ENGINEERING GEOLOGY/Site Classification Table Continued Construction works Key considerations Other considerations Power transmission Forest resources Mineral resources Cost effective tower locations Minimize hydraulic damage Minimize exploration and development impacts Proper management of spoil Minimize impacts from unstable ground on or adjacent to route Minimize sediment produced Devise safe spoil disposal strategies and minimal cation exchange leaching Plans for plant closure Isolate from groundwater Provide adequate cover sources Remove toxic hotspots Control entry of freshwater Remove explosive relics Remove toxic hotspots Remove toxic hotspots Grade land for minimal impact Control entry of freshwater Control entry of freshwater Control groundwater pumping Reduce land disturbance Inject flood or treated waters Define interception features Flood hazards Rock falls Snow avalanches Active faults Unstable ground Shore protection Establish likely inundation Unstable rock masses Photogeological evidence of pathways Establish likely rupture location Mainly related to regional physiography Delimit susceptible ground Volcanic Pathway of impact Evidence of catastrophic flooding Impact zones on adjacent ground Foundations and anchorage of structures to deflect snow Susceptibility to lateral spread or liquefaction Avoidance first; mitigation second Other shoreline influences, such as groundwater seepage Methods to deflect impact Footprints of structures Areas of intense use by vehicles Obstacles Trafficability Exploration for wells Features for approaches Interdiction of enemy movement Neutralization of underground space Water supply basin Unstable surrounding ground Wellfield susceptibility to sabotage Mineral beneficiation Environmental Waste disposal facility siting Water quality protection Military impacts Derelict land Environmental remediation Saline intrusion Sedimentation Hazards Defence Military posts and installations Use of terrain Potable water Anti terrorism actions In all cases, the characterization should reflect the owner’s objectives, the level of available funding for exploration and characterization, and the normal geotechnical, hydrological, and environmental practices employed in the region Table Some pitfalls of site characterization Potential pitfall Nature Failure to consider owner’s goals and design conditions Represent the stated truths of project impact on the geological environment Owner should be informed of the consequences of these considerations, though it is the owner’s responsibility to act on such information Discrimination should be made in order to represent the owner’s rights and position, in which the construction contractor bears the normal risks associated with construction under the conditions reported in the design documents and construction specifications Contractors are entitled to additional payments for geological conditions not adequately defined in the contract documents Separation of factual from interpreted information more clearly defines the information available for consideration by the contractor in bid formulation Essentially a schematic drawing (cartoon) of known and possible geological conditions at the site, superimposed on one or two (perpendicular) sketch geotechnical profiles, from ground surface to maximum depth of expected impact on site design It is proper to consider the possibility of certain sedimentological, stratigraphical, structural, and geomorphological anomalies at the site, resulting from its general regional physiographical affinity These possibilities should be assessed in terms of the site development plan Failure to separate factual from interpreted geological information Failure to apply site conceptual geological model ‘Geological possibilities’ Continued