Baltimore City Area Management Approach – Proactive Construction Management in an Urban Area

On September 30, 2002, the City of Baltimore (the City) entered into a Consent Decree (CD) in the matter captioned United States of America, et. al. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, Maryland, JFM02-CV1524 (D. Maryland) (CD) with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the State of Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). Under the terms of the Consent Decree, the City is required to:Eliminate sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) and combined sewer overflows (CSOs) – This work has been completedComplete a comprehensive sewer evaluation program – This work has been completed and awaiting final concurrence from the regulators.Complete a comprehensive sewer rehabilitation program – On-going and Includes structural and hydraulic projects.Implement continuous upgrades to operation and maintenance (O&M) – On-going.The CD established specific compliance dates between 2002 and the ultimate compliance date of January 1, 2016. Compliance with the Clean Water Act (CWA) based CD is estimated to cost more than $1 billion. The City continues to work with EPA and MDE to define additional capacity-related improvements for the collection system, with the investment in CD-relatedprojects and activities to date costing more than $500 million.The City currently is in the design phase of the sewer rehabilitation program, which includes upgrade/new pipe, cleaning and CIPP lining, point repairs, pipe replacement and manhole rehabilitation throughout the City. It is estimated that this effort will be spread into the City's neighborhood and if not coordinated properly could result in a program out of control. Due to the level of coordination required for Structural Rehabilitation work, the Construction Management Division (CMD) will be implementing an Area Management approach to provide greater attention to numerous small contracts that will be completed simultaneously at various locations throughout the City. This strategy will leverage city and consultant resources to achieve the following goals:Ensure compliance with Federal and state regulations related to water and wastewater Utilities;Prepare all documentation ahead of time to avoid delays, cost overruns and inconvenience to the public;Protect the City's interests from both a regulatory and contractual standpoint;Keep City agencies, public officials and the public informed of program developments;Administer contracts efficiently to ensure on-time and under budget completion;Develop and implement the infrastructure required to accomplish and complete the CD contracts.The Area Management approach will result in increased efficiency in implementing and managing the construction of CD projects by increasing coordination, communication and collaboration to ensure that all structural improvement construction contracts are completed by January 1, 2016.