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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

Civil Engineering Land Development Design – Water and Sewer Systems

The life blood of a land development project is the availability of water and capability for sanitary waste disposal.  The availability of public water and sanitary sewer services greatly affects how civil engineers and land surveyors would propose to develop a parcel.

For example, in the City of Knoxville Zoning Regulations, the property area regulations for properties zoned R-1 (Section 2.1.1.E.5):

http://library.municode.com/HTML/11098/level4/APXBZORE_ARTIVSPDIRE_S2BADI_2.1REDI.html#APXBZORE_ARTIVSPDIRE_S2BADI_2.1REDI_2.1.1LODEREDI

a. For each house, and building accessory thereto, served by a sanitary sewer system, there shall be a lot area of not less than seven thousand five hundred (7,500) square feet.

c. For those dwellings and buildings accessory thereto not served by a sanitary sewer system there shall be a minimum lot area of twenty thousand (20,000) square feet per dwelling unit; however, a greater area may be required based on recommendations by the health department because of inadequate percolation.

Therefore, a one (1) acre parcel with sanitary sewer systems could be subdivided into approximately five (5) lots, but only two (2) lots without sewer service……less revenue producing parcels.

A review of the property is crucial prior to development, including a determination of water and sanitary sewer availability and zoning regulations.

If you have questions about developing your property, please contact LandTech using our website at: http://landtechco.com/home

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

Stormwater Management Design in the City of Knoxville

Due to increasing regulatory requirements, stormwater management is often a primary element of the civil engineering design process for land development projects. Important aspects of stormwater management requirements in the City of Knoxville are outlined in two primary sources:

1. The City of Knoxville Best Management Practices (BMP) Manual, found on the City’s website: http://www.cityofknoxville.org/engineering/bmp_manual/knoxvilleBMP.pdf

According to the BMP Manual:

The purpose of this manual is to establish minimum standards for the design and implementation of measures to prevent and control erosion, sediment, and other forms of stormwater pollution. The BMP Manual is intended primarily to assist developers, engineers, contractors, inspectors, and property owners in the selection and use of Best Management Practices (BMPs) for the design of new facilities.

2. The Knoxville Municipal Code, Part II, Chapter 22.5: http://library.municode.com/HTML/11098/level2/PTIICOOR_CH22.5ST.html#TOPTITLE

The stormwater management site development criteria includes stormwater detention pond requirements outlined in Section 22.5-23, and first flush water quality requirements outlined in Section 22.5-36.

http://library.municode.com/HTML/11098/level3/PTIICOOR_CH22.5ST_ARTIISIDECR.html#TOPTITLE

We’d be happy to discuss any questions you have about stormwater management for your project. For more information on LandTech and contact information, please visit our website here: http://landtechco.com/home

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

Civil Engineers face changes to Stream and Wetland Regulations?

Impacts to streams and wetlands can be a serious regulatory challenge to civil engineers and other land development professionals, not only in Knoxville, but around the country. There have been recent court cases challenging EPA’s authority, with the result being a potential clarification of the term “waters of the United States”.

The EPA took a giant step toward finally defining which bodies of water are subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act last week, when it filed a draft rule with the White House regulatory czar designed to settle the confusion created in recent years by a series of court decisions.

The legal battles have centered on the definition and scope of a seemingly innocuous phrase — what exactly are “waters of the United States”?

Judges and regulators have wrestled over how to interpret the term in the absence of legislative action to clarify it. Now, the EPA is not only proposing a regulatory solution — which is not yet publicly available — but is also conducting a scientific review to accumulate evidence to back up the penultimate rule.

See more at: http://cdn.rollcall.com/news/epa_seeks_definition_of_bodies_of_water_for_clean_water_act-227853-1.html?popular=true&pos=oplyh&cdn_load=true&zkPrintable=1&nopagination=1

If you have any questions about local stream and wetland regulations, contact LandTech’s civil engineering staff for a discussion about your project. You can find our contact information on our website here: http://landtechco.com/home

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

The Battle of Bristol

No, this is not a post about a Civil War conflict; it’s not even strictly about North vs. South. This is about a monumental college football game being held at a a NASCAR racetrack. Bristol Motor Speedway, the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech have announced that they will play each other at the famous racetrack in 2016 (See link below). BMS sits roughly halfway between Knoxville, TN and Blacksburg, VA, the homes of the respective SEC and ACC football powerhouses (no comments about that, please!). The relatively close proximity of the schools to BMS, the convenient I-40/I-81 corridor for travel, the 150,000+ seating capacity of BMS, and the fervent fanbases of both schools make this game likely to have the largest attendence ever at a college football game. Where do I get my tickets?

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/10/14/tennessee-virginia-tech-2016-game-bristol-motor-speedway/2980493/

Mike Lewis College Football, Sports, UT Volunteer Sports 0 Comments

Civil Engineers – Frugal, smart, or both?

