Two years after they went into effect, Phase II regulations are catching up with construction projects.

By Dan Rafter

The project is a massive one: The Iowa Department of Transportation has budgeted $429 million to rebuild Interstate 235, a 13.83-mile strip of roadway that travels through the heart of the state's busiest city, Des Moines.

State officials hope the project, which began in 2002 and is scheduled for completion in 2007, will result in a safer road. According to the state's department of transportation, I-235 is home to a higher-than-average number of accidents, with the roadway averaging 850 collisions a year. To reduce this figure engineers have designed a rebuilt roadway that features more lanes, more miles between entrance and exit ramps, and higher bridges to prevent the alarming number of collisions between tall trucks and low-clearance bridges.

The project, because of its sheer scope, presents a challenge to engineers who have to control the huge amounts of dirt, silt, and sediment that construction crews will inevitably kick up. And engineers on this project are hardly alone. Now that the second phase of requirements of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES Phase II) is in effect—or thanks to the threat of heavy fines—builders, engineers, developers, contractors, and landscapers across the country are taking extra precautions to limit the amount of sediment that leaves their work sites and infects nearby surface waters.

That is where Art Miner enters the picture. He's president of West Des Moines–based A.J. Garrett & Associates. His erosion control firm has been called in to help halt the spread of sediment during the I-235 project. To do this he'll use a host of measures, everything from traditional silt fence to coir wattles.

But whatever Miner does, he'll be certain to work carefully. Like most professional erosion control specialists, Miner knows that sediment control is more important today than it ever has been.

"The new federal regulations are having an impact on our industry, that's for sure," Miner says. "On this project, and on other government jobs, the regulations probably don't have as much of an impact. The people working on government jobs have always been very aware of how important it is to control sediment runoff. The government, I believe, is more conservation conscious. But private developers are different. The regulations have definitely changed the way they do business. They are looking at the regulations and the heavy fines they face if they don't follow them. That is what is motivating them to put more care into controlling sediment runoff."

Fortunately for both private developers and municipal engineers, companies offer an ever-growing array of products designed to help them prevent dirt and other sediment from leaving their job sites and polluting nearby lakes, rivers, or ponds. The options include silt fence, of course, but also straw and coir wattles, hay bales, settling ponds that hold water until dirt can sink to the bottom, and coagulants that contractors can add to bodies of water to cause sediment particles to clump together and settle out.

Miner's experience on the I-235 project is a good example of the way the sediment control process is changing for the better.

Rebuilding a Roadway

Controlling sediment on the I-235 rebuilding project is no simple task. Miner and his crew—which will range from three to seven people depending on the work A.J. Garrett & Associates is doing on a particular day—are putting in silt fence, installing storm drain inlet protectors, digging trenches, and laying erosion control blankets—basically everything you'd expect the sediment control contractor on such a large project to do.

Because they are working on a government project, Miner and his crew know that they will be watched closely. They must work carefully to follow all federal regulations, including those required under NPDES Phase II.

"There are major, major amounts of silt fence that are going into this project," Miner says. "The DOT people take sediment and erosion control very seriously. They are also willing to work with and listen to their contractors. If you suggest a method to them they'll take a hard look at it. They'll frequently go with your idea. They want everything done right. They don't want a street covered in mud. They want a good job done."

Besides its size, the I-235 project brings other challenges to Miner and his workers. Crew members are working in confined areas. When construction vehicles and workers open a slope area in the project area, the slope, because of the tight conditions, is naturally steeper. Because of this, Miner's workers must install more silt fence than they normally would.

Fortunately, technology is helping Miner meet these requirements. He's a fan of the Silt Fence Plow, for instance, a machine produced by Pleasantville, IA–based McCormick Equipment that allows his workers to more quickly install the fence. The machine saves Miner time, which is critical on a project as large as this one.

"It's a pretty simple design, but, boy, is it ever effective," Miner says of the product. "I've been using it for at least the last two years. It's very well built and heavy-duty. It's saved us so much time."

Chris McCormick, owner of McCormick Equipment, is seeing more contractors like Miner. He says sales of his product are strong, and have been rising ever since the new NPDES regulations have gone into effect. Contractors who install a better silt fence, McCormick adds, will more likely avoid the fines spelled out in the NPDES regulations.

"The regulations have certainly increased my business. The contractors don't want to get fined if they don't do things right," McCormick says. "For a lot of guys, avoiding the fines is the only real reason they are turning to products such as our plow. For some, preventing sediment from leaving their sites was a real afterthought. When they get a $10,000 fine, though, that wakes them up a little."

The fines have been so effective, McCormick says, many contractors have called his company requesting immediate delivery of the Silt Fence Plow. "They want one right now," McCormick says. "They didn't think of the need until the last minute, so they want it as soon as possible. That's not a problem; we keep a bunch in stock. But it shows how much the regulations have changed this business."

