Sustainable Land Development Today - July/August 2008 - (Page 17) Suppose then, a developer’s architect proposes a project for the site. The architect’s goal is to achieve a LEED-gold rating for commercial reconstruction. With only seven points separating basic certification and a Gold rating, the property attracts the architect because it provides one point by addressing Development Density & Community Connectivity. The property provides another point for Brownfield development. The design may score additional points through sustainable site planning and safeguarding water resources in the following LEED categories: 1 Point 1 Point 1 Point 1 Point 1 Point Site Development - Protect or Restore Habitat , SS5.1 Stormwater Design - Quantity Control, SS6.1 Stormwater Design – Quality Control, SS6.2 Water Efficient Landscaping, WE1.1 Water Efficient Landscaping, Additional Credit, WE1.2 run screaming from the property or return to Option 1 to spend the $500,000 to clean the property up to unrestricted use and remove the LUCs. Both would be a “deal killer” for the project. How did we arrive here to stand among a wreckage of good intentions? “Green” brownfields reuse When collisions occur, it results from a traditional misconception that “green” building on Brownfield properties is a sequential and linear process. The reality is “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” or, in our scenario, about a half a million dollars. Let’s rewind our theoretical project above. Collision is avoidable. Consider a less traditional approach in which Brownfield cleanup and green building are not sequential, but simultaneous. An approach where green design will enter much earlier in the property restoration process than is the norm and merges gently with the Brownfield process. Design of LUCs can consider LEED criteria. Cleanup can consider effects on construction and physical infrastructure necessary for certification. For example, you excavate a hole for cleanup. Fill the hole with water and it becomes waterfowl habitat or a stormwater reservoir. tects/designers with three-dimensional mapping of residual contaminants for optimal placement of rain gardens or permeable pavements in areas which will not promote secondary mobility of subsurface residual contaminants to groundwater. In areas where cost or avoidance of elevated residual contamination might have to occur during cleanup and reconstruction, assessment sustainability mapping can assist designers in identifying areas where green design can be used as part of the remedy. This might occur by designing impermeable, rainwater-harvesting structures that act as subsurface “caps” for deeper contaminated materials but allow near-surface water movement and infiltration for collection. This allows constructing a parking lot of permeable pavement that allows stormwater infiltration and reduces surface water contamination. Essential in Brownfield development and LEED convergence is integrating the The green design achieves points by reducing stormwater quantity leaving the site and improving quality by filtering stormwater through on-site soils before it reaches groundwater. This will be done using permeable pavements, bioswales and excavated water features. The water features and surrounding re-vegetation with native plants will also provide habitat protection and restoration. Water-efficient landscaping, such as rain gardens using harvested rainwater stored underground, will contribute points. The architect’s Brownfield restoration design followed “green’” reconstruction, it has all come together nicely … in a train wreck. Unbeknownst to the architect, the Brownfield LUCs prohibit (by law) essential elements of the green design. Impermeable pavement separates contaminants from public exposure and rainwater from the subsurface. The institutional restriction on excavation below three feet in depth severely limits water features and halts underground storage of harvested rainwater. Permeable pavements would void the LUC, allowing stormwater to pass through buried contaminants and degrade groundwater quality. The simplistic answers for the developer are to Sustainable redevelopment concepts at the assessment stage Brownfields projects can prepare for LEED and ‘green’ design even before the two technical disciplines merge for an actual project. Environmental assessment data can be used to map a property beyond the chemistry, identifying areas that appear to best support sustainable re-construction features. The result is a Brownfield site positioned for both “green” developers, Smart Growth-related cleanup and elevated scoring in a future LEED project. Assessment mapping considers parameters for certification of a LEED Neighborhood Development (Pilot), specifically how site soil and contaminant conditions may affect or support Green Construction & Technology, Credit 8: Contaminant Reduction in Brownfields Remediation and Credit 9: Stormwater Management. This provides archiplanning and design phases early so that land use controls for cost-effective cleanup or contaminant management become part of green design. Avoid the collision. It’s time to re-examine the current linear pathways of thinking—your Brownfield development’s long-term success and profitability in the new “green society” may depend on it. SLDT About the author: David E. Koch is a Registered Brownfield Professional and senior principal with Terracon Consultants, Inc., at the firm’s headquarters in Olathe, KS. Mr. Koch leads Terracon’s Renewable Energy and Brownfields sectors. With more than 30 years in environmental assessment and remediation, he has managed or actively participated in dozens of private sector projects, including 60+ EPA Brownfields grant projects. www.SLDTonline.com 17 http://www.SLDTonline.com
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