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. EPAState 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)  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)  Regional permit regulating municipal stormwater systems Adopted by Regional Water Board: October 14, 2009 Effective date: December 1, 2009 Permit renewed every 5 years

MRP Permit Provisions  C1 –Compliance with Discharge Prohibitions  C2 – Municipal Maintenance  C3 – New Development and Redevelopment  C4 – Industrial and Commercial Discharge  C5 – Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination  C6 – Construction Inspection  C7 – Public Information and Outreach  C8 – Water Quality Monitoring  C9 –Pesticide Toxicity Control  C10 – Trash Reduction  C11 – Mercury Load Reduction  C12 – PCBs  C13 – Copper  C14 –PBDE and Legacy Pesticides  C15 – Exempted & Conditionally Exempted Discharges  C16 – 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 1 st – April 30 th

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: 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 26

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. 27

Example of Progressive Enforcement ProblemEnforcement Level OptionsCorrect 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 harm to the environment Notice of Violation or Stop Work Notice or Cost Recovery 10 business days or before next rain event Failure to complyNotice of Violation or Stop Work Notice or Cost Recovery or Legal Action – and May refer to Water Board staff 10 business days or before next rain event

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 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. 32

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. 33

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. 34

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 s/stormwater/mrp.shtml s/stormwater/mrp.shtml  SMCWPPP Construction BMP Resources  CASQA Construction BMP Handbook Portal (available on web by subscription – contact your agency stormwater coordinator for information on how to access the portal)

Contact Information: Kristin Kerr EOA, Inc , X122