1 / 29

Stormwater Regulations and Programs

Stormwater Regulations and Programs. Law Permits Watershed Programs. Information available at www.swrcb.ca.gov. Stormwater. Precipitation runoff Runoff contacts roofs, walks, streets, vegetation, roads, and earth Runoff washes off pollutants Pollutants also dissolved in precipitation.

meda
Download Presentation

Stormwater Regulations and Programs

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Stormwater Regulations and Programs Law Permits Watershed Programs Information available at www.swrcb.ca.gov

  2. Stormwater • Precipitation runoff • Runoff contacts roofs, walks, streets, vegetation, roads, and earth • Runoff washes off pollutants • Pollutants also dissolved in precipitation

  3. Sediment Hydrocarbons Metals Trash and Debris Nutrients Typical Pollutants

  4. Typical Concentrations Source: a: 1985 Caltrans Discharge Characterization Report (2003), b: Water Quality (Tchobanoglous and Schroeder), and c: Basin Plan Objectives for various beneficial uses (Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board)

  5. Clean Water Act (federal) • Goals: Protecting beneficial uses • Protect fish, shellfish, and wildlife • Protect receiving waters for contact recreation • Prohibit discharge of toxic pollutants • National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit required • NPDES is the permitting system used for stormwater and point source discharges

  6. Porter Cologne Act (CA) • Establishes Regional Water Quality Control Boards • Enforces the NPDES system in CA Regional Boards

  7. Stormwater Permits • Construction • Industrial • Municipal Permits require the use of Best Management Practices (BMPs)

  8. BMPs • Non-structural (usually source controls) • Public education • Erosion control • Good housekeeping • Pollution prevention practices related to landscaping, lawn care, vehicle washing, pet waste, street and parking lot cleaning • Structural (treatment): detention basins, sand filters, etc.

  9. Construction Permit • Statewide construction permit (permits not usually specific to region or site) • For all projects that disturb more than one acre • Must file Notice of Intent (NOI) with Regional Board • Must prepare a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) • Implement BMPs

  10. SWPPP • Define project • Map extent of disturbances & discharge points • List pollution prevention measures (BMPs) • Entrance/Exit controls • Erosion control (e.g. slope stabilization, silt fences) • Treatment (e.g. retention and sedimention basins) • Source Controls (e.g. covering materials, concrete wash-out areas)

  11. Slope Stabilization Erosion Control - Hydroseeding

  12. Silt Fence

  13. Drain Inlet Protection

  14. Straw Wattles

  15. Industrial • Statewide permit available, but individual permit may be required under certain circumstances • e.g., Sensitive water body • Industry-specific permits possible (unique or common problem) • e.g. hydrocarbons from auto dismantlers • File NOI • SWPPP required

  16. Applicable Facilities • Any facility where “industrial” materials are exposed to stormwater • Manufacturing facilities • Steam power generation • Resource extraction (mining) • Hazardous waste storage and handling • Landfill and recycling facilities • Transportation maintenance yards

  17. Example BMPs: Covered Storage Temporary covers difficult to use Better

  18. BMPs: Secondary Containment Note: Uncovered containment will fill with stormwater Better

  19. Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) • Phase I: populations greater than 100,000 • Phase II: just about everyone else, some discretion with the Regional Boards • Storm Water Management Plan (SWMP) required

  20. Minimum SWMP Programs • Public Education and Outreach • Public Involvement and Participation • Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination • Good Housekeeping and Source Control for Municipal Operations (e.g. street sweeping) • Construction Program Management… • Post-Construction Stormwater Management…

  21. Post Construction BMPs Detention Basin

  22. Post Construction BMPs Filter Sedimentation Sand filter

  23. Post Construction BMPs Biofiltration strip and Infiltration Trench

  24. What is good enough? • Stormwater usually has no directly enforced numeric standards • Different from wastewater regulation • Federal Clean Water Act says “shall require controls to reduce the discharge of pollutants to themaximumextentpracticable….”

  25. Implement Program Revise SWMP according to success or failure Evaluate Success Develop Performance Standards (in SWMP) Iterative Approach

  26. What MEP isn’t … • Infeasible technology • Technology where costs greatly outweighs pollution control benefits • Technology whose implementation would violate legal and institutional constraints (from various court cases)

  27. When MEP isn’t good enough … • Most permits have language that prohibits the discharge of stormwater that “causes or contributes to exceedances of water quality objectives” • Standards to protect beneficial uses

  28. So what happens to violators? • Recent examples: • 6 days in jail and $1,000 fine for an excavator that didn’t have a permit to work near a creek near Sebastopol. Property owner must restore the site. • Six L.A. auto dismantlers face criminal charges for not having SWPPPs.

  29. Who does this affect? • Civil engineers doing … • Public works • Transportation • Site development • Modifications to existing infrastructure

More Related