Construction Site
Stormwater Compliance
Presentation for CALBIG
October 9, 2013
Kristin Kerr, P.E., QSD
EOA, Inc.
on behalf of the San Mateo Countywide Water
Pollution Prevention Program
Outline of Presentation
 Overview of Stormwater Regulations
 MRP Construction Site Inspection
Requirements
 Stormwater Inspection Documentation and
Tracking
 Enforcement
 Resources
Stormwater Regulations 101
The Clean Water Act
 Requires a Permit to discharge into Waters of
the State from Point Sources
• Wastewater Treatment Plants
• Industrial Facilities
 NPDES (National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination
System) Permits
1986 Amendments:
Stormwater Nonpoint Source
 Requires permits to discharge
stormwater from:
• Municipal Separate Storm
Drains (MS4)
• Industrial Facilities
• Construction Sites
 NPDES Municipal
Stormwater Permits
 Larger municipalities’ permits
called Phase 1 and smaller
ones Phase 2
Why Regulate Pollutants in
Stormwater?
 A storm drain system
is completely
separate from the
sanitary sewer system
 Water entering storm
drains generally
receives no
treatment before
discharging to creeks
and the Bay
Municipal NPDES Permitting
Authority
U.S. EPA
State Water Resource Control Board
Regional Water Quality Control Board
9 regions
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System
(MS4)
Stormwater Permits
 Individual NDPES Stormwater Permits –
issued by Regional Board
• Municipal Regional Permit (MRP)
 Statewide NPDES General Stormwater
Permits – issued by State Board
• Industrial General Permit (IGP)
• Construction General Permit (CGP)
• Phase II MS4 General Permit
Statewide General Permits
 NPDES authority issues one permit
 Used to cover same or similar
operations
 Facilities/municipality applies for
coverage
 Facilities/municipality submits
Notice of Intent (NOI)
Statewide Construction
Activities General Permit
 Revised Permit adopted by State Board
& effective July 1, 2010
 Applies to projects that disturb ≥1 acre
of land – Public & Private
 Contains requirements for site BMPs,
inspections, sampling, SWPPP,
reporting, QSP/QSD
 Compliance inspections & enforcement
by Regional Water Board staff
What do you need to know
about the Construction
General Permit (CGP)?
 MRP Inspections: looking at SWPPP, QSP
inspection records, sampling results, etc. may
help inform your inspection
 Public projects ≥ 1 acre must file for coverage
under the CGP - will you be involved?
 Overall site compliance reflects on your
inspection program
• You inspect for compliance with local SW ordinance
• Regional Board staff inspects for compliance with
CGP
Municipal Regional Permit (MRP)
 Regional permit regulating municipal stormwater
systems
• Adopted by Regional Water Board: October 14, 2009
• Effective date: December 1, 2009
• Permit renewed every 5 years
 Applies to cities, counties,
and districts in:
• San Mateo, Santa Clara,
Alameda, and Contra Costa
Counties
• Fairfield and Suisun City
(Solano County)
• Vallejo (Solano County)
MRP Permit Provisions
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C1 –
C2 –
C3 –
C4 –
C5 –
C6 –
C7 –
C8 –
C9 –
C10 –
C11 –
C12 –
C13 –
C14 –
C15 –
C16 –
Compliance with Discharge Prohibitions
Municipal Maintenance
New Development and Redevelopment
Industrial and Commercial Discharge
Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination
Construction Inspection
Public Information and Outreach
Water Quality Monitoring
Pesticide Toxicity Control
Trash Reduction
Mercury Load Reduction
PCBs
Copper
PBDE and Legacy Pesticides
Exempted & Conditionally Exempted Discharges
Reporting
MRP Construction Site
Inspection Requirements
Big Picture Requirements…
 Implement a construction site
inspection and control program at all
construction sites
 Prevent discharges of pollutants and
impacts on receiving waters
 When does this apply?
—All year long!
MRP Construction Site
Inspection Requirements
 During wet season, at least 1 stormwater
inspection per month for
• sites disturbing > 1 acre
• “high priority” sites
 Inspect both Public (e.g. CIP projects) &
Private sites
MRP Construction Site
Inspection Requirements
 What is a high priority site?
• Identified by your municipality
• Generally, site with < 1 acre of land disturbance that
—Has a steep slope and/or,
—Is adjacent to a creek
MRP Construction Site
Inspection Requirements
When is the wet season?
October 1st – April 30th
Construction Site Inspections
 When construction ends during wet
season:
• Continue stormwater inspections until
site is fully stabilized.
