405.1 Soil and Water Quality Protection

A soil and water quality protection plan shall be submitted by the owner and approved prior to construction. The protection plan shall address the following:

Topsoil that could potentially be damaged by construction activities or equipment shall be removed from areas to be disturbed and stockpiled on the building site for future reuse on the building site or other approved location. Topsoil stockpiles shall be secured and protected throughout the project with temporary or permanent soil stabilization measures to prevent erosion or compaction.

Topsoils or soil blends imported to a building site to serve as topsoil shall not be mined from the following locations:

1. Sites that are prime farmland, unique farmland, or farmland of statewide importance.
2. Greenfield sites where development is prohibited by Section 402.8.

Soils that are being placed or replaced on a building site shall be prepared, amended and placed in a manner that establishes or restores the ability of the soil to support the vegetation that has been protected and that will be planted. Soil reuse and restoration shall be in accordance with Sections 405.1.4.1 and 405.1.4.2.

Before placing stockpiled or imported topsoils, compliance with all of the following shall occur:

1. Areas shall be cleared of debris including, but not limited to, building materials, plaster, paints, road base type materials, petroleum based chemicals, and other harmful materials;
2. Areas of construction-compacted subsoil shall be scarified; and
3. The first lift of replaced soil shall be mixed into this scarification zone to improve the transition between the subsoil and overlying soil horizons.

1. Where scarification would damage existing tree roots.
2. On inaccessible slopes.
3. On or adjacent to trenching and drainage installations.
4. On areas intended by the design to be compacted such as abutments, footings, inslopes.
5. Brownfields.
6. Other locations where scarification would damage existing structures, utilities and vegetation being preserved.

Soils disturbed during construction shall be restored in areas that will not be covered by buildings, structures or hardscapes. Soil restoration shall comply with the following:

1. Organic matter. To provide appropriate organic matter for plant growth and for water storage and infiltration, soils shall be amended with a mature, stable compost material so that not less than the top 12 inches (305 mm) of soil contains not less than 3 percent organic matter. Sphagnum peat or organic amendments that contain sphagnum peat shall not be used. Soil organic matter shall be determined in accordance with ASTM D 2974. Organic materials selected for onsite amendment or for blending of imported soils shall be renewable within a 50-year cycle.
   Exception: Where the reference soil for a building site has an organic level depth other than 12 inches (305 mm), soils shall be amended to organic matter levels and organic matter depth that are comparable to the site's reference soil.
2. Additional soil restoration criteria. In addition to compliance with Item 1, soil restoration shall comply with not less than three of the following criteria:
   1. Compaction. Bulk densities within the root zone shall not exceed the densities specified in Table 405.1.2 and shall be measured using a soil cone penetrometer in accordance with ASAE S313.3. The root zone shall be not less than 12 inches (305 mm) nor less than the site's reference soil, whichever results in the greater depth of measurement. Data derived from a soil cone penetrometer shall be reported in accordance with ASAE EP542.
   2. Infiltration rates. Infiltration rates or saturated hydraulic conductivity of the restored soils shall be comparable to the site's reference soil. Infiltration rates shall be determined in accordance with ASTM D 3385 or ASTM D 5093. For sloped areas where the methods provided in the referenced standards cannot be used successfully, alternate methods approved by the code official shall be permitted provided that the same method is used to test both reference soil and onsite soil.
   3. Soil biological function. Where remediated soils are used, the biological function of the soils' mineralizable nitrogen shall be permitted as a proxy assessment of biological activity.
   4. Soil chemical characteristics. Soil chemical characteristics appropriate for plant growth shall be restored. The pH, cation exchange capacity and nutrient profiles of the original undisturbed soil or the site's reference soil shall be matched in restored soils. Salinity suitable for regionally appropriate vegetation shall be established. Soil amendments and fertilizers shall be selected from those which minimize nutrient loading to waterways or groundwater.

Where engineered growing media are used onsite, including, but not limited to vegetative roofs, trees located within hardscape areas, and special soils specified for wetlands and environmental restoration sites, such media shall comply with the best available science and practice standards for that engineered growing media and use.

The following shall be provided to document compliance with Sections 405.1.3 through 405.1.5:

1. Documentation, such as receipts from a soil, compost and amendments supplier, to demonstrate that techniques to restore soil occurred; and
2. Soil test results to demonstrate that the selected techniques achieved the criteria of Section 405.1.4.2. Not less than two soil tests shall be conducted on the building site. For building sites where more than 8,000 square feet (744 m²) of soil is to be disturbed during construction, there shall be not less than one report for every 4,000 square feet (372 m²) disturbed or report frequency as determined by the registered design professional.