Caltrans Headquarters - Test Plan for the Temporary, Non-Vegetative Erosion Control Pilot Study

Federal and state regulations based on the Clean Water Act (CWA) require the control of pollutant discharges from construction sites. As part of its statewide Storm Water Program, Caltrans implements measures to control erosion and limit discharges of pollutants from construction sites, including the use of vegetative and non-vegetative soil stabilization techniques. This study was intended to provide Caltrans Project Engineers and Resident Engineers with the information necessary to choose appropriate temporary, non-vegetative soil stabilizers for Caltrans construction projects. ADH was contracted by URS Corporation to develop a Test Plan Technical Memorandum (Study Plan) to further evaluate the performance of the non-vegetative temporary soil stabilizers. The Study Plan was prepared in accordance with the latest version of Caltrans’ draft BMP Pilot Study Guidance Manual, and included the following components:

• Define Study Goals: Review of existing information; determined principal study questions; considered alternative outcomes or actions that would be taken once the questions have been answered; and, identified key assumptions that have the potential to influence the study outcome.
• Determine Monitoring Approach and Identify Data Characteristics: Defined the monitoring approach; prepared a detailed schematic of the BMP system; identified types and sources of data expected to be collected; and, identified variables that may affect the data.
• Determine Key Study Parameters: Defined required site characteristics; defined the anticipated study period; defined the timing and frequency of monitoring activities; identified storm event selection criteria; and, listed practical constraints on data collection.
• Specify Data Collection Methods and Analytic Approach: Described method(s) for obtaining data; and, statistical analysis techniques to be used to evaluate data.
• Specify Data Quality Objectives: Discussed the data validation procedure that will be used to evaluate the usability of the data; and, specified acceptable limits on measurement uncertainty.
• Optimize the Study Design: Identified project constraints; and, defined a document a design that will yield data that will best attain required performance criteria.
• Define Reporting Requirements: Described specific requirements for the preparation and submittal of the Operations, Maintenance and Monitoring Plan, Post-Storm Summary Reports, and, Interim and Final Reports.
• Schedule and Cost: Established a general timeline for overall project completion; and, developed cost estimates for the pilot study primary components.