Brownfield sites can present significant development challenges not only as a result of

contamination and waste, but because of the geotechnical issues that often come hand in glove with these properties. A property’s environmental and geotechnical investigation costs combined with the actual costs for correcting the known or perceived issues can be significant. Many times, these costs are greater than the current property value and can be a significant portion of the overall development costs. Submitting a successful application for grant money can help alleviate development costs of contaminated real estate. But before an application can be submitted, the property investigation costs must be incurred, and a sound cost estimate for soil, groundwater, and waste corrections must be completed.

For many of our clients, available grant money has been the key to the development of some of the more challenging properties in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Grant funding is one of three key elements that has supported development of contaminated real estate since the early 1990s. Another key element is the Land Recycling Act (LRA) of 1992. The LRA provides the ability for companies and individuals to undertake investigations and cleanups of real property without becoming responsible parties. The final key element: The Voluntary Investigation & Cleanup (VIC) Program at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) was charged with implementing the LRA for those companies or individuals that qualify as voluntary parties.

braunintertec.com 1See BROWNFIELD GRANT APPLICATIONS - Continued on page 4

By Christopher Thompson, PE cthompson@braunintertec.com

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Local, state and federal grant programs were developed during this time to provide funding for investigations and cleanup of soil, soil vapor, groundwater, and other hazardous and solid wastes that cause these properties to be termed brownfield sites.

For those properties where due diligence has shown that environmental remediation costs are reasonable in relation to other development costs, the application for grant funds is a crucial next step in moving the development process forward. A thorough understanding of the brownfield development process will lead to more certainty in cost estimates for contamination cleanups, and a successful outcome where cleanups are concurrent with development. The generation of cleanup cost estimates can be an art as much as a science due to the uncertainties associated with belowground site conditions. Site remedial investigation information is limited. Managing the uncertainty and unknowns associated with cleaning up and developing contaminated property can be challenging. Lessons learned from these types of development projects can bring greater certainty to a grant application and the actual implementation of cleanup projects. Instead of learning those lessons the hard way, here is some guidance into the art of grant applications.

The Art of Brownfield Grant ApplicationsAdvice for turning your property into a masterpiece

brown·field, [broun-feeld] n. Real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. –Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act

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You’ve just won a contract for the construction of a new condo building in downtown Minneapolis. Congratulations, but now you’ve got to figure out

how to excavate for the below-grade parking. Let’s say the project is located in the parking lot across from The Depot ice rink. You’re likely going to need a retaining wall during construction, but what kind?

There are a few different types of retaining walls used for the support of temporary excavations. Let’s look at soldier piles, sheet piles, and soil nail walls since they are the most common. For simplicity’s sake, let’s ignore any system where the retaining wall is part of the permanent structure – the selection of that type of system is a dilemma for the design engineer. A sheet pile wall consists of a series of interlocking sheets driven or vibrated into the ground forming a continuous wall. The typical individual sheet pile has a profile similar to an elongated letter Z. A soldier pile wall is constructed by installing structural beams into the soil, either by drilling, driving, or vibrating, at a consistent spacing (imagine fence posts), and placing horizontal wood lagging between the beams as the excavation is completed. To build a soil nail wall, 5 feet of soil is excavated at a time and a grid of anchors is installed in the exposed face. The soil is covered with rebar and shotcrete to provide a facing and prevent surface sloughing. This process is repeated until all of the lifts are completed and the wall is at the desired height.

A myriad of factors contribute to the decision of which retaining wall type should be used for temporary support of excavations, and location is a big factor. At the proposed site location, there’s a road on three sides and an existing building on the fourth side. For the purposes of this discussion, we’ll assume that the existing structure has an old brick façade and is close enough to apply a surcharge to the retaining wall.

In order to determine the magnitude of the surcharge, an investigation of the building will need to be completed; this is most easily done with the existing architectural and structural building drawings. If the existing drawings can’t be found, a building site visit will be required to determine the location and magnitude of the load bearing structure. An assessment will also need to be made about the existing building’s ability to withstand construction activities next to it – specifically, vibrations from pile driving.