As a civil engineer, I’ve been accused of being frugal and smart (although my wife might describe me as cheap and smart-alecky ), but we ran across this story that seems to prove the stereotype of a civil engineer as true.

http://gizmodo.com/how-an-engineer-earned-1-25-million-air-miles-by-buying-1339646546

My goal when working on a civil engineering project is to prepare a design that makes sense and provides an economical solution. I think that’s what our clients expect when hiring a civil engineer…….smart and economical.

LandTech strives to provide this and more with our land surveying and civil engineering services. Contact us to discuss your project in more detail. http://landtechco.com/home

Jay Lewis Miscellaneous 0 Comments

Civil engineering grading design

In many instances, the biggest variable cost for developing a site is grading. Grading is the construction process of altering existing ground surface elevations for producing roadways, parking lots, building pads and other site development features.

There are numerous economic factors civil engineers consider during the grading design process, including:

  1. Rock excavation can be very expensive, and areas of cut (lowering existing ground surface elevations) should be minimized in areas with rock.
  2. Grading volumes should be balanced between the amount of cut and fill (increasing existing ground surface elevations). Too much cut and soil will need to be hauled from the site; too much fill and soil will need to be hauled to the site. With high diesel fuel prices, the hauling expense may not be economically feasible for a development project.
  3. Areas with unsuitable soils (soils with insufficient strength or other undesirable properties to support the planned use) will have to be excavated, removed and replaced, driving up the construction cost for site development.

The LandTech civil engineering grading design process places an emphasis on minimizing rock excavation, minimizing cut and fill volumes, balancing cut and fill volumes, and if possible avoiding areas of the site with unsuitable soil.

We would be happy to discuss any grading design question you have about your site development project in the Knoxville or East Tennessee region.

For more information, visit our website: http://landtechco.com/home

Jay Lewis Civil Engineering, Land Development 0 Comments

Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission sees growth in residential apartment development

I am cautiously optimistic that the economy, and the real estate sector in particular, is beginning to recover. We at LandTech Engineering & Surveying have seen a significant increase in surveys done for residential and commercial retail clients during 2013. I was therefore pleased to learn that there is some objective support for my optimism. The Knoxville- Knox County MPC recently posted a news update that indicated that residential subdivision and building permit applications are showing a slow rise. However, the most immediate growth appears to be in apartment construction. As the MPC states, “If all apartment projects currently on the drawing board make it to construction, Knoxville will see an increase of more than 2,000 units in the next two years.” This is certainly good news! If you would like to read the artical, you can access it at the following link:

http://www.knoxmpc.org/news/2013/08_07_2013.htm

If you have need of any civil engineering, land surveying, land development or planning services, please go to our website at www.landtechco.com for more about our company and what we do or to find our contact information.

Mike Lewis East Tennessee Region, Knox County, Knoxville, Land Development 0 Comments

Roadway Design

Of all the different types of projects, most people are familiar with roadway construction. You can’t drive a significant distance on Interstate 40 through East Tennessee or Knoxville without passing through some sort of roadway construction project. Civil engineers have a significant role in the roadway design process.

State highway projects involve the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). The TDOT roadway design guidelines can be found on their website here: http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/Chief_Engineer/assistant_engineer_design/design/designstandardsmenu.htm

Local roadway projects are designed under local design guidelines. For example, in the City of Knoxville, civil engineers would use design criteria outlined in the City of Knoxville Land Development Manual, found on their website here: http://www.cityofknoxville.org/engineering/ldmanual/KnoxvilleLDM.pdf

Many land development projects require new roadways to access their site. LandTech’s design staff will work with state and local government roadway officials to provide the necessary roadway design elements for your project, including intersection location on existing roads, sight distance measurements, horizontal and vertical alignment layout, pavement sections, and stormwater runoff controls.

For more information about LandTech, visit our website: http://landtechco.com/home

Jay Lewis Civil Engineering 0 Comments

Knoxville’s Tupelo Honey Cafe floods

The Tupelo Honey Cafe at Knoxville’s downtown Market Square suffered a broken water pipe that flooded the basement with 100,000 gallons of clean water. The line that burst was a burst 60-year-old main pipe that had been capped off but was still pressurized by municipal drinking water. The damage was such that the restaurant will remain closed through the end of August for repairs at a cost of approximately $250,000.

The restaurant is one of Knoxville’s most popular places to eat, and it is an offshoot of the famous restaurant of the same name that has been a fixture of downtown Asheville, North Carolina for many years. It is also one of our favorite Knoxville restaurants, and we wish the owners and staff the best as they work to get it reopened as soon as possible.

If you want to know more, here are links to a local television news story about the flooding http://on.wbir.com/1deCvLT and the retaurant’s main website: https://tupelohoneycafe.com/.

Mike Lewis Knoxville 0 Comments