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Category: Land Development

LandTechNews/BlogLand Development

Civil Engineering and Land Surveying Websites

The internet is a technology that has altered our society in many ways, and the civil engineering and land surveying professions are no different. There are many websites we routinely use when working on land development projects. Below are a few examples.

1. Knoxville Code of Ordinances : We use this website to get information on zoning and stormwater regulations for the City of Knoxville.

2. Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission : This website has information on subdivision regulations, and zoning ordinances for both the City of Knoxville and Knox County.

3. City of Knoxville Engineering Department : This site contains links to various engineering divisions, the BMP Manual, the Land Development Manual, and KGIS mapping for the City of Knoxville.

4. Knox County Engineering Department : This site contains information for the Knox County Engineering Department, such as their stormwater manual and contact information.

5. TDEC Water Pollution Map : This Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC) website provides water quality information for streams and water bodies in the State.

6. USGS Map Locator & Downloader : You can find and download the most current or historic U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) maps, which includes roads, contours, streams, and other relevant mapping information.

7. OPUS : The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) provides an Online Positioning User Service (OPUS) for uploading GPS data and obtaining geodetic (latitude and longitude) or state plane coordinates.

These are just a few of the websites we routinely use to acquire civil engineering and land surveying data needed for our land development projects. If you have any questions about your project, please contact our LandTech staff.

For more information about us, and contact information, visit our website:  http://landtechco.com/home.

Jay Lewis Civil Engineering, East Tennessee Region, Knox County, Knoxville, Land Development, Land Surveying, TN 0 Comments

Permitting for Construction in a Stormwater Ditch

LandTech was recently contacted by a property owner in Knox County, Tennessee about providing a design for a pipe culvert in his side yard. Approximately 25% of the property is isolated by a stormwater ditch crossing the parcel. The property owner wants to install a pipe culvert crossing for easy access across the swale to the isolated portion of the property.

Sometimes a seemingly simple project involves numerous regulatory issues.

When we visited the site, we noticed a small amount of water flowing in the ditch. This would mean the ditch is technically a “stream”. Construction in a stream requires an Aquatic Resource Alteration Permit, or ARAP, from the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC). More information about ARAP’s can be found here:

http://www.tn.gov/environment/article/permit-aquatic-resource-alteration-permit

We also discovered this portion of the property is in a FEMA 100-year special flood hazard area. This means the culvert would need to be sized to pass a 100-year flood without impacting the water surface elevation. If you’re interesting in finding the limits of any 100-year special flood hazard area, visit the FEMA Flood Map Service Center website:

http://msc.fema.gov/portal

Needless to say, this project is more complicated than the property owner anticipated, but LandTech can ease your burden by providing the advice and professional land surveying and civil engineering services needed to navigate the complexities of a project like this.

For more information about your project or our services, visit our website  http://landtechco.com/home or give us a call.

Jay Lewis Civil Engineering, East Tennessee Region, Knox County, Knoxville, Land Development, Land Surveying, TN 0 Comments

Waters of the United States Legislation

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed legislation to restrict the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) from:

 ….developing, finalizing, adopting, implementing, applying, administering, or enforcing the proposed rule entitled, “Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’ Under the Clean Water Act,” issued on April 21, 2014…..

Of course, the legislation would also need to pass the U.S. Senate to become law, which is doubtful this year.

https://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/5078

This legislation impacts land development professionals, such as civil engineers and land surveyors, because of impacts to stream and wetland permit regulations. New Federal rules could reassign regulatory jurisdiction from State Regulators (such as the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation) and Local Regulators (such as the City of Knoxville or Knox County) to Federal Regulators such as the EPA or USACE.

This will definitely be a topic of interest in upcoming sessions of Congress. Stay tuned.

Jay Lewis Civil Engineering, East Tennessee Region, Knox County, Knoxville, Land Development, Land Surveying, TN 0 Comments

Value of Planning

I was reminded about the value of planning from a recent experience at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. In the first quarter of the game, I went to the concession stand to buy a hot dog. They had about 20 hot dogs cooking, but had no buns…..and this was in the first quarter of the game!!!

In this instance, proper planning would have required delivery of the same number of buns as hot dogs, but apparently was not done.

The value of planning is no less valuable for civil engineering and land surveying projects. The preparation of good plan drawings is critical for a successful land development project.