Not only does the location define the constraints you have to work around, it’s critical because of the soil profile and water table found at the site. In downtown Minneapolis, the soil is most likely going to have a top layer of “urban fill,” followed by alluvial sands, and then glacial till before getting to limestone bedrock. That urban fill may be critical. If it’s loaded with past construction debris your chances of using sheet piles might be low. But if the water table is higher than the proposed bottom of construction and the soil is not conducive to dewatering, sheet piles become the preferred option to keep the site dry. At this site, it is most likely that the water table is below the bottom of the excavation.

Deep Excavation ConsternationSelecting a temporary retaining wall

By Jeff Segar, PE jsegar@braunintertec.com

This cantilever sheet pile wall was temporarily constructed for retaining 20 feet of water within a canal.

The soil nail wall shows the use of headed studs in temporary concrete facing (1), the lift with the nails installed but no rebar (2), and a lower portion of the wall where rebar was installed without shotcrete (3).

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Of course cost is a factor. Soldier piles are the inexpensive system, and soil nail walls are the most expensive system. For this site, we’re going to rule out a soil nail wall right away due to cost, and it’s highly likely that one of the other two systems will work. For soil nail walls to perform, the soil needs to be able to be cut near vertical in about 5-foot-high strips, and stand without failing for as long as it takes to get the nails and the shotcrete installed. The alluvial sands and urban fill will likely not posses that ability. Also, soil nail walls are the most flexible, and placing one along the existing building on this site along with poorly compacted fill may cause distress. One advantage that soil nail walls offer is the installation equipment is smaller and requires less headroom. They also require the least amount of horizontal space, which may be critical in some locations where there is little clearance between new and existing structures. Soil nail walls are used about one-eighth of the time, sheet piles about one-third of the time, and soldier piles about half of the time.

Soldier piles, while used most often due to lower cost, offer greater versatility. Beams have an advantage over sheets, since they’re able to be placed in drilled holes if vibration is a concern, and can be driven harder than sheets. For instance, if the urban fill on this site contains a lot of bricks or the glacial till is dense, the sheet might get caught on the obstructions and additional driving effort will damage the sheets. On the other hand, a pile may be able to force its way past those obstructions.

Given the site conditions with questionable soils for driving sheet piles, no water retention requirements, and potential vibration issues with the existing brick structure, a soldier pile wall should be selected. This selection is based on the assumption that the piles would be drilled in close proximity to the existing structure and driven along the rest of the site. Paying attention to the site surroundings, soil conditions, and water table levels will allow you to unfurrow your brow and select the most appropriate system for your site.

DEEP EXCAVATION CONSTERNATION - Continued from page 2

The soldier pile wall is constructed by installing vertical beams, then excavating and installing wood lagging construction progresses.

Practical and Entertaining Since 19974

Contaminated Property Due Diligence

A successful outcome starts with the due diligence of a property. Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) for real estate transactions are common. The Phase I ESA for a site where there is a likely chance that the site is impacted and will be undergoing redevelopment is a special case. A Phase I ESA performed simply for the sake of checking the proverbial box during due diligence is not going to be of as much value to the final development as a Phase I ESA that plans for the construction and end use of the property. A Phase I ESA should include discovery of historic structures and activities that may be encountered during redevelopment. This recommended effort goes beyond the typical American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Phase I ESA (or its comparable Environmental Protection Agency All Appropriate Inquiry Phase I ESA). A Phase I ESA for a property with a history of industrial or commercial use will start the process of identifying potential chemicals of concern, regulated wastes within structures, buried wastes or other physical features, historic below-ground utilities, and other historic activities.

A thorough Phase I ESA for a property to be redeveloped will include information that is generally not obtained or reviewed for many conventional Phase I ESAs. Specifically, a Phase I ESA should include discovery of historic building design drawings, public works utility drawings and other permit file records that may exist.

Dig deep and look into electrical control panels, historic photographs and other nontraditional drawings at the property. This information is there somewhere – find it! The information discovered will form the basis of the site investigative approach related to the planned redevelopment. It will go beyond just simply identifying recognized environmental conditions (RECs). The design of the subsequent site investigation should not only look at identifying whether or not a REC exists, but also gather information to help plan for the actual work during redevelopment. For example, did the Phase I ESA uncover old drawings that show the locations of historic building foundations and related belowground features (such as wells or sumps that are not evident at the property today or shown on more recent records) that will need to be removed or remediated? Maybe the electrical control panel suggests there was a vapor degreaser no longer evident. Many times, these features result in costs during the site cleanup and should be included in the grant applications.

