Geotechnical Report and Test Pits

Geotechnical reports (based on geotechnical borings) provide an engineering analysis of the geotechnical conditions of the site and recommendations for the foundation design. For most of our projects, geotechnical reports will already be written by the time of our first involvement—most owners are aware they are needed at the outset. Geotechnical reports give foundation bidders essential information and must be included in all bid packages. Besides informing the foundation design of a project, geotechnical reports also inform the foundation waterproofing design and any subsurface drainage components.

Sometimes, geotechnical reports will include documentation of test pits (either to see subgrade conditions generally or specifically to investigate adjacent property conditions). If the geotechnical report does not include test pits, it is often worthwhile to arrange to perform them directly as early as possible in the preconstruction process.

Important information contained in the site connection applications includes:

• Location and elevation of suitable bearing soil

• Location and elevation of existing subgrade foundation elements, obstructions, etc.

• Location and elevation of rock

• Location and elevation of water

• Description of site fill likely to be encountered

• Foundation recommendations (i.e., spread footings, deep foundations, etc.)

• Waterproofing recommendations (sometimes omitted)

• Deep foundation design (pile type, capacity, tie-down anchors, etc.) (sometimes omitted)

• Test Pit Photos (sometimes omitted)

Borings will be required by public utilities if we are responsible for providing permanent structures such as vaults. In these cases, it is important to make sure a boring is done in the vicinity of these structures.

Site Connection Application

The Site Connection Application (or “Proposal”), sometimes also called and “SD1 and 2”, is a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) filing for a building’s connection to the city sewer. An approved site connection application is a requirement of a DOB permit (although in some circumstances a good expeditor can convince DOB to waive this as a permit prerequisite). The site connection application will sometimes be included with the Plumbing or Civil drawings. Whether it is a part of those plan sets or not, it is important to make sure it is included in the bidding documents. It contains information essential for plumbing (and sometimes sitework) bids and is prone to coordination errors with the contract Plumbing drawings. In most cases when you encounter these conflicts, the information on the site connection application will take precedence.

The following is a sample site connection application drawing (the application will also be accompanied by section diagrams, calculations, and DEP forms):

The site connection itself is typically the work of the plumber (and typically subcontracted by the plumber to a specialist). (Sometimes we buy or budget it directly with a specialist.) A site connection often involves non-trivial excavation and support of excavation but is also often designed without reference to the actual geotechnical conditions of the site. For this reason, it is important to look at the sewer depth and geotechnical report to make sure special excavation requirements (rock chopping, etc.) are not missed.

Important information contained in the site connection applications includes:

• Invert elevation of the sewer at the foundation wall

• Invert elevation of the sewer at the sewer tap

• Size of the pipe for the sewer connection

• Inclusion or exclusion of backwater valves

• Location of the foundation wall penetration

• Storm-water detention and retention requirements 

Backflow Prevention Device (BPD) Application

The Backflow Prevention Device (BPD), “Reduced Pressure Zone” (RPZ), or “Double Check Valve Assembly” (DCVA) application and approval (sometimes also called “the cross connection”) allows a project to connect to the city water service. Like the Site Connection Application, it is a DEP filing prone to coordination errors with the contract drawings. Also like the Site Connection Application, whether it is a part of those plan sets or not, it is important to make sure it is included in the bidding documents and that approval has been secured. Although not typically part of our duties, backflow prevention devices must be inspected and tested yearly on an ongoing basis and the results must be submitted to the Cross Connection Control Unit. The BPD approval is NOT typically an item required for permit.

The following is a sample BPD drawing.

Phase 1 and 2 Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs)

The Phase 1 and 2 Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) (often called simply “Phase 1” and “Phase 2”) are engineering assessments of the project sites. Phase 1 reports are almost always in place because they are a requirement of virtually all bank and institutional financing, real estate insurance policies, etc. Phase 1 ESAs make sure of data and records about a given site but do not involve actual soil testing. If Phase the Phase 1 ESA recommends a Phase 2 ESA, owners will have to procure it as well. The Phase 2 ESA involves actual environmental borings and testing of the site’s subsurface conditions. The Phase 2 provides important information about the contamination level of the site and the ultimate cost of hauling and disposing of the fill or soil on site.

