This project (designed 1996-7, completed 1999) is located in New Orleans on a very level, if not dead flat, site. The soils on the site are extremely clayy [contain large percentages of clay]. The Civil Engineer, a local firm, appears to have cited neither EPA nor local regulations regarding erosion and sedimentation control in the documents. There were requirements regarding stockpiling of topsoil. The Contractor provided hay bales around catch basins. Is it possible to petition for and be granted a variance for this prerequisite, given the peculiar local site conditions?
While there is insufficient information in the inquiry to make a definitive ruling on this credit, other pre-LEED vintage projects have been granted relief from absolute compliance with Version 2 requirements. As an applicant for Certification you will need to make a strong case as to why these measures were not needed. If you can show that due to the soil make-up, the site topography and the placement of the hay bales that soil erosion problems were prevented, it would be possible to pass this prerequisite.