New Environmental Regulations Spur Redesign of Silver Line's Next Phase
The agency overseeing the construction of the second phase of the Silver Line Metrorail to Dulles Airport says it will make design changes to the project in order to comply with new state environmental regulations.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), which oversaw the construction of the first phase of the Silver Line from D.C. to Reston, said Virginia's new storm water runoff regulations, which are designed to protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed, spurred the decision.
“MWAA made the decision to comply with the latest state regulations which strengthen protections for the Chesapeake Bay, regulations that apply throughout the region,” said Marcia McAllister, a spokeswoman for MWAA. “The old regulations required that the project only control the flow of stormwater. The new regulations require that pollutants not be discharged into tributaries to the bay, such as streams."
It's unclear how the work will affect the final cost and timetable of the $3 billion project that is supposed to reach the airport and extend into Virginia's Loudoun County in 2018.
The Silver Line is being financed with a combination of federal and local tax dollars and toll revenues from the Dulles Toll Road, the latter covering about half of the entire project’s estimated $5.6 billion cost.
The design change to control and treat the flow of storm water runoff in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties could increase the burden on the public to pay for the second phase of the rail line.
MWAA, not its contractor, is ordering the change, so the agency will have to dip into its contingency fund to begin to pay for it. The contractor team, led by Clark Construction, is not on the hook for the increased costs. A spokeswoman for Clark Construction declined to comment on this story, referring all questions to the airports authority.
MWAA was not required to meet the new regulations, which were adopted by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and took effect July 1. The Silver Line design was grandfathered into the old regulations, but because everything that will be built around the future rail tracks and stations in Fairfax and Loudoun will have to comply, MWAA decided to meet the new standards, too.
“There is rail construction, road construction, all kinds of building construction, major development. If we did not do it for our project, we would be just passing on the storm water problems down the road,” said McAllister.
Significant portions of the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Virginia do not meet federal water quality standards and have been listed as impaired by the EPA. The new state regulations were formulated to meet more stringent standards in the federal Clean Water Act.
Changes to massive infrastructure projects are common, but usually deal with unexpected problems that are discovered once construction begins. In this case, MWAA cannot say how long the design changes will take to finish.
“Change orders are a very common occurrence on a construction project, especially a large one,” said Pat Dean, president of Associated Builders and Contractors of Virginia.
“Obviously the decision makers are convinced there is a good reason to do it. If the change order is initiated by the owner, typically the contractor will be paid for that work,” Dean added. “The contractor is not necessarily against change orders. They can be a positive thing by adding value to the job for the contractor along with adding value to the project overall.”