Phase II Site Investigations

When planning an investigation of regulated wastes, soil or groundwater impacts at a site, thinking ahead to the planned end use of the site development will help structure the Phase II Site Investigation scope, resulting in less uncertainties on-site. An investigation needs to generate information about potential below-grade soil conditions, contamination, and wastes that may be encountered during development so actions and costs for managing these issues can be appropriately planned for in the engineers’ cost estimate. A more thorough approach to an investigation will help anticipate remedial actions for which the grants will help alleviate the cost burden. This may include dewatering, removal of buried structures, waste disposal requirements or soil management options.

It’s also important to know the end use of the site, the planned development, and possible response actions before the site investigation is designed in order to develop an effective site investigation. To do so, it’s important to gather enough soil chemistry and geologic information to create a thorough site conceptual model (SCM) that supports the response action(s). For instance, to reuse existing topsoil on a site, it is recommended to sample and analyze the soil during the site investigation to determine if it can be reused within green spaces designed for the site. If the topsoil is contaminated, it may not be reusable resulting in costs for off-site disposal. By designing the site investigation with the end use in mind, it will uncover potential issues earlier in the process and be less likely to run into unexpected conditions that can cause cost overruns and delays to the project schedule.

BROWNFIELD GRANT APPLICATIONS - Continued from page 1

Unknown belowground features, like the dry well pictured above, can be discovered by reviewing historic building design drawings. Uncovering these types of future development obstacles during a Phase I ESA can help determine the appropriate amount of grant funding needed before it’s too late.

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Response Action Plan Implementation

The development and implementation of an MPCA-approved Response Action Plan (RAP), where costs can be accurately determined in advance, requires that the Phase II Site Investigation result in knowledge of site-specific conditions. The implementation of a RAP concurrent with construction means it must be defined in detail. To encourage the MPCA VIC program to approve a RAP, it is best practice to plan for subsequent detailed soil management plans (SMP) and construction quality assurance project plans (QAPP), as well as construction plans and specifications. This additional documentation further provides the definition and boundary conditions for completing the work.

From an environmental and geotechnical standpoint, an SMP describes the various types of soils, e.g., native sands, organic soils, debris fill, and volatile organic compound (VOC) impacted fill, that exist at a site in regards to the planned redevelopment. It provides details on how these various materials will be handled and their ultimate end use. An SMP is usually developed concurrent with the final development plans and specifications – all of these documents must be budgeted for prior to the grant applications.

Another step in the successful process of redeveloping a difficult and challenging contaminated site is to include regulators in the process of the RAP development and implementation. By meeting with the VIC staff to discuss the Phase I and Phase II Site Investigation findings, agreement can be made on data gaps that may affect the certainty of the findings. Additionally, presenting the RAP elements – the specific work for which funding is requested – will help reduce the number of questions or modifications to the RAP after it’s submitted for approval.

Managing a successful outcome of a brownfield redevelopment site requires thorough due diligence and preparation for the existing environmental and geotechnical liabilities. The due diligence required is different than what might be expected when simply investigating and responding to a release of a chemical to the soil or groundwater at a site. Both the Phase I ESA and the Phase II Site Investigation must be approached with this difference in mind. The creation of RAPs for brownfield sites should anticipate what the development construction will require. An engineer’s cost estimate of a thorough and approved RAP will form the basis of a successful application for grant money – without which, many sites would not be developed.

BROWNFIELD GRANT APPLICATIONS - Continued from page 4

2012 Minnesota Brownfield ReScape Awards

Braun Intertec submitted three projects for the 2012 Minnesota Brownfield ReScape Awards to showcase some of our recent brownfield redevelopment work. The projects were submitted under the following three categories: community impact (Armory Square), economic impact (Sydney Hall and the Dinkydome Redevelopment), and environmental impact (Phase I of the Outdoor Athletic Facilities Updates, Robbinsdale Middle School). Winners of the 2012 ReScape Awards were selected by a panel of independent judges and were announced at the award banquet in November. Braun Intertec was selected as a finalist in the community and economic categories. To view more information about our project submittals, visit the Braun Intertec award website, http://www.braunintertec.com/LNewsAndEvents/Awards.aspx.