For more information on our land surveying and civil engineering services, visit our website http://landtechco.com/home

Jay Lewis Civil Engineering, Land Development, Land Surveying 0 Comments

Preparing a Constuction Cost Estimate

LandTech often includes preparation of a construction cost estimate in connection with our professional engineering design services. Preparing an “accurate” construction cost estimate can be an elusive undertaking.

We refer to this task as an “opinion of probable construction cost”, in accordance with language used by the Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee (EJCDC; http://www.ejcdc.org/). According to EJCDC documents:

…..because [the] Engineer has no control over the cost of labor, materials, equipment, or services furnished by others, or over contractors’ methods of determining prices, or over competitive bidding or market conditions, [the] Engineer cannot and does not guarantee that proposals, bids, or actual Construction Cost will not vary from opinions of probable Construction Cost prepared by [the] Engineer. If [the] Owner requires greater assurance as to probable Construction Cost, [the] Owner must employ an independent cost estimator…

An opinion of probable construction cost estimate can be performed at different stages of design; i.e., concept design, preliminary design, final design, etc.  The earlier in the design process the estimation is performed, the less accurate it will be since more specific information will be available for estimation as the design plans are completed.

When preparing an engineer’s opinion of probable construction cost, LandTech typically use construction cost data available from the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) or RSMeans.

Average unit price information can be found for TDOT projects on their website here http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/construction/Average_Bid_Prices.htm. When using TDOT data it is important to remember how the size of a project might affect unit prices (i.e., economies of scale). For example, the unit prices for asphalt pavement may be smaller for a ten mile roadway project as compared with a small parking lot project.

RSMeans is a construction cost estimation database published by Reed Construction Data, which has been providing construction cost data for over 70 years. Updated construction cost data manuals are published annually. RS Means staff collects cost data for materials, labor, and equipment; and includes provisions for construction overhead and profit, and city cost indexes.

Please contact LandTech if you need assistance with developing an opinion of probable construction cost for your project or if you need advice with any other aspect of the land development process, including civil engineering or land surveying services. http://landtechco.com/home

Jay Lewis Civil Engineering, Land Development 0 Comments

Sewage Disposal Systems in Tennessee

An important element of land development projects is wastewater disposal. For projects in areas without public sanitary sewer systems, a subsurface sewage disposal system typically will be required.

The Regulations to Govern Subsurface Sewage Disposal Systems can be found on the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC) website, here: http://www.tn.gov/environment/water/septic-disposal_regulations.shtml

There is a misconception that the only option for a subsurface sewage disposal system is a standard septic tank with a conventional disposal (drain) field). But the Tennessee SDS regulations also include sewage disposal alternatives such as advanced treatment systems, low pressure pipe systems, and subsurface drip disposal (SDD) systems, to name a few. In many instances these alternative systems provide options to increase development density.

If you have any questions about the sanitary sewer system for your project, contact LandTech at http://landtechco.com/home

Jay Lewis Civil Engineering, East Tennessee Region, Land Development, TN 0 Comments

LandTech Adds TDEC Level II Erosion Control Certifications

Two of LandTech’s personnel were recently notified of their successful completion of the Sediment Control Level II course presented by the Tennessee Water Resources Center in Knoxville during June. Jay Lewis and Mike Lewis each now hold a Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) Level II Certification.

The Level II certification demonstrates a higher working knowledge of erosion prevention and sediment control practices. Additionally, a Level II certification is required for preparation of a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) for sites discharging into impaired or exceptional Tennessee waters, per the requirements of the State Construction General Permit. A Level II certification is also required for individuals who perform “Site Assessment Inspections for quality assurance of installation, functionality and performance of erosion and sediment control practices at construction sites discharging into Impaired or Exceptional Tennessee Waters.” http://www.tn.gov/environment/permits/conststrm.shtml

If you have any questions about your project, please contact us. http://landtechco.com/contact_us

 

 

Jay Lewis Civil Engineering, Land Development, LandTech News, TN 0 Comments

The value of a property survey done by a competent surveyor

As a land surveyor, there is something that I find myself saying to someone almost every day: purchasers of real estate should procure a recent, quality land survey of the property before they buy it. I don’t say this simply to promote my business, in my years of experience I have seen many problems caused by the buyers’ mistaken expectations and sellers’ misrepresentations (usually unintentional), about the property being bought and sold. My advice has two key aspects to it: buyers and sellers both can benefit from 1) getting a survey, and 2) hiring a good surveyor.

