The Impact of Protected Wetlands on an Active Construction Project

C.

The correct answer is C. The project timeline will increase.

Protected wetlands are natural resources that are legally protected from being disturbed or destroyed without proper authorization. When it is discovered that a designated project area contains protected wetlands, the project team must take immediate action to avoid any negative impacts on the environment.

To comply with environmental regulations, the project team may need to obtain permits, conduct additional studies, or revise the project plan. These activities can add time and cost to the project, which could delay the project timeline. Therefore, the most likely impact to the project is an increase in the project timeline.

Option A, the project quality will decrease, is not a likely impact of discovering protected wetlands. The quality of the project may actually increase as the project team incorporates measures to protect the environment.

Option B, the project scope will decrease, is also not a likely impact. If the project area contains protected wetlands, the project scope may need to be revised to avoid disturbing these areas. However, this would not necessarily result in a decrease in the project scope.

Option D, the interproject dependencies will increase, is not directly related to the discovery of protected wetlands. Interproject dependencies refer to the relationships between different projects, and the discovery of protected wetlands would not necessarily impact these relationships.