Community Impact Category Finalist Armory Square, Park Rapids, Minn. The vision for Armory Square was to make it a place where commerce and the arts thrive together in a collaborative mixed-use private and public space. It’s an amazing story about community collaboration solving a complex and difficult redevelopment problem.

After

Before

Practical and Entertaining Since 19976

From time to time, the Braun Intertec Concrete Consulting group receives very unique and rather untraditional requests. More recently, the group had the opportunity to save a piece of history with help from today’s nondestructive testing technologies.

Bethany Lutheran College contacted Braun Intertec prior to its 100-year anniversary of the Old Main building on campus. When the building was constructed in 1911, it was believed a time capsule was placed within the cornerstone to celebrate construction completion. As was common in the day, time capsules were often filled with artifacts and memorabilia of the era and placed within the building during construction. As part of the Centennial celebration, the college wanted to remove the time capsule and reveal its contents, but they weren’t sure exactly where it was located within the cornerstone. For most buildings, the cornerstone is symbolic to the structure, and destroying it is like erasing history. If at all possible, Bethany desperately wanted to preserve this piece of history while finding another.

Removing an unknown object from a 100-year-old structure creates a very unique set of problems. For instance, it’s not easy deciphering where the object is located, what it’s made of, how fragile it may be, and what is the most efficient way to remove it while minimizing the damage to the building.

After several discussions with the college, our nondestructive testing consultants visited the site to perform an investigation to help answer such questions. Using our new, advanced Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) System – the GSSI StructureScan Mini, we were able to identify the capsule within the building cornerstone. While GPR technology has been around for some time, the new system is compact and completely wireless, allowing for quick data acquisition and review in challenging locations.

Upon finding the time capsule, the GPR system was not only able to confirm the presence of the artifact, but also accurately determine the position within the stone and provide information about the capsule composition. From this information, we helped devise a plan

that would allow the building’s signature to remain in place and unharmed by removing the surrounding brick above the cornerstone to provide access.

During the Centennial celebration, the time capsule was successfully removed and opened. Among the many items found in the century-old capsule was an

original mortgage bond for Old Main, catechisms, newspapers of the day, and various Lutheran publications.

With this success at Bethany, we have has since been asked on two more occasions to help locate time capsules within buildings – St. Mary’s University in Winona, Minn., and Northrop Auditorium at the University of Minnesota. The technology held true in both cases, and we were able to help find a piece of history while preserving a little of the past.

©2012 Braun Intertec Corporation

Saving a Piece of History One Test at a TimeUsing nondestructive testing technology to find time capsulesBy Nick Hansen, nhansen@braunintertec.com

Before After

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According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2010 roughly 41 percent of all energy usage in the United States was consumed

by buildings. This includes both residential and commercial buildings. Energy codes and green building codes written by organizations, such as the International Code Council (ICC) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), and adopted by state and local governments to help new buildings save energy by placing minimum efficiency values on everything that is used to construct a building. But who regulates existing buildings’ energy use? In 2009, California authorized the first program in the United States to address this energy use when it passed Assembly Bill (AB) 758, initiating the Comprehensive Energy Efficiency Program for Existing Residential and Nonresidential Buildings. It will be interesting to watch how this program emerges and how California will regulate existing buildings’ energy use. It’s not going to be easy, but California has always been on the cutting edge of saving energy.

For the rest of the country, it is up to the owner/operator of existing buildings to try and self-regulate energy use. Aside from the financial gains of lower utility bills, saving valuable resources is a good plan for everyone on the planet. But in this day and age where “green is the new black,” saving energy has become cool, and who doesn’t want to be cool?

