Early project planning should include conducting ISAs prior to or in conjunction with the preliminary design and feasibility study stages of project development. The potential for encountering hazardous material contamination should be considered and incorporated into the following:

Preliminary Design Concept Conference

: The information gathered from site assessments and investigations should be discussed in design concept conference meetings for the project. The Preliminary Design Concept Conference (PDCC) form, developed by the TxDOT Task Force on Design Concepts, contains a section to include pertinent hazardous material information. Districts should contact the Design Division (DES) for more information about the PDCC form.

Environmental Permits, Issues, and Commitments Sheets:

An Environmental Permits, Issues and Commitments (EPIC) Sheet was developed to communicate information that should be considered in the PS&E. The EPIC sheet contains a section to include pertinent hazardous material information. Known, unresolved hazardous materials issues are also tracked in ENV division’s Environmental Compliance Oversight System (ECOS) through the use of Issues, Identifications, and Resolution (IIR) forms and assigned tracking tasks.

Preliminary Design Schematics and Right-of-Way Maps:

If not avoided, hazardous material contamination concerns will need to be further addressed during later stages of project development. Copies of the preliminary schematics should include references to known or suspected hazardous material contamination or regulated sites. Additional surveying of known or possible hazardous material contamination concerns can be incorporated with either the preliminary schematic or right-of-way maps. Whether surveyed or hand-drawn, examples of possible concerns to note on preliminary schematics or maps include, but are not limited to, monitoring or exploration wells, contaminated fill, underground storage tanks, fill pipes, pump islands and above-ground storage tanks.