PARTNER CENTRAL - ENVIRONMENTAL
Pre-Construction Assessment (PCA) Overview
The Pre-Construction Assessment (PCA) document serves as a single permit application form used for OTIA III programmatic permitting process. It is also a tool to track the bridge program's compliance with programmatic agreements, including wetland fill quantities and the total amount of incidental "take" under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Each bridge must have a completed PCA submittal. The contractor must provide basic information for each PCA, including:
- Bridge Identification (including bridge number, highway name, and feature crossed)
- Bridge Location (including county, legal description, taxlot number, ecoregion, watershed)
- Project Schedule (including construction start, construction end, in-water work timing)
- Project Team Contacts (for the contractor, subcontractor(s), designer, OBDU, OBDP)
- Species Affected (including threatened and endangered species (T&E), Evolutionarily Significant Unit (ESU), Distinct Population Segment (DPS), province, nest ID, range)
- Wetland Identification (including determination, delineation, concurrence received, photos)
- Photos must include the date and time of the photograph, the project name, photographer's name, and any pertinent comments
- Cultural Resources review (summary of projected design impacts relative to cultural resources work conducted)
The PCA will also record other information specific to the environmental permitting needs of each bridge, as well as construction and monitoring data needs. Each assessment may include any or all of the following:
- Project Element Checklist (the project activities relative to the biological assessment / opinion's Proposed Action)
- Environmental Performance Standard (EPS) Checklist (EPS relevant to each bridge, including an explanation of how each EPS is achieved)
- EPS Plan Checklist (ensures that plans address the relevant EPS)
- Take Estimation (estimate of exempted take and metrics required for the project)
- Variance Request Checklist (including supporting documentation and justification for variance, and additional conservation measures needed to offset potential effects)
- Environmental Project Specifications necessary to achieve and maintain permit compliance
- Pre-Construction Meeting Information (time, date, location, attendees, meeting notes)
- Meeting Records
- Comments
What is the PCA approval process?
The contractor responsible for the bridge project design will complete the PCA. The contractor will consult with OBDP and ODOT, as needed, to ensure that the PCA is complete, correct, and will meet the needs of the regulatory agencies.
Once the PCA is completed, it will be reviewed by OBDP. If approved, OBDP will work with the design contractor on submitting the PCA to the appropriate regulatory agencies. Personnel from those agencies will review the PCA and issue the required permits or approvals. OBDP will notify the contractor when the necessary permits and approvals have been issued, allowing construction activities to begin.
The PCA is now online
OBDP has developed an online version of the PCA. This method of data entry logs the environmental information for each bridge project into a single database that will be used to monitor the performance of the program.
Completing an online PCA will require a bridge number and corresponding password, to be supplied by your design coordinator. However, to gain a basic familiarity with the contents of the online PCA, you may use the following "test" bridge number (00001) and password (also 00001). Note: no data entered with this "test" information will be saved in the database. Please contact your Design Coordinator to determine the appropriate version for your PCA submittals.
The online PCA may be accessed under "related info" at the upper right of this web page. We will continue to make refinements to the online PCA in 2006.