The importance of this advice was highlighted in a recent court case from Rhode Island. A prospective buyer of a house had a survey done prior to purchase, and the survey revealed that the developer actually built the house on parkland, not the lot owned by the developer. The Rhode Island Supreme Court ordered the developer to move the house, rather than force a sale of the park property to the developer. The agreement between the park and the original donor of the land required that the land remain part of the park in perpetuity. Lesson: Get a survey before you buy!

Although the story does not give any detail, the developer blamed the fact that house was built in the wrong place on an “innocent surveying mistake”. While this is not enough information to judge the work of another surveyor, it does illustrate that you should do some diligence to make sure you are hiring a competent surveyor, just as you would if you were hiring a doctor, lawyer, or other professional. Lesson: Hire a good surveyor!

If you are interested in reading more about this matter, here is a link to the story, which shows a picture of the house.

Mike Lewis Land Development, Land Surveying 0 Comments

LandTech Adds TDEC Level 1 Erosion and Sediment Control Certifications

LandTech’s Knoxville staff now includes three people (Mike Lewis, Preston Smith, and Jay Lewis) with Level 1 certifications for Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control.  The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) requires a Level 1 certification for anyone responsible for inspection of construction sites under the State’s General Construction Permit (i.e., General NPDES Permit for Discharges of Stormwater Associated with Construction Activities).

The Level 1 certification is achieved by attending a 1-day workshop on the fundamentals of erosion prevention and sediment control passing an exam. According to the Tennessee Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control Training Program (http://tnepsc.org/indexNew.asp) :

“The Level I Fundamentals workshop is a 1-day foundation-building course for individuals involved in land-disturbing activities and is intended for contractors, developers, inspection and enforcement personnel from all levels of government, plan preparers, reviewers, designers and engineers. The Fundamentals course aims to build a solid working knowledge of erosion and sedimentation processes and practices. Topics include: Revised (May 2011) Construction General Permit and related SWPPP requirements; function, installation, limitations, inspection and maintenance of Best Management Practices (BMPs); roles of local officials and state government agencies involved in the permitting process; and basic hydrologic and erosion processes.”

If you would like a free initial consultation about your project, or we can answer any questions for you, please don’t hesitate to contact us at http://landtechco.com/contact_us

Jay Lewis Civil Engineering, Land Development, LandTech News 0 Comments

Knoxville Stormwater Construction Permits

Civil Engineers in Knoxville and other regions of East Tennessee are well aware that stormwater management has become an increasingly important permitting component of land development projects. The Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC) is the State Agency regulating stormwater discharges from construction sites.

So, who is required to get a permit? According to the TDEC website (http://www.tn.gov/environment/permits/conststrm.shtml#who):

Operators of construction sites involving clearing, grading or excavation that result in an area of disturbance of one or more acres, and activities that result in the disturbance of less than one acre if it is part of a larger common plan of development or sale.

What is required to be submitted?

Applicants must submit the following information:

» A completed and signed Notice of Intent (NOI) for Construction Activity – Stormwater Discharges (see link below). The NOI must include a map on 8 ½ inch by 11 inch paper with boundaries 1-2 miles outside the site property with the site and construction area outlined and the receiving water or receiving storm sewer highlighted and identified. It is preferable for this map to be the appropriate portion of a USGS 7.5-minute quadrangle map.

» A site-specific SWPPP (Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan) must be developed and submitted with the NOI. The SWPPP must be developed, implemented, and updated according to Part 3 of the CGP (Construction General Permit).

Completed Notices of Intent must be sent to the appropriate Environmental Field Office.

The City of Knoxville has been designated by TDEC as a “Qualified Local Program” (QLP). According to TDEC, the “main intent [of a QLP] is to eliminate the duplicative efforts of the current permitting process” by reducing the requirement to make submittals to local and state agencies.

The City of Knoxville has two good resources for additional information on stormwater permitting:

1. Land Development Manual, Chapter 5 – Permitting Requirements:   http://www.cityofknoxville.org/engineering/ldmanual/LDMCH05.pdf

2. BMP Manual, Chapter 6 – Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan: http://www.cityofknoxville.org/engineering/bmp_manual/BMPCH6.pdf

If you have questions about stormwater permitting for your project, contact LandTech using our website: http://landtechco.com/home

Jay Lewis Civil Engineering, East Tennessee Region, Knox County, Knoxville, Land Development, TN 0 Comments