If the Phase 2 results indicate a contaminated site, they will often lead to a Remediation Action Plan (RAP).

Important information contained in the Phase 1 ESA includes:

• Historical uses of the site

• Spills and contamination recorded on the site

• Publicly available environmental information on the site

• Underground Storage Tanks (USTs) likely to be found on the site

Important information contained in the Phase 2 ESA includes:

• Testing and analysis of soil contamination

• Testing and analysis of groundwater contamination (when applicable)

Like the geotechnical borings, environmental testing will be required by public utilities if we are responsible for providing permanent sub-surface structures such as vaults. In these cases it is important to make sure environmental testing is done in the vicinity of these structures to the minimum standards and specifications of the utility.

Hydrant Relocation

TBD

Memo - Hydrant Relocation Procedure

Waste/Soil Characterization

A Waste (or “Soil”) Characterization is an engineering report that includes environmental testing data for a site’s subsurface conditions. In this way the waste characterization report is like a Phase 2, but it is important to realize that they are not the same thing and that the information in the waste characterization is typically more important for our purposes. Waste Characterizations include a variety of tests legally required to truck and dispose of site fill. They are also governed by the specific requirements of the viable soil disposal facilities in the area (each of which may have their own requirements for documentation before accepting soil from a site). In contrast, Phase 2s need only include certain tests proscribed by the ESA process. Some proactive environmental engineers will include the testing necessary for a full waste characterization along with their Phase 2 testing, but this is not always the case.

The information contained in a waste characterization is essential for determining the cost of the foundation. Some bidders can predict the cost of soil accurately using information contained in a Phase 2, but bids will not be final until a full waste characterization has been performed.

Remediation Action Plan (RAP/RAWP)

The Remediation Action Plan (RAP) or Remediation Action Work Plan (RAWP) is an engineering document detailing the environmental requirements of the site. It may speak to soil disposal, vapor barriers, sub-slab depressurization systems (SSDS), backfill, landscape caps, etc. It is an essential document for determining the cost of a variety of trades’ work, especially foundations. RAPs are prone to coordination errors with the project specifications and drawings. In most cases when you encounter these conflicts, the information from the RAP will take precedence over the contract drawings and specifications. For this reason, it is critical that--when there is a RAP--it be included in the bidding documents for the project.

Some important requirement that can change the cost and methods of construction that may be contained within a RAP are as follows:

• Sub Slab Depressurization Systems (SSDS). These can be active or passive.

• HAZWOPER Requirements. Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standards.This is a training standard for workers and is relatively rare (and expensive).

• Vapor Barriers

• Segregated Soil Removal

• Soil Stockpiling Protection

• Decontamination Pads and Washing Requirements for Trucks

• Runoff Recapture from Decontamination Pads

• Air Monitoring

• Clean Backfill Requirements

• Soil and Hardscape Caps. For example, a potential requirement that the whole site be covered by 2’ of new clean fill.

• Hazardous Waste Delineation and Endpoint Sampling

• Soil Injection Treatment

• UST (Underground Storage Tank) Removal and Remediation

Site Safety Plan

See Logistics Planning/SSPs.

MTA Letter of No Impact

For projects near to underground or overhead MTA structures, the design team must obtain an MTA Letter of No Impact. In order to obtain this, the designers will typically submit a package that includes the buildings architectural, structural, and support of excavation drawings. The approval process is time consuming and will often involve multiple revisions. It is important not to confuse this MTA approval with the later MTA approval—typically secured by the superstructure contractors—required for crane placement and engineering. It is also important to remember that when an MTA Letter of No Impact is involved, the process of revising an SOE plan is much more complicated and time consuming. Foundation bidders should be made aware that if they choose to supersede the SOE plan, they will become responsible for securing new MTA approvals.