A Changing Era

McCormick is not the only erosion control specialist who has noticed the impact NPDES regulations have had on the industry. Municipal officials, too, are seeing big changes in the way developers approach sediment control.

Thanks largely to the threat of heavy fines, developers and builders—even some of the smallest outfits—require far less prodding from municipalities to include adequate sediment control measures in their construction plans.

In the Minnesota city of Eagan, with a population of about 63,000, municipal officials are discovering that builders and developers have steadily become more willing to include the latest in sediment control technology in their plans.

This is good news for Dave Westermayer, the city's engineering technician. Eagan, like many of the cities clustered around Minneapolis, is largely built out. That means developers approaching Westermayer are often working on fill-in projects. If these developers do not take the proper steps to control sediment, they are likely to send dirt and other debris into ponds, rivers, and lakes serving nearby communities, Westermayer notes. And although the city can't recommend specific products, Westermayer and his fellow engineering department employees do try to steer developers toward products that will help them more completely prevent sediment from leaving their sites.

"I think more developers are now aware of the NPDES regulations and how important it is to follow them," Westermayer says. "There are still a few out there that are resisting the change, to put it politely. But we've had developers who've gone out and purchased their own street sweepers to stay ahead of the regulations and stay in compliance. That's a good sign."

Westermayer says he expects developers to focus even more on the regulations as they hear about those who flout them and face serious fines. The fact that sediment control products are becoming easier to use and more effective will also help, he believes.

"As more and more developers work with these newer products and see the positive results, I think they will be more willing to include them in their projects," he comments. "They'll also see the benefits of not having government agencies on their backs all the time. They'll see the money they spent on these products upfront pay off in the end when they complete a project more quickly and without any fines."

One of the sediment control products Westermayer likes developers to use is the Road Drain, an inlet-protection device created and marketed by Shakopee, MN–based Wimco Inc., that prevents sediment from running into storm and sanitary sewers. The product sits below street level and is thus protected from construction vehicles that might run over an above-level inlet-protection device. It is also reusable, so contractors can tote it from one project to another, two benefits that have helped explain its popularity among municipal officials such as Westermayer.

Brian Wimberger, owner of Wimco, says his company specializes in two areas: providing inlet-protection devices for the post-curb and pre-curb construction phases of building projects. He says both products are gaining in popularity, and though the threat of federal fines is one reason, it is not the only reason. Contractors are choosing specially designed products such as Road Drain because they are easy to install and reusable.

"These products were developed early on, before the federal regulations were even taking effect," Wimberger says. "The regulations have driven the need, but on the other hand, the contractors have also come around on their own and are driving the need for this product. They are putting them in even in places where they are not requested. They are using them because they see the benefits not only environmentally but also on a cost-savings end."

By using these products, developers also are more likely to win contracts doled out by municipal officials, who have generally sought to work with builders who will cause the least amount of erosion and sediment problems, Wimberger notes.

Rick Lestina, water-resources engineer with the City of Maple Grove, MN, would agree with this. The City of Maple Grove encourages its utility contractor to install Road Drain inserts as soon as construction begins on a new housing development. Once enough vegetation has grown in the new construction area to guarantee that it is stable, the city's utility contractor will then remove the inserts.

And though the city cannot force developers to use any one product, Lestina and other municipal employees do let contractors know that they must use some sort of inlet-protection device if they want to do business in Maple Grove, a fast-growing Minneapolis suburb of 60,000 residents.

"The NPDES regulations haven't really changed the way we approach sediment control," Lestina says. "For us they are more of a formality. It's more paperwork, really. Most of the newer cities have been proactive as far as controlling sediment and erosion goes. NPDES has forced us to do more record-keeping on our best management practices, but it hasn't really changed the way we do business."

That isn't necessarily true, though, of the contractors and builders with whom Lestina works. "The regulations have helped us in the fact that it gives us more authority when we request that developers put in products like inlet-protection devices," Lestina says. "The regulations have made the developers much more aware of what they need to do. Having them go through the formality and paperwork means they have to take more responsibility. Now they have a permit that says you have to manage stormwater on your site, for instance. That was good for them. It forced them to be more aware."

Several new residential developments in Maple Grove are using the latest in sediment control products, including the Road Drain. This includes a particularly large project, Fieldstone, a more-than-500-home subdivision being built now by Orrin Thompson Homes in the southwestern portion of the city.

Developers shouldn't be surprised that Maple Grove requires such products, Lestina says. Officials with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency held several meetings across the state to explain to developers the basics of the new NPDES regulations and how they would impact them. "Sediment control has become much more of a standard item that our developers have to plan for," Lestina says. "When the city comes in and threatens to hold back work, the developers become aware pretty quickly of how important it is."

