary.
We want to apply for SS credits 4.3 LE and FE vehicles, 4.4 parking capacity and 7.1 heat island effectHeat island effect refers to the absorption of heat by hardscapes, such as dark, nonreflective pavement and buildings, and its radiation to surrounding areas. Particularly in urban areas, other sources may include vehicle exhaust, air-conditioners, and street equipment; reduced airflow from tall buildings and narrow streets exacerbates the effect. non roof.
If some parking spaces assigned to the LEED project building, ¿how do you demonstrate compliance with the credits without gerrymandering with the LEED project boundary?
Tristan, one more question.
If this is a zero lot line project, and during the excavation we will have some lopes, Do we need to protect those slopes from soil erosion?
I thought, since it is a zero lot line project we only need to take care of receiving channels protection and avoid the dust particulate, but not much about soil erosion (we are just protecting the entries and exits from soil carried away by trucks' tires.
David, that last question is at a level of detail that I'm not expert in. I would assume so, but the answer would lie in your ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan and the EPA rules for that.
I don't think it's gerrymandering to only keep parking spaces assigned to the project building within the LEED boundary, particularly if there is a logical geographic boundary for those parking spaces vs. others. However, this would be a good question to confirm with GBCI—please post back here what you learn.
I will ask the GBCI, they are taking weeks now because of the amount of work but as soon as I get an answer I will share it.
In case I have really specific questions (like the one about the slope protection), who would you advise to contact? I need more information about how to comply with an ESCAn Erosion and Sedimentation Control (ESC) plan is a collection of measures designed to reduce pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation and airborne dust generation plan in a foreign country. The EPA website has lots of information but when it comes to international project everything seems to be a little blurry.
This may not be the answer you want to hear, but an obvious answer is to hire a civil engineer or a LEED consultant familir with the issues.
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