I don’t think I’ve ever been cool. I was always the geeky nerd in honors classes who spent most Friday nights in college doing calculus homework. I’m not ashamed to admit at the age of 35 this mechanical engineer is usually in bed by 9:30 p.m. everyday of the week. And, in terms of full disclosure, I might add that I would rather order a pizza and curl up on the couch in my flannel pants than go to a bar and hang out. But I digress …

In 2010, I became an ASHRAE certified BEAP. What’s a BEAP? It’s a Building Energy Assessment Professional (see how cool I am now?). ASHRAE developed an energy labeling program called Building Energy Quotient (bEQ). In this program, a building is given a grade A-F based on how energy efficient the building was designed to be, and another grade based on how energy efficiently the building is being operated. I won’t go on and on about the details of the program because you can go to http://buildingenergyquotient.org and read all about it.

The bEQ program can make a major difference in the amount of energy existing buildings are using in our country by simply bringing awareness to the problem. For some building owners, energy costs are just a fact. For most buildings, getting to net-zero energy use is not a reality, especially when it wasn’t initially designed that way. Without thinking about why energy bills are so high, many owners pay them and move on. The bEQ program provides information about the energy use of a building to the owner and operator so they can make more informed decisions about capital improvements and ongoing maintenance. Now, for a simple example of how small changes can make a big difference: As a new Braun Intertec employee, I investigated all the thermostats in our Bloomington office. At quick glance, I noticed they‘re all programmable. Nice. Changing the temperature of the building at night and on weekends is a great first step to saving energy. Here’s where my nerdyness comes in handy: None of the thermostats were running programs. They were all running at a constant temperature with no night setback, and no turning off on nights and weekends. This was the first thing I changed. Will running programs on thermostats reduce our gas and electric bills to zero? No. But I estimate we will save $5,700 a year, not to mention the energy savings. Every step towards improving energy efficiency counts.

To help you discover how to save energy in your existing building, Braun Intertec can perform an ASHRAE Level I energy audit on your facility. We can take you through the bEQ process so you can see how your building compares to other similar buildings. It also gives you a great benchmark for where your building is currently operating and where you can improve it.

The first step is deciding you want to save energy. We can guide you through the rest. As partners in your energy journey, we can go step by step down the road. It’s the right thing to do. Trust me.

It’s Hot to be CoolUncover steps to lowering utility bills and saving energy

By Emily Smith, PE, BEAP esmith@braunintertec.com 2010 - 2011 Braun Intertec

Bloomington Office Energy Use

A snapshot of our energy bills in Bloomington reveals it’s better to focus on reducing our electrical usage rather than our gas usage.

Gas Usage (MMBtu)

28%

Electric Usage (MMBtu)

72%

Questions, requests and comments

Charles Hubbard, PE, PGBraun Intertec Corporation11001 Hampshire Ave SMinneapolis, MN 55438Phone: 952.995.2000chubbard@braunintertec.com

©2012 Braun Intertec Corporation

This newsletter contains only general information. For specific applications, please consult your engineering or environmental consultants and legal counsel.

Making Room for Innovation The Braun Intertec Bloomington office recently completed a new building expansion prompted by a growing staff, and an opportunity to showcase innovation and improve energy efficiency. The expansion added space for approximately 60 employees and introduced solar panels and an innovative geothermal system. By building out the existing warehouse, the expansion created an opportunity for many of Braun Intertec’s service areas to have a hand in the project’s success. Highlights of the expansion include:

• 5,950-square-foot expansion and 2,986-square-foot mezzanine

• Experimental geothermal technology with future capacity to accommodate the entire building – initial data gathered indicates an energy savings of 40-50 percent

• 216 rooftop solar panels providing nearly three percent of the building’s electricity needs

• Large windows strategically placed for daylighting

• Four new conference rooms

• 86.9 percent of construction waste was recycled during the build-out process

Happy Holidays from

Braun Intertec !

11001 Hampshire Ave. SMinneapolis, MN 55438

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Minneapolis 800.279.6100Bismarck 701.255.7180Cedar Rapids 319.365.0961 Dickinson 701.255.7180Duluth 218.624.4967Fargo 800.756.5955Hibbing 800.828.7313La Crosse 800.856.2098Little Falls (Geothermal) 320.632.1081Mankato 800.539.0472 Milwaukee 262.513.2995 Minot 701.420.2738Rochester 800.279.1576Saint Cloud 800.828.7344Saint Paul 800.779.1196