CPSWQ: Construction Stormwater Program

Construction Stormwater Program

This domain tests how you apply the federal Construction General Permit (CGP) framework: who is an operator, when coverage is required, what the SWPPP must contain, how BMPs are selected and maintained, and when coverage can end. Expect questions on common plans of development, NOI/SWPPP sequencing, stabilization deadlines, inspection triggers, corrective action, and Notice of Termination (NOT) criteria.

Core rules

• Coverage applies to construction disturbing 1 acre or more, or less than 1 acre if part of a common plan of development or sale that will disturb 1 acre or more, or if designated. Count total planned disturbance, not only the current parcel or phase.
• Operators include the owner/developer and any contractor with day-to-day operational control. Multiple operators may need coverage; allocate SWPPP duties in writing.
• Prepare the SWPPP before the NOI and before soil disturbance. It must describe site conditions, pollutant sources, erosion/sediment controls, pollution prevention, post-construction controls, inspections, maintenance, training, and certification by a responsible corporate officer or authorized representative.
• Stabilize as soon as practicable. Where work has permanently or temporarily ceased and will not resume for more than 14 calendar days, complete stabilization within 14 days. Final stabilization for an NOT generally means uniform perennial vegetation with 70% of native background cover, or an equivalent measure.
• Inspect at least every 7 calendar days and within 24 hours after the end of a discharge-producing storm. Repair deficiencies within 7 days; if infeasible, complete as soon as practicable but no later than 14 days. Discharge problems need immediate action.
• Submit an NOT only after final stabilization, elimination of stormwater discharges from disturbed areas except stabilized areas, and removal of temporary controls.

Worked example

A developer plans a 30-acre mixed-use project and sells a 0.7-acre pad to a restaurant contractor. The contractor claims its pad is below 1 acre, so no permit is needed. That is wrong: the pad is part of a common plan disturbing 30 acres. Both the developer and contractor are operators for their activities. The contractor cannot rely on the developer's SWPPP unless it addresses the contractor's controls and inspection duties and the contractor is covered under the NOI or has its own. No NOT can be filed until the whole site reaches final stabilization.

Traps

Counting parcels separately; assuming a small contractor is exempt; treating the SWPPP as a static document; relying on sediment barriers without erosion control; missing the 14-day stabilization deadline; doing the weekly inspection but skipping the post-storm inspection; filing an NOT before vegetation is established.