New Sewer Line Great Falls Maintenance Facility

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park » New Sewer Line Great Falls Maintenance Facility » Document List

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park has installed 1900 linear feet of sewer line at Great Falls Tavern Visitor Area, Potomac, MD. This sewer line connects the park maintenance area to the main municipal sewer line, replacing an antiquated septic field. The project also repaired a portion of an existing sanitary sewer line, and established a sewer line that will connect the park's entrance station to the sewer main at a future time. This work was completed September 15, 2006. This work was preliminary to the planned work for the park entrance roadway and parking lots slated be begin Fall 2006.

The sewer line installation involved trenching from an existing manhole east of the concession stand and traversed through the lower tier of the large parking lot and crossing to the upper tier. It traversed the upper tier to a point where a perpendicular alignment to the maintenance shop was achieved.

No trees were removed for this project. Permits were obtained from the Army Corps of Engineers and Maryland Department of the Environment.

The proposed pipe alignment is within the area of previous disturbance from the construction of the parking lots and maintenance facility circa late 1950's.

The project has undergone internal scoping for impacts to natural and cultural resources by the park's Interdisciplinary Team. The project qualifies for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Categorical Exclusion # 3.4 C. 16 – Installation of underground utilities in areas showing clear evidence of recent human disturbance or areas within existing road prism or within an existing overhead utility right-of-way. It also qualifies for Programmatic Exclusion #IV.B 8 – placement, maintenance, or replacement of utility lines, transmission lines, and fences within previously disturbed areas. The Programmatic Exclusion applies to the evaluation of impacts to cultural resources under the National Historic Preservation Act, Section 106.

Mitigations for the project have been outlined by National Park Service archeology staff. "Extensive disturbance of this area occurred during parking lot development in the late 1950's - available drawings indicate massive amounts of cut and fill within the study area. Although it is unlikely, there is a remote possibility of encountering intact archeological resources within the study area - as a consequence it is recommended that an NPS archeologist be on call during the course of the project."

Park Superintendent, Kevin Brandt, invited the public to review this proposed project for any impacts or concerns. The project was open for comments from March 30, 2006 through April 6, 2006.


Contact Information

For further information about this project, please contact Park Engineer, at 1850 Dual Highway, Suite 100, Hagerstown, MD 21740