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VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Gregory Henion, P.E.
Deputy State Construction Engineer
Environmental Compliance Challenges
August 2018
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What are we going to talk about?
Virginia Department of Transportation
• Environmental Performance
Challenges
• Awareness of a problem
• Reaction to the problem
• Changes to our Program
• Realignment of responsibilities
• Overhaul of reporting metrics
• Change in culture
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What are we going to talk about?
Virginia Department of Transportation
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Stormwater Commitment Hierarchy
Virginia Department of Transportation
Clean Water Act
• Established federal authority to regulate water quality
EPA• National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
VADEQ • VPDES
VDOT • Program Authority
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Roles & Responsibilities
Virginia Department of Transportation
Location & Design Division
Develop ESC & SWM Plans
Administers MS-4 Program
Oversight of NPDES Compliance
Environmental Division
Determination of Env. Commitments
Obtaining permits from Agencies
Oversight of Env. Compliance
Construction Division
Technical assistance to field staff
Liaison to other divisions
Monitoring program compliance
Districts
Determination of need for ECR
Construction QC & Inspection
Documentation of Env. Compliance
Environmental Compliance
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Field Documentation
Virginia Department of Transportation
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Reporting Metrics
Virginia Department of Transportation
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Identifying a Problem
Virginia Department of Transportation
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Awareness – Project CQIP Report
Virginia Department of Transportation
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Awareness – Other Reporting
Virginia Department of Transportation
• C-107 Checklist
• No deficiencies
• ECR Form
• 100% Compliance
• CQIP Env. Section
• 100% Compliance
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Awareness – Outreach and Site Visit
Virginia Department of Transportation
• Environmental Division / DEQ coordination
• Self-reported (eight months late) permit violation to DEQ.
• Asked to visit site and determine if remedial action is required.
• Construction Division site visit
• Assess current condition of entire project
• Review project records related to environmental compliance
• Interview project staff
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Site Visit – Permit Violation Location
Virginia Department of Transportation
• No significant issues
• Meets permit
requirements
• No harm caused by
earlier full stream
diversion
• Generally well
maintained
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Site Visit – Full Project Review
Virginia Department of Transportation
• Significant issues
• Severe channelized erosion
• Lack of maintenance
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Awareness – What really happened on 8/3/16?
Virginia Department of Transportation
• Per Inspector Diary Report“….the inspector noted that the contractor was in violation of the permit to install waterline
across Marumsco Creek.”
“The contractor instead dammed off the entire creek and re-routed 100% of the water flow
around the work area….”
“Contractor refused to return the stream back to agreed upon conditions and proceeded to
work in violation of the permit and instructions from VDOT.”
• Permit conditions required
• Work in the dry using non-erodible cofferdams
• Blocking of no greater than 50% of stream flow
• C-107 and ECR Reporting did not capture this issue
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Permit Sketch vs. Construction Plan
Virginia Department of Transportation
Permit Sketch – no waterline Construction Plan - waterline
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Permit Violation
Virginia Department of Transportation
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Site Visit – Project Records
Virginia Department of Transportation
• All Environmental Documentation (C-107 Form & ECR Report)
indicated that the project was fully compliant
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Permit Violation – Outcome & DEQ Response
Virginia Department of Transportation
• Contractor Shut Down for Active E&S issues
• Considerable VDOT resources expended
• Multiple field inspections
• Numerous on-site meetings with field personnel
• VDEQ response:
• Pump around method in conflict with permit conditions
• Acknowledged contractor’s lack of coordination with VDOT prior to
deviating from approved work plan
• Acknowledged VDOT’s eventual self-reporting of incident and noted
our commitment to address internal controls and training issues
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Addressing the Problem
Virginia Department of Transportation
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Roles & Responsibilities
Virginia Department of Transportation
Location & Design Division
Develop ESC & SWM Plans
Administers MS-4 Program
Oversight of NPDES Compliance
Environmental Division
Determination of Env. Commitments
Obtaining permits from Agencies
Oversight of Env. Compliance
Construction Division
Technical assistance to field staff
Liaison to other divisions
Monitoring program compliance
Districts
Determination of need for ECR
Construction QC & Inspection
Documentation of Env. Compliance
Environmental Compliance
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Realigning Responsibilities – Integration & Division
Virginia Department of Transportation
Environmental Compliance
Assistance Program (ECAP)
Construction Environmental
Management Program
(CEMP)
MS4 / Stormwater
Management / Erosion &
Sediment Control
(MS4/SWM)
Environmental
Construction
Location & Design
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Realigning Responsibilities – Coordination
Virginia Department of Transportation
Central Office
Districts Projects
Environmental
Construction Location &
Design
Communication & responsibilities are integrated
horizontally & vertically
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Environmental Compliance
Assistance Program
District Environmental
Manager
Environmental Compliance
Inspector
Realigning Responsibilities – Matrix of Roles
Virginia Department of Transportation
MS4 / Stormwater
Management
District Hydraulic
Engineer
NPDES Coordinator
Construction Environmental
Management
District Construction
Engineer/ACEs
Construction Managers and
Inspectors
Communication & responsibilities are integrated horizontally & vertically
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Realigning Responsibilities – District Staff
Virginia Department of Transportation
NPDES Coordinator Environmental Compliance Inspector
Provide oversight and compliance inspections
Manage permit and program requirements
Embedded in the districts
Subject matter experts and first point of contact
VDOT NDPES Program
Construction General Permit
MS4 & Stormwater Management
Inspect facilities and monitor program compliance
Environmental Commitments
Threatened & Endangered Species
Wetlands and Streams
HAZMAT
Cultural Resources
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Reporting and Response – Building a Metric
Virginia Department of Transportation
The color rating system prioritizes engagement and response over ‘penalizing’ deficiencies.
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Changing the Culture
Virginia Department of Transportation
Messaging to staff is crucial.
100% compliance is a great
goal but an unreasonable
expectation.
Communication is important
and goes hand-in-hand with
self reporting.
Green is not perfect, and yellow isn’t ‘bad’. Instead, the goal is to see people
taking ownership of their projects.
Above: Slide from 2018 VDOT workshop for inspector trainees.
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Challenges and Next Steps
Virginia Department of Transportation
• Consistency
• Across Districts (subjectivity in reviews)
• Across Disciplines (two different color ratings at the same time)
• Across Agencies (better defined self-reporting criteria)
• “Right-sizing” the program
• Significant resource commitment
• Limited budgets and staff allocations