• If stabilizing with vegetation, assume
“fully stabilized” when there is 70%
vegetative cover.
Construction Site Inspections
 For every required
stormwater inspection,
there must be a completed
inspection checklist.
Construction Site Inspections
 For sites that require monthly wet season
inspections, data from the stormwater
inspection checklist must be:
• Tracked (in spreadsheet or database), and
• Reported (in Annual Report).
Construction Site Inspections
 Tracking table is not submitted in Annual Report
but is the basis for Annual Report data summaries
 Regional Board can request tracking table at any
time
 Inspection tables should match summaries in
Annual Report
Stormwater Inspection Forms
Stormwater Inspection Form
 Document Problems in 6 BMP categories:
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Erosion control
Run-on and run-off control
Sediment control
Active treatment systems (as needed)
Good site management
Non-stormwater management
Stormwater Inspection Forms
 Document Illicit Discharges
Stormwater Inspection Forms
 Enforcement Actions
 Resolution of Problem
• Problems fixed
• Need More Time
• Escalate Enforcement
 Comments: rationale for longer compliance time, all
escalation in enforcement discussions, relevant
information
Enforcement Options and
Reporting
Enforcement Response Plan
(ERP)
 Each agency must have and implement an ERP
 ERP provides framework for consistent and
effective enforcement
 ERP must include progressive (escalating)
enforcement
 The Program prepared an ERP template in 2010
 Agencies developed ERPs based on the template
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What’s in an ERP?
 Identifies enforcement actions and
timeframes for correction of violations.
 Timeframes: Violations must be corrected
• Within 10 business days ,
• Or before next rain event,
• OR record rationale for longer compliance.
 Procedures for escalating the enforcement
response.
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Example of Progressive
Enforcement
Problem
Enforcement Level Options
Correct within
Illicit discharge – no
significant harm to the
environment
Verbal Warning or
Notice of Violation
10 business days or before
next rain event
Illicit discharge – significant Notice of Violation or
harm to the environment
Stop Work Notice or
Cost Recovery
10 business days or before
next rain event
Failure to comply
10 business days or before
next rain event
Notice of Violation or
Stop Work Notice or
Cost Recovery or
Legal Action – and
May refer to Water Board staff
Documenting Violations
 Violations identified during inspections
(and other data) must be recorded on
inspection form.
 The specific category of the violation must
be indicated.
 Example on next slides.
Documenting Violations:
Example
Documenting Violations:
Example
Documenting
Enforcement
 For all violations: Show the level of
enforcement on the checklist.
• Should be appropriate to violation and lead to
timely, corrective compliance.
• Repeat violations should result in escalated
enforcement response level.
 Indicate the timeframe for correcting
violation on checklist.
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Lessons Learned from
2013 ERP NOVs
 Provide field scenarios for each level of
enforcement.
 Give timeframes and procedures to verify
corrective actions implemented within 10
business days or before next rain.
 Include discussion of which staff has
authority to issue each level of
enforcement.
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Lessons Learned from
2013 ERP NOVs
 Provide discussion of escalating responses
for repeat violations.
 There should be consistent enforcement
action in the ERP and Annual Report.
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What else should you
know about the MRP?
 Provision C.13.a. manage waste generated
from cleaning/treating copper
architectural features during construction
 SMCWPPP BMP Fact Sheet
What else should you
know about the MRP?
 Provision C.3.h Stormwater Treatment
Systems Operation &Maintenance
(O&M) Verification Inspections
• Municipalities must maintain a database of
Regulated Project treatment/HM controls
• Report on inspections in Annual Report
What else should you
know about the MRP?
 SW Treatment Systems O&M Inspections
continued..
• specific requirements for number of inspections
and frequency:
—Inspection of new BMPs within 45 days of
installation
—Inspection of at least 20% of all BMPs installed
—Inspection of at least 20% of total vault-based or
proprietary systems
—Inspection of all BMPs at least once every 5
years
For More Information…
 Municipal Regional Stormwater Permit
www.waterboards.ca.gov/sanfranciscobay/water_issues/program
s/stormwater/mrp.shtml
 SMCWPPP Construction BMP Resources
http://www.flowstobay.org/construction
 CASQA Construction BMP Handbook Portal (available
on web by subscription – contact your agency
stormwater coordinator for information on how to
access the portal)
www.casqa.org
Contact Information:
Kristin Kerr
EOA, Inc.
kakerr@eoainc.com
510-832-2852, X122