February 29, 2008

Professional Development

Meeting environment regulations can be planned

By working with environment, goals can be achieved

VINCE VERSACE

staff writer

TORONTO

Finding ways in which road builders can plan for and work within environmental regulations is the goal of a new Road Building Academy environmental course.

“Environmental sustainability and compliance should not be an extra job, it should be the way you do your job,” said Lucy Keating, HETEK Ltd. consultant and course presenter.

Environmental sustainability, regulation and compliance in road building operations were explored by Keating during the 81st annual Ontario Road Builders’ Association conference.

Environmental regulations may appear too cumbersome, but Keating explained that industry members need to remember why certain requirements are in place.

“A big issue for regulators is the impact you have on one element, is an impact on all,” said Keating. “Legislation and regulations are designed that way.”

Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act is the cornerstone of government consideration for major construction projects which potentially have a negative ecological impact.

The “interdependencies of life” between land, water and air must be kept in mind on road projects, especially those near watercourses, said Keating.

Road building itself is faced with a wide-ranging regulatory framework, noted Keating. Meanwhile, the environmental assessment process includes consultations with public, government agencies, any affected parties and specialists deemed to have relevant technical and environmental experience.

Road builders need to be cognizant of dust control and odour emissions when processing concrete or producing asphalt.

How to deal with leaks, spills and managing sediment and erosion loss also needs to be kept in mind on some projects, added Keating.

“When you are dealing with water, it is one of the most heavily regulated resources. It is a pretty fragile and vulnerable resource,” explained Keating. “Anything that ends up on soil, can end up in an aquifer.”

Pilot test holes done by contractors are essentially a well, no matter how small they are, said Keating. If they are not decommissioned properly, they pose a serious hazard to water and soil.

Best practices in the areas of permits for water taking, waste management, source water and soil protection need to be understood and executed fully, added Keating.

“You want it solved before it becomes a problem,” she said.

How Aecon approached environmental challenges at its 16 Mile Creek Bridge project in Oakville last summer was also highlighted at the ORBA conference. The $16.1 million project involved the construction of a new four lane westbound bridge at 16 Mile Creek in a ravine with specific environmental challenges.

Source water protection, soil management, tree protection, dust and noise control and special accommodation for a nearby snake habitat were among the environmental challenges on the project.

Construction included steel reinforced caissons drilled into shale rock, steel reinforced concrete caps, four main piers and two abutments, installation of a 750-metre concrete watermain, and 7,500 cubic metres of concrete.

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