Contractors

Drilling - Blasting (Non-Environmental)

Contractors performing drilling and blasting operations can face environmental exposures from their work, equipment, and materials used, as well as from disturbing existing site conditions. The disturbance of pre-existing contamination in soil or striking underground utilities, sewer lines, or unknown storage tanks could result in environmental cleanup and tort liability. Earthwork disturbs silt and sediment, and improper erosion control can cause contaminated runoff that damages drainage systems, water quality, and aquatic ecosystems. Heavy equipment, drilling fluids, and explosives can also leak, spill, or release pollutants into soil, groundwater, and surface waters. Air pollutants and toxic gases can result from using explosives or cutting or blasting materials such as concrete and clays.

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Environmental Exposures May Include:

Pre-Existing Contamination Spread
Fuel and Equipment Spills
Erosion and Sediment Run-off
Underground Utility Strikes
Airborne Dust and Toxic Emissions
Drilling Fluid Releases
Silica Dust Exposure
Contaminated Washout Water
Explosive Residue Pollution

Pre-Existing Contamination Spread

Contractors performing drilling and blasting operations can face environmental exposures from their work, equipment, and materials used, as well as from disturbing existing site conditions. The disturbance of pre-existing contamination in soil or striking underground utilities, sewer lines, or unknown storage tanks could result in environmental cleanup and tort liability. Earthwork disturbs silt and sediment, and improper erosion control can cause contaminated runoff that damages drainage systems, water quality, and aquatic ecosystems. Heavy equipment, drilling fluids, and explosives can also leak, spill, or release pollutants into soil, groundwater, and surface waters. Air pollutants and toxic gases can result from using explosives or cutting or blasting materials such as concrete and clays.

Fuel and Equipment Spills

Heavy equipment and portable refueling tanks may be brought to and stored on the jobsite. Much of the construction equipment is powered by diesel fuel, requiring petroleum-based hydraulic fluids and lubricants. Release of fuels, lubricant oils, and chemicals from accidental spills, leaks, or vandalism can discharge pollutants into the soil and groundwater or collect in stormwater run-off and discharge into water systems.

Erosion and Sediment Run-off

Most earthwork activities in construction require silt/sediment and erosion control measures, largely due to regrading, fill placement, excavation, drilling, stockpiling of material, and other activities that disturb the surface cover and expose bare soils. Silt and sediment are fine-grained soil particles readily carried in surface run-off. Improper erosion control or handling of sediment-laden water can lead to surface run-off that can impair the functionality of stormwater drainage systems and catch basins, severely damage water quality, and threaten aquatic systems and drinking water sources.

Underground Utility Strikes

Failure to properly locate underground utilities such as gas lines, water, and sewage pipes or unknown hazards, such as abandoned storage tanks and septic tanks, could result in striking a line or causing an accidental puncture, which could cause a subsequent release of fuel oil, chemicals, toxic gases, or sewage.

Airborne Dust and Toxic Emissions

Air pollutants and toxic gases can be generated from blasting operations, heavy equipment trafficking across a site, trenching or drilling under dry soil conditions, and jackhammering concrete or pavement cover. Hazardous air emissions can migrate off-site with wind currents and pose inhalation exposures to third parties.

Drilling Fluid Releases

Drilling fluids may contain various additives to help cool and lubricate drills, aid in the flotation of drill cuttings, seal porous layers of the drilling area, and more. These compounds can be toxic, especially to aquatic systems and other natural resources. Drilling fluids could contaminate or cross-contaminate groundwater and aquifer materials. A containment breach or spill could also occur while storing and transporting additives, base fluids, and premixed fluids. Releases can migrate or be carried off-site by stormwater run-off and impact adjacent properties, stormwater drains, and nearby surface waters. Disposal of spent drilling fluids could result in liquid waste migration from the disposal site.

Silica Dust Exposure

Any work done with concrete, cement, mortars, and numerous types of clay can release disease-causing, respirable crystalline silica. Releases may occur through grinding, cutting, or blasting and during transport and handling. Any dry emissions generate potential inhalation exposures because airborne particles stay suspended and concentrated without wind or dilution mechanisms or will travel off-site with wind currents. Off-site aerial drift can settle in surface soil and adjacent structures and expose third parties. Once inhaled, it accumulates in the lungs and causes scarring and formation of nodules and can cause illnesses such as silicosis, which is permanent and irreversible.

Contaminated Washout Water

Equipment washout and decontamination water can contain toxic materials and be caustic and corrosive. Improper washouts from cleaning mobile equipment, pumps, hoses, and drill rods can leach into soil and groundwater or run off-site and into storm drains that discharge into surface waters and significantly damage natural resources and aquatic life.

