Design Modifications

Facility designs may be modified in a number of ways to reduce environmental

impacts. One goal of the initial location studies for transportation projects is to
identify environmentally sensitive areas.
VIADUCTS
TUNNELS
RETAINING WALLS
Second area of facility design which is important for the mitigation of impacts on
natural habitats is drainage design.
Proper design of drainage is important in limiting the impact of transportation
facilities on wetlands.
Wetlands actually refers to a wide variety of plant and animal communities.
Wetlands include habitats such as:
TIDAL MUDFLATS SALTWATER MARSHES
FRESHWATER MARSHES SWAMPS
BOGS
First step in designing an artificial one is to determine the exact type of
habitat to be created.
In the case of plants, certain species will normally be planted during
construction of the wetland.

Wetland plant species often occupy rather narrow ecological niches in
terms of soil type, water depth, and duration of saturated conditions.
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
STORMWATER discharges from transportation facilities can contribute to
flooding and adversely impact water quality downstream.

Construction of impervious surfaces such as PAVEMENTS alters the
relationship between rainfall and runoff; such surfaces also serve as a
source for a variety of CONTAMINANTS.

- They will lead to faster runoff, which increases runoff volumes for small
storms and in the early portions of major ones.

Ultimate sources of these contaminants:
Spilled Fuel
Pavement Wear
Atmospheric Dust
Wear of Tire and Vehicle Parts
Fecal matter from the shipment of animals (cattle, fertilizer and pesticides)

Runoff from paved areas often contains a variety of
contaminants:

Examples of Contaminants: (mostly metals such as)
Lead
Copper
Zinc
Hydrocarbons
Nutrients
Bacteria

Flood Control Policy is generally a matter of local concern, and is usually
governed by local ordinances.
Presidential Decree No. 1152
-"Philippine Environment Code."

National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
permits and water quality management plans for a variety of
activities, including construction and operation of transportation
facilities.
The overall strategy for mitigation of both water quantity and water quality
impacts of transportation systems is to increase detention of stormwater.
This slows runoff, thus decreasing peak intensities, and provides time for
contaminants to settle out or be removed by other processes.
For flood control the recurrence interval for the design storm is normally 10
years or more.
Water Quality Management Systems
- are designed to detain the first flush of the storm, which contains
most of the contaminants. Such systems are designed for the 1-year or 2-year
storm.
Facilities commonly used for stormwater management include the
following:



Detention Basins
-these may consists of depressions which
are dry except during storm events(dry
ponds), or permanent ponds (wet ponds).
Both types are useful for flood control, but
wet ponds are usually more effective in
removing contaminants.

Infiltration Trenches
- these are stone-filled trenches that
allow rainwater to fill the stone voids
and then to infiltrate the surrounding soil.
These have relatively small storage capacity,
and hence are of little value in
flood control, but may be quite
effective for water quality management.


Porous Pavements
- these are pavements consisting of a
layer of open-graded asphalt over a deep
base of large aggregate that serves as a
reservoir for detaining rainwater.

Vegetative Filter Strips
- these are strips of land covered with
grass or other vegetation. Water is spread
evenly along the strip by means of a concrete or
earthen ditch located along a contour, and
allowed to sheet across. Such strips do not
provide much detention, but are
reasonably effective in removing
contaminants, especially particulates.
For this reason, they are often used in
conjunction with infiltration trenches, since they
tend to prevent clogging of the trench.

Wetlands
- natural or artificial wetlands have
sometimes been proposed for water
quality management. They may be
especially effective in removing nutrients
from stormwater by means of biological
uptake, and they also provide for settling of
particulates and other contaminants.
They should be used with caution,
however, because use for water quality
management may have adverse
impacts on the wetland itself.

Grassed swales
- these are shallow grassed trenches
commonly used in roadway
drainage.
- is the standard drainage ditch of rural
highways and roadway medians. As
usually designed, they involve velocities
too high for them to be useful in removing
contaminants; however, if velocities are
reduced, for instance by means of check dams,
they may function much like vegetative
filter strips.

Hazardous Wastes and Soil Contamination
- Hazardous wastes and contaminated soils are often present in the rights-
of-way of transportation facilities.
Legislation governing responsibility for hazardous waste remediation includes:
Resource Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA)
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
of 1980 (CERCLA)
Strict liability meaning that they are responsible for the cost of
remediation whether they acted knowingly and
reasonably or not.
Joint and Several liability meaning that each responsible party is
liable for the full cost of response.
Retroactive liability meaning that former owners may be held liable
for cleanup if they were responsible for the
discharge itself.
Public agencies may invoke an innocent landowner defense if they did not
know of the existence of the hazardous waste and if they can show that they
took appropriate action to investigate prior ownership and use of the property
before acquiring it.
State resource agencies - when the enforcement of these laws is the
responsibility of EPA (Environmental Protection
Agency) or of the similar agencies.
Transportation rights of way may potentially contain all types of
hazardous waste. The most contaminants include petroleum, asbestos,
lead, and other metals.
Remediation Options for Hazardous Wastes and Soil Contamination:
Landfilling
- contaminated material may be removed and placed in an
approved landfill. Although this solution been popular in the
past it is becoming increasingly expensive because of the
scarcity of landfill sites.
- landfilling poses the risk of continuing environmental damage
and possible future financial liability.
Containment
- this involves sealing off hazardous waste or
contaminated soil by means of capping, grout curtains,
slurry walls, or sheet piles, or encapsulation in concrete
vaults or bridge abutments.
Treatment
-various forms of treatment are possible. These include
incineration, solidification or stabilization, bioremediation,
and vacuum extraction. Petroleum contaminated soils are
sometimes treated by aeration or land farming.