**3. Conclusion**

*Infrastructure Management and Construction*

*2.5.2 Continuous assessment of environmental impacts*

tion and views.

• Restoring the changes on the natural habitat during after the operations (removing temporary equipment access roads by replacing the polluted or compacted soil with the natural soil of the area, restoring the damages vegeta-

Depending on the type, size, and location of the infrastructure it can affect different elements of the natural world including habitats and species. The interactions between the facility and its surrounding environment can vary over time because both the infrastructure and the environment are dynamic systems with altering elements that interact with the elements of one another. For instance, the amount of pollution infrastructure generates can change based on its production. On the other hand, the tolerance of the adjacent environment can also modify based on the severity and frequency of rainfalls, the intensity of winds, and temperature inversion in different seasons or years. Another example is the tolerance of water bodies to pollutants which decrease as they are exposed to more contaminants. In this situation, the infrastructure may have to reduce its production to maintain the

The environmental assessment methods, required tools, intervals of measurement, and data analysis methods depend on the type of environment that is in the proximity of the infrastructure. Figuring out the pattern of the repetitive alterations in the reactions between the infrastructure and the responses from the

Paying adequate attention to preventive measures is essential in the management of infrastructure. Though, considering the complexities and unpredictability involved during long years of service of infrastructures some damages to the adjacent environment are inevitable. However, these damages can be minimized by executing restorative measures. Depending on the type of damage, a wide variety of options exist for restoration purposes. It is crucial to keep in mind that some of these damages cannot be readily observable and they require a more in-depth

Restorative measures are focused on bringing the adjacent environment back to the condition it had before the infrastructure was developed, as much as possible. These measures are more critical when the damages affect residential areas, wildlife, habitat, rare species, greenfields, wetlands, prime farmlands, and historical

The restorative measure can have different types depending on the type of dam-

• Emergency restoration. This is when the damage should be taken care of immediately. For examples the leakage of pollutant fluids. The facility must develop a plan with the collaboration of different organizations to react quickly when such damages occur. In the case above, after the leakage is stopped, immediate action is required to remove the spilled fluid before the contamina-

• Restoring the damages of a fire or smoke. One of the most critical impacts of infrastructure on the environment is increasing the risk of fires. Adequate

water quality before other preventive measures can be implemented.

environment can significantly improve the preventive measures.

examination of the area and evaluation of the facility's impacts.

ages they try to restore. Some of the main types are the following:

tion transfers to lower layers of soil or a water body.

*2.5.3 Restoring the damages caused by the infrastructure*

**28**

sites.

Critical infrastructures have significant adverse impacts on sustainability that, if not handled, can defeat their purpose of serving to the public. Although a lot of attention is paid to develop a critical infrastructure with a minimal footprint, once a facility is operating less consideration is paid to evaluate how it interacts with its surrounding environment or the host community. It was mentioned that the dynamic nature of the infrastructure and its hosting environment causes a lot of alterations in how the facility impacts its surroundings. Examples such as the shutdown of nuclear power plants in the USA indicate that in many cased the planned trajectory of infrastructure may not be pursued due to various internal and external factors that affect infrastructures. Without proper maintenance of sustainability performance, the negative impacts of infrastructures will gradually accumulate and may lead to irreversible damages. Continuous data collection, inspections, and measurement of the environmental impacts are essential to identify how the facility's performance must be modified to maintain its negative impacts within the desired limits.

Sustainability maintenance is an ongoing process throughout the service life of infrastructure to maintain its negative impacts within the desired limits and ideally enhance its sustainability performance. It was mentioned that regular maintenance operations provide a significant opportunity to mitigate the negative sustainability impacts of infrastructure. Unlike the design phase in which the sustainability threats are predicted, while performing the maintenance operation, most of the sustainability-related issues are precisely identified.

The significant roles of considering the hosting community's concerns, managers' determination to sustainable performance, sustainable handling of materials, sustainable maintenance operations, and continuous restoration of damages caused by the infrastructure were highlighted.

*Infrastructure Management and Construction*