OCMC Meeting

The Office of Construction Mitigation and Coordination (OCMC) Meeting is a DOT meeting that must take place in order to receive any DOT permits for construction. In the meeting, the general contractor presents a DOT logistics plan (often simply the SSP with slightly different information) to a DOT examiner and the DOT examiner decides which permits to grant and what stipulations to require. The general contractor leaves the OCMC Meeting with minutes speaking to the allowable permits and uses this to eventually pull those permits.

OCMC Meetings are important during preconstruction because the permits granted and stipulations required can dramatically change construction logistics and costs. Typically, we are responsible for overall DOT permits and subcontractors are responsible for DOT permits for their specific equipment alone.

Temporary Standpipe Filing

Apart from the approval of the permanent fire protection and fire alarm plans, projects must also have an approved temporary standpipe filing before a permit can be obtained. Similar to the SD1 and 2, sometimes it is included along with the contract documents and sometimes not.

Traditionally the temporary standpipe filing approval is secured by our clients’ engineers. However, occasionally clients have a different philosophy and in those cases we must budget for and include scope for the professional services necessary to engineer and file this plan.

Load Letters and Utility Service Rulings

At the outset of a project, the MEP engineer will submit a load letter stating the electricity and natural gas demand for the project. In response to these letters, the utility companies (for most of our jobs, Con Edison and National Grid) will provide service letters stating the characteristics of the service and layout drawings showing the location, size, and type of connections.

The service letters and layout drawings—like the SCP and BPD applications—are prone to coordination errors with the contract drawings (especially foundation and SOE requirements). It is important to make sure they are included in the bidding documents so that no information is missed or lost. Often, the information from the layout drawings will supersede what is shown on the contract drawings.

Important information contained in the site connection applications includes:

• Location of Points of Entry (POEs)

• Inclusion or exclusion of property line boxes

• Inclusion or exclusions of vaults

• Quantity and size of conduits and feeders

• Inclusion or exclusion of a temporary (construction) service

• High -pressure or low-pressure service (for gas)

• Inclusion or exclusion of an emergency gas service (required for emergency generators)

If the service ruling is that vaults are required, this initiates a long and arduous process for finalizing the design and obtaining the vaults from Con Ed. The following timeline is a rough outline of how this process works:

Access and License Agreements

In order to build in NYC, we may require agreements to access or occupy adjacent buildings or property for a variety of reasons. These may include underpinning, vibration monitoring, roof protection, SOE installation, scaffolding, surveying, etc.

Due to the litigiousness of NYC and the risks of construction, access and license agreements can often be very difficult, time consuming, or expensive to obtain. It is important to find out who will be responsible for obtaining them (us or our clients) and when. Sometimes, if we cannot secure an agreement, means and methods (or even the building’s design) must be modified drastically so the project can proceed. (Our budgets are frequently qualified based on access agreements being readily available.)

Preconstruction Surveys and Vibration Monitoring

Whether legally required (if building in a landmark district) or simply to avoid being fraudulently sued, it is important to obtain third-party engineer preconstruction surveys of adjacent buildings and property. Depending on the condition of the adjacent properties and the construction methods involved in the new building, ongoing vibration and settlement monitoring may be required throughout construction (or just throughout foundations). It is important to identify what measures are required and who will be responsible early in the project.

Dewatering Permits

Dewatering permits are required when water conditions make “off-site” dewatering (i.e., pumping into a city sewer rather than around the site necessary). Dewatering permits may require engineered dewatering designs, environmental testing of the site contamination, etc. These permits can be costly and time-consuming to obtain so it is important to identify early on who will be responsible for them and to get the process started.

Fence Filing

A fence filing must be submitted to DOB and approved prior to permit. Whether this is the contractor’s or architect’s responsibility is often debated so it is important to question and establish who will be filing the fence well before the push for permits.