I'd like to hear from project teams who have successfully pursued this credit. Is the soil testing actually required or is it a means to an end? The reference guide uses the word "can" a lot with regards to the soil testing. That implies "optional" to me. Thoughts?
Also, for a previously developed site, does the existing soil have to be improved before it is reused?
Thank you.
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Lise Dannesboe
COWI86 thumbs up
September 22, 2016 - 10:39 am
I have the same question, do we need to perform soil testing? In our case there is basically no landscape on the existing site, it is all previously developed except for one or two trees. Do we need to perform soil testing of the 2m2 of soil around the 2 trees, or test soil that is undisturbed and found in the region outside the our site? We are building in the middle of a city center in a large city, therefore it seems far fetched. Does anybody have experience with this credit or an idea about the intend with regard to our specific case? Thanks in advance.
Jason Biondi
Managing DirectorEnergy Cost Solutions Group
17 thumbs up
March 21, 2019 - 5:50 pm
I have a same question, I feel LEEDUser is losing its relevance especially, if so called "Technical Experts" don't bother to answer questions asked all the way back in 2016. Please advice.
Martha Norbeck
PresidentC-Wise Design and Consulting
70 thumbs up
April 10, 2019 - 2:32 pm
Yes. You do need to test your soil. The existing condition and the post-construction condition. I tired to write a narrative to get around it. This was firmly rejected. I even set up a call to make my case. Still had to do the testing. The cost estimate provided by a Geotechnical Service to provide their testing methods was prohibitively expensive. We found an Agricultural Extension office who could do the soil composition testing at a low cost and did the percolation tests ourselves. This was accepted.