Building a Big Box

IKEA, the trendy home-furnishings store, has had a presence in Houston since 1992, when it first opened one of its popular stores in the city. But last September, the Swedish chain made an even bigger commitment to the area, breaking ground on a new IKEA store that will total 300,000 square feet and sit on a parcel of land measuring about 10 acres. The new store stands adjacent to the site of Houston's old IKEA, which construction workers demolished to create a 1,200-space parking lot, near Interstate 10 in the city.

General contractor Tribble & Stephens had a lot to worry about on the project, but one thing it didn't have to fret about was sediment control. Tribble & Stephens hired Bob Adair for that.

Adair is managing partner of Construction EcoServices, a Houston-based firm that specializes in writing stormwater pollution prevention plans for contractors and distributing erosion and sediment control products. His firm wrote detailed plans for the IKEA project, instructing Tribble & Stephens on how its workers can best prevent sediment, silt, and dirt from running off their job site. Adair's company has worked with the contractor since the project started in 2003 and conducts weekly site visits to make sure construction workers are following the steps laid out in the erosion control plan.

"This is a massive project," Adair says. "So the potential for problems was there. The contractor is using a large number of products to prevent any sediment problems. At the maximum period of the project, there was an amazing amount of products being used."

For example, workers installed more than 40 Siltsacks, a catch basin filter from Richmond, VA–based ACF Environmental, during the height of construction. They've also used more than a dozen Gutterbuddy curb inlet filters, also from ACF Environmental. Workers have relied on silt fence and hay bales, as well.

Adair says such variety is becoming more common as contractors learn more about the newer sediment control products on the market. "One of the challenges we face in trying to get contractors to implement a best management practice on a construction site is that most of the details found on the engineering plans for a project incorporate outdated, ineffective measures," Adair says. "If you want to do a good job, you typically have to replace those practices that have been specified in the engineering plans with more innovative solutions."

Most engineering plans call for silt fence for inlet protection, Adair notes. This presents problems; inlets usually sit in the middle of a construction area, which means that trucks, tractors, and machinery are constantly roaming near them. These vehicles tend to knock down the silt fence on a daily basis, Adair explains. He points to the Siltsack as a better inlet-protection device. The sack hangs below grade and is protected from construction traffic. At the same time, it works better than traditional silt fence in capturing sediment that would otherwise flow into an inlet.

Adair also grimaces whenever he sees engineering plans calling for sandbags as protection for inlets on busy streets. "One of the things we scratch our heads at is how anyone can willingly put sandbags in a busy roadway," he says. "The last thing I want to do as a contractor or subcontractor is put my general contractor at risk of a lawsuit after a driver hits those sandbags at 35 miles an hour coming around a corner. Then there's the whole idea of putting 50-pound bags of dirt into an inlet area where you don't want dirt to go. These bags deteriorate in the sun. If anyone hits them, bang, there goes dirt right down the drain."

A better solution? Adair often recommends the Gutterbuddy. "You can drive over that all the time and never hit it," he says. "It's just another solution to the old problem of controlling sediment. Intelligent people are looking for solutions all the time."

New Solutions

David Kelley, national products manager with ACF Environmental, expected to see a big increase in demand for his products in March 2003 when the NPDES Phase II regulations took effect. But the real surge came this year as contractors finally caught up to the regulations.

Reacting to the higher demand, ACF is constantly working on new products to help control sediment, Kelley says. "We learned that not one product solves all the problems. We started manufacturing our own as needs popped up in the field."

ACF isn't the only sediment control company that's seen a demand for new products. Newbury Park, CA–based Eco-Blok has seen a growing interest in its namesake product, a barrier and filter made from recycled tires.

Thomas Horan, managing partner with the company, says he isn't surprised. Eco-Bloks, he says, are durable, lasting about 10 years, and are also reusable. And one Eco-Blok does the work of two sandbags.

"Sandbags are always breaking down," Horan notes. "They are always decomposing. That causes two problems: Not only does the decomposing sandbag not prevent work-site sediment from going down a drain, which is what the sandbag was placed there to do, it also adds to the problem. Its own sand will go down the drain, too. It doubles the impact. You've added to the problem rather than solved it."

And though the Phase II regulations have boosted demand for his product, Horan says, manufacturers such as Eco-Blok still face an uphill battle in convincing contractors to turn from the traditional to the innovative.

"The builders are used to putting a couple of sandbags out there and calling it a day," Horan says. "Our challenge in this industry is to promote the innovative products we do offer. It can be a tough sell. The upfront cost is what makes contractors think twice. We just have to convince them that over a longer period of time, our products will be cheaper to use."

Dan Rafter is a technical writer specializing in erosion and sediment control based in Chesterton, IN.

EC - January February 2005