Additional considerations for permeable pavement

Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

All permeable pavements are ADA compliant. PICP is compliant if designs are used with joints less than ½ inch wide.

Groundwater Protection and Underground Injection Control Permits

The Safe Drinking Water Act regulates the infiltration of stormwater in certain situations pursuant to the Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program, which is administered either by the US EPA or a delegated state groundwater protection agency. The US EPA (USEPA 2008) determined that permeable pavement installations are not classified as Class V injection wells since they are always wider than they are deep. There may be an exception in karst terrain if the discharge from permeable pavement is directed to an improved sinkhole, although this would be uncommon.

Air and Runoff Temperature

Permeable pavement appears to have some value in reducing summer runoff temperatures which can be important in watersheds with sensitive cold-water fish populations. The temperature reduction effect is greatest when runoff is infiltrated into reservoir layer when underdrains are used. All permeable pavements exhibit cooler summer temperatures than their impervious counterparts. This is likely due to a higher specific heat of permeable pavements.

Sustainable Rating Systems

All permeable pavements support sustainable rating systems such as LEED and others plus sustainable transportation rating systems such as those published by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (Envision), Federal Highway Administration (INVEST), and the University of Washington (Greenroads).

Certification

{{[alert|The MPCA does not endorse any specific product or service, including trainings, workshops, or other similar practices or events|alert-warning}} Each of the three permeable pavement types has many options for continuing education and certification for installation providers and designers.

The Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI) provides several courses for contractors, including:

• Concrete Paver Installer Course – This course is focused on currently employed individuals in the paver industry who are looking for education, certification, and industry recognition.
• Commercial Paver Technician Course – This course is intended for foreman and higher-ranking personnel employed by companies that will be installing in the industrial, commercial, institutional, and municipal markets.
• Advanced Residential Paver Technical Course – This course is designed as an advanced level course that builds upon the Concrete Paver Installer Course.
• PICP Specialist Course – This course is intended for experience contractors who are presently doing concrete pavement installations and wish to move into the permeable pavement market for residential and/or commercial projects.

The ICPI provides a certification for those installers who have successfully completed the two-day Concrete Paver Installer Course and have met the installation experience requirements (at least five projects and 10,000 square feet). Once an installer has received their certification they must complete eight continuing education credits every two years to renew their certification. In addition, the ICPI provides a free online course for design professionals and several design/research documents on permeable pavers. In addition, certified installers have the opportunity to earn designations including the commercial paver technician, PICP specialist and residential paver technician. Each of these designations require the individual to hold a current ICPI concrete paver installer certification, complete the relevant course, pass the relevant exam, and meet the established minimum installation experience. The minimum experience necessary for each designation is 10 projects and 50,000 square feet.

The National Asphalt Pavement Association has produced a manual for the design, construction, and maintenance of porous asphalt pavements. The manual is called “Porous Asphalt Pavements for Stormwater Management, Design, Construction, and Maintenance Guide” (Revised in 2008). The Minnesota Asphalt Pavement Association has also provided a draft guidance document on their website for reference. The asphalt contractor should provide proof of prior experience installing porous asphalt. In addition, all plants producing hot-mix asphalt are required to be certified by MnDOT. Porous asphalt does not require special ingredients and can be installed by most paving equipment.

The National Ready Mix Concrete Association (NRMCA) provides three levels of certification for pervious concrete installers. The three levels are Technician, Installer, and Craftsman. Each level is described in greater detail below:

• Technician – The technician level is intended for personnel who are learning the proper techniques of installing pervious concrete and lack the required experience to qualify for the next level. The certification level requires a passing score on the NRMCA Pervious Concrete Contractor Certification Written Examination.
• Installer – The installer is the intermediate level and requires a passing score on the NRMCA Pervious Concrete Contractor Certification Written Examination, a performance evaluation by a local sponsoring group, and a minimum of 3 projects with a total area exceeding 10,000 square feet.
• Craftsman – The craftsman certification is the highest level and reflects a person with advanced knowledge and experience for placing, compacting, finishing, edging, jointing, curing, and protecting pervious concrete. The craftsman level requires an individual to pass the NRMCA Pervious Concrete Contractor Certification Written Examination, possess a current American Concrete Institute (ACI) Flatwork Finisher Technician or Craftsman certification, and either complete a performance evaluation by a Local Sponsoring Group and provide documentation of 1500 hours of work experience constructing pervious concrete or provide documentation of work experience constructing pervious concrete pavements exceeding 3000 hours.

The NRMCA provides a database of certified pervious concrete craftsman, installers, and technicians and a list of approved Local Sponsoring Groups. In addition, the American Concrete Pavement Institute has created design software called PerviousPave that aids in the design process for pervious concrete pavement. The software can be downloaded from the American Concrete Pavement Association website. Specifications for the design of pervious concrete are provided by the American Concrete Institute (ACI) in ACI 522.1-08 “Specification for Pervious Concrete Pavement”. A report titled ACI 522R-10 “Report on Pervious Concrete” is also an available reference.