Explosive Residue Pollution

“Explosive residue” may be left as unexploded material after the completion of blasting operations. The explosive residue can contain hazardous materials, such as nitrate and fuel oil, which can enter groundwater and surface water, such as ponds and wetlands, through gravity flow and washing of the aggregate and can harm natural resources.

Contractors Pollution Liability Can Provide Coverage For

  • Contracting operations completed “by or on behalf of” the insured
  • Contracting operations performed at a jobsite
  • Third-party claims for bodily injury and property damage
  • Third-party claims for cleanup
  • Defense of third-party claims
  • First-party emergency response costs
  • Sudden and accidental coverage for owned/leased locations
  • Mold, legionella, bacteria, and fungi
  • Silt and sedimentation
  • First and third-party transportation pollution liability
  • Loading and unloading
  • Natural resource damage
  • Crisis/publicity management
  • Lead and asbestos
  • Non-owned disposal sites

    • Claims Scenarios & Examples

    While boring a hole for a support beam behind a car dealership, a drilling contractor punctured a transmission pipeline. As a result, more than 1 million gallons of raw sewage was released into the nearby creek and flowed 12 miles toward a lake. The city parks and recreation department had to shut down the lake for recreational use and warned of a fish kill. The contractor was responsible for the cleanup and remediation of all affected areas.
    A drilling and blasting company was performing work at a stone quarry. Residents in the surrounding neighborhood experienced problems with their wells, including muddy, turbid water and, in some cases, no water due to the operations. Water testing showed that wells had elevated levels of coliform bacteria and E coli, requiring the residents to use bottled water. Twenty-eight families filed a lawsuit against the company. The company agreed to a settlement, paying $1 million to set up a fund to provide an alternative water source to residents in the area.
    A drilling contractor struck a wastewater pipe in a city, causing the release of 780,000 of untreated wastewater over two days. Eight months later, another contractor was drilling in the same city and struck a wastewater pipe, releasing 875,000 gallons of wastewater. Both situations released almost 1.7 million gallons of wastewater into a nearby bay. The state’s Department of Environmental Protection sued the city and two drilling contractors for violating laws against waste discharge, pollution, and water-quality standards.
    A drilling contractor was installing a natural gas pipeline. While attempting to drill under a large river, 36,000 gallons of drilling fluid were pumped into the aquifer. The plume of drilling mud flowed away from the drilling site and contaminated the community’s drinking water source. The community association sued the contractor for alleged violations of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and to pay for the cleanup of the contamination.
    While drilling for foundation piers on a vacant site, the contractor unknowingly drilled through contaminated soil and cross-contaminated a deeper aquifer. The contamination migrated to nearby residential wells, affecting the residents’ health and the value of their properties. More than a dozen affected residents sued the drilling company for environmental cleanup, medical monitoring, and diminution in the value of their property.
    The construction crew struck a small, low-pressure gas pipeline while drilling through a sidewalk to install a utility pole anchor. At first, the pipeline made some noise while it vented, but little to no gas was released, which caused the workers to not be alarmed. However, a massive explosion soon occurred, knocking one person off his feet, killing four people, injuring twelve, and destroying six buildings.
    A driller performing natural gas exploration dammed streams and filled in wetlands without approvals or permits. The US EPA fined the company $1.9 million and ordered them to clean up the wetlands and waterways impacted by the drilling operations.
    During a project, a drilling contractor drilled further than the engineer instructed. They hit a large sewer pipeline and caused sewage to overflow. The cleanup entailed the excavation of several tons of impacted soil and caused several nearby businesses to be temporarily shut down when their basements were filled with sewage. The businesses filed claims for business interruption and cleanup costs.
    A drilling company was using a directional borer to lay fiber optic cable, and they punctured a 12-inch water main, leading to a geyser in front of several retail stores. The geyser led to the migration of mud and sediment into the city’s sanitary water system. The city sued the driller for the environmental damages caused by the accident.

    Final Consideration

    As a contractor, you can be faced with the cost to defend yourself against allegations or legal action from pollution-related events, regardless of fault. Having proper insurance coverage helps fund investigation and defense expenses and provides environmental claims handling expertise.

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    This environmental risk overview offers a general understanding of potential risks and may not reflect all risks associated with your business. Environmental Risk Professionals has compiled this overview for informational purposes only. This overview does not constitute legal opinion or advice, nor does it establish a consultant-client relationship. This overview is not intended to guide project parties in interpreting specific contracts or resolving disputes; such decisions may require consultation with counsel and depend on various factors. © 2025 Environmental Risk Professionals, LLC