Section 2: Mobilization & Site Preparation
Good site preparation will save you both time and money during the course of the projects.
Good Housekeeping
Water Source Protection
Most Americans obtain their drinking water from municipal sources and a significant number of those sources are from groundwater. As a contractor, your activities could inadvertently contaminate drinking water sources (for example by spilling a hazardous chemical on the ground or by improperly decommissioning an underground storage tank.) Protecting the quality of drinking water sources should always be considered during construction.
The well owner is responsible for determining the location of the well. As a contractor, you can avoid cleanup obligations for contamination through a written agreement with the well owner. This agreement would identify what activities are allowed within specific distances from the well.
The following BMPs will help you protect essential drinking water sources.
Best Management Practices
Objective:
Prevent contamination of drinking water sources.
Practices:
- Know the location of wells near your construction area.
- Check with the local public water supplier prior to construction (could be a municipal water bureau or a private corporation) and the Utah Division of Drinking Water (contact information below) to determine if the project is in a wellhead protection zone.
- Septic drain fields must be located at least 100 feet away and may have to be considerably greater distances away from the well, depending upon specific soil conditions.
- Inquire about local requirements, such as spill containment procedures.
- In the event of a hazardous chemical spill or a spill from an underground storage tank, contact the Division of Solid & Hazardous Waste (contact information below). You should also call the Disaster and Emergency Services office in your county.
- Do not use old wells as disposal sites.
- Design terrain to keep drainage away from wellhead.
- Make sure hazardous or toxic materials are stored in secondary containment structures at least 100 feet away from any wellhead.
- Protect new wells from surface water contamination by installing anti-back siphoning valves between the well and water pipes, including fire hydrants.
- Keep proper absorbent materials on-site for initial response to spills.
Regulations
Congress passed the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act that empowers the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to adopt and enforce rules that must be met by each public water system in the nation.
The Division of Drinking Water (DDW) is responsible for implementing the Drinking Water Act rules in Utah. See Environmental Compliance & Permitting Requirements in Section 1 for information on Water Well Drilling requirements.
The Division of Emergency Response and Remediation (DERR) is responsible for administering the Underground Storage Tank (UST) program. The primary goal of the program is to protect human health and the environment from leaking underground storage tanks. The UST staff oversees: UST notification, installation, inspection, removal, and compliance with State and Federal UST regulations concerning release prevention and remediation.
For information on county-specific regulations, see Contacts below.
Contacts
Site Stabilization
Preservation of Existing Vegetation
Make preserving natural features a goal for every new development. Many sites have natural features that add economic and practical value as well as aesthetic interest. The following BMPs will help you preserve natural features at the construction site.
Best Management Practices
Objectives:
- Keep natural features intact and healthy.
- Maintain habitat for fish and wildlife.
- Protect surface water from pollutants, sedimentation, and damage.
- Protect groundwater from surface drainage.
Practices:
- Do not fill or build on wetlands.
- Clear only areas needed to install streets, driveways, parking areas, and building foundations.
- Maintain or replant desirable and hardy native trees and shrubs.
- Install and maintain oil and sediment traps in storm drains, especially in parking areas.
- Use biofiltration (permeable bags filled with chips or bales of straw) during construction to control erosion.
- Avoid using herbicides to remove vegetation.
- Maintain varying heights of vegetation for wildlife (native ground covers, understory shrubs, mid-level trees, and high canopy trees) and a diverse mix of trees and shrubs.
- Remove nuisance plants such as Purple Loosestrife and Stinging Nettles, and replant with native plants like Rushes, Sedges, and Cinquefoil.
- Maintain a riparian forest buffer area as required by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) adjacent to streams, lakes, ponds, and wetlands. This is an area of trees, shrubs, or grass that reduces excess amounts of pollutants in surface runoff and shallow groundwater flow.
Regulations
See General Storm Water Permit in Section 1 under Environmental Compliance & Permitting Requirements.
Contacts
Dust Suppression and Controls
Construction and demolition activities have the potential to cause large amounts of fugitive dust. Fugitive dust is simply dust that is stirred up, creating an air quality problem. It is made up of fine particles called particulate matter or PM. Because it irritates eyes and nasal tissue and seriously impacts the respiratory system, PM is a health concern.
Fugitive dust emissions result from:
- Construction, alteration, repair, or demolition of buildings or roads
- Operation of equipment
- Handling, transport, or storage of materials
The following BMPs provide practical solutions for controlling fugitive dust.
Best Management Practices
Objective:
- To prevent particulate matter from becoming airborne.
Practices:
- Use of water or non-toxic chemicals to control dust around material stockpiles during demolition, construction, grading of roads, or clearing of land.
- Limit the driving speed of construction vehicles.
- Enclose material stockpiles when the use of water or chemicals is not sufficient to prevent particulate matter from becoming airborne.
- Install and use hoods, fans, and fabric filters to enclose and vent particulates from dusty materials.
- Provide adequate containment during sandblasting or other similar operations.
- Cover open-bodied trucks that transport materials likely to become airborne.
- Promptly remove from paved streets dirt or other material that could become airborne.
Regulations & Contacts
See Fugitive Dust Control Plan in Section 1 under Environmental Compliance & Permitting Requirements.
Vehicle & Equipment Management
Washdown Areas
Buildings, vehicles, tanks, containers, paint brushes, and other equipment are often washed at the construction site. Pollutants from these activities can run off directly or indirectly (via storm drains) into rivers, streams, groundwater, and other water bodies. Vehicles and equipment are sources of oil, grease, and toxics, particularly when they are not properly maintained.
The following BMPs will provide you with practical ways to prevent contamination of waterways.
Best Management Practices
Objective:
- Stop pollutants from entering storm drains and leaching into groundwater.
Practices:
- Do not wash spilled material into storm drains.
- Wash vehicles off-site. Take them to a “proper location” (e.g., car wash).
- Change oil and antifreeze off-site and recycle off-site.
- If dirty construction vehicles are washed on-site, do it in a designated concrete area that has the following characteristics:
- Well marked as a wash area.
- No bigger than needed to park and wash the largest vehicle.
- Posted with a sign that forbids washing with solvents or changing oil, and indicates the nearest oil recycling facility.
- Paved and drained by a system that leads to an oil/water separator and is connected to the sanitary sewer.
- Provide temporary gravel base on-site to keep vehicles clean.
- Biodegradable washing detergents and chemicals are encouraged. Do not use detergents or cleaners containing phosphate. Minimize the quantity of soap, detergents, or other chemicals used.
- When practical, collect all wash water containing soaps or other cleaning chemicals for reuse or discharge to a sanitary sewer.
- Maintain and monitor catch basins (big basins designed to infiltrate the water, not just for detention purposes) regularly. Where land is being cleared, protect catch basins by covering the inlet with filter fabric (place fabric under gate).
- Maintain oil/water separators. Clean them before three inches of oil accumulates in the entry chamber. Do not use soap or other dispersants to clean the separator.
- Sweep paved outdoor surfaces rather than spraying with water, which may wash pollutants into the drainage system. Pick up and dispose of sweepings in the trash unless they contain hazardous waste. If they contain hazardous waste, the sweepings must be separated and managed appropriately.
- Educate equipment operators on methods to report and contain spills, such as a ruptured hydraulic line or fuel leak.
Regulations & Contacts
See General Storm Water Permit in Section 1 under Environmental Compliance & Permitting Requirements.
Waste & Materials Management
Material Separation and Recycling
See Recycling of Materials in Section 1 under Waste & Material Management.
Contacts
