Page 244 - Sustainable On-Site CHP Systems Design, Construction, and Operations

Obtaining a Construction Permit 217

implement to mitigate other environmental impacts. By taking aesthetics into consider-
ation when designing buffer zones, sound barriers and enclosures that mitigate noise
impacts, the project engineer or CHP developer may enhance the visual characteristics
and acceptability of a project without significantly adding to project costs.

Environmental Justice
Environmental regulators are increasingly driven to ensure that CHP projects foster
environmental justice. An increasing number of regulators are considering the balance
of a project’s environmental impacts, relative to existing environmental conditions and
populations, and taking steps to ensure that the effects on local populations are propor-
tional and balanced. Again, most CHP projects are relatively small and support host
facilities that are already permitted or already constructed. The impacts of CHP projects
in these circumstances are not typically expected to trigger environmental justice
concerns, but such concerns can possibly exist, especially if the CHP project supports
expanded facility operations that independently cause environmental and public
health impacts.

Cultural and Paleontological Resources
Excavation for larger projects may present the risk of disturbing cultural or paleonto-
logical resources. The project engineer or developer should consult with local historical
societies and preservation agencies to determine if such risks are likely to occur. Where
the chance of disturbing these resources is significant, the project engineer or developer
may be required to prepare a monitoring and response plan for implementation during
earthmoving operations. These plans typically call for monitoring by qualified persons
and in-place procedures for dealing with above resources that may be exposed with
little advanced notice. Local agencies often require that artifacts, where encountered, be
collected, catalogued, and promptly turned over to appropriate officials for safe han-
dling prior to examination and public disclosure of findings. Delays to construction
progress and project completion can be significant depending upon the extent of the
area adjacent to the initial discovery site that may contain artifacts and the time required
for careful examination of it by trained professionals, before any conditional contractor
release to continue construction efforts is negotiated with interested third parties, if any,
along with all agencies having jurisdiction.

References

Alberta Environment, 2006, Alberta Air Emission Standards for Electricity Generation and
Alberta Air Emission Guidelines for Electricity Generation. Canadian Government,
Edmonton, Canada, ISBN 978-0-7785-6758-5.
American Speech-Language Hearing Association, “Noise and Hearing Loss,” available
at http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/disorders/noise.htm, accessed on October
22, 2008.
Calabrese, E. J. and Kenyon, E. M., 1991, Air Toxics and Risk Assessment, Chelsea, MI,
Lewis Publishers, Inc., ISBN0-87371-165-3.
Environment Canada, 2005, National Emission Guidelines for Stationary Combustion
Turbines, Canadian Government, Gatineau, Canada.