CPSWQ study plan

Map the construction stormwater regulatory framework: identify the federal Construction General Permit structure, the state-delegation model, and where local ordinances layer on top, writing a one-page hierarchy diagram from memory.

List every Construction General Permit eligibility criterion and the conditions that trigger a Notice of Intent, then explain in writing why each threshold exists.

Define the roles of owner, operator, contractor, and qualified personnel on a construction site, and write a short scenario describing who signs what and when.

Build a personal glossary of 30 construction stormwater terms (NOI, NOT, SWPPP, CGP, TMDL, impaired waters, effluent limits) with a plain-language definition for each.

Draft a complete SWPPP outline for a hypothetical 12-acre residential subdivision, including site description, anticipated pollutants, and receiving-water identification.

Select and justify best management practices for erosion control, sediment control, and pollution prevention, matching each BMP to the pollutant it targets.

Write the inspection and maintenance schedule a permit requires, including who inspects, how often, what triggers a corrective action, and the documentation trail.

Explain the difference between erosion control and sediment control using three concrete examples of each, and note which is preferred and why.

Map the municipal separate storm sewer system permit structure, including the six minimum control measures and what each one actually requires an operator to do.

Describe the permitting pathways for small municipal separate storm sewer systems and how designation or waiver decisions are made.

Explain total maximum daily load requirements and how an approved plan changes what a municipal program must do beyond the baseline minimum measures.

Outline the components of a stormwater management program document and the annual reporting cycle that supports it.

Design a public education and outreach campaign outline for a mid-size municipality, naming audiences, messages, channels, and a way to measure reach.

Draft a public involvement and participation plan that identifies at least three mechanisms and how comments feed back into program decisions.

Write an illicit discharge detection and elimination procedure covering legal authority, mapping, screening outfalls, tracing, and removal timelines.

Explain construction and post-construction runoff control requirements a municipality must enforce on private development, including plan review and inspection authority.

Describe municipal good housekeeping and pollution prevention requirements for roads, parks, fleet yards, and maintenance facilities, listing the operational controls for each.

Explain the industrial stormwater permit structure: who needs coverage, how applicability is determined by sector, and how a Notice of Intent is submitted.

Compare the exposure-based and traditional sector-based approaches to industrial permitting and state when each applies.

Identify the 11 categories of industrial activity and match at least eight to a representative sector with its typical pollutants.

Draft a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Team structure and a facility evaluation section for a hypothetical metal fabrication plant.

Conduct a written exposure assessment: identify industrial materials, activities, and locations that could contact stormwater, and classify each as exposed or protected.

Select control measures for each identified exposure and justify the selection using the facility's pollutant profile.

Explain the difference between stormwater pollution prevention plan requirements for construction versus industrial facilities, listing at least five distinct points.

Write the monitoring and sampling procedure for an industrial facility: outfall identification, sample collection methods, holding times, and chain of custody.

Interpret benchmark values versus numeric effluent limits and explain what a facility must do when a result exceeds either.

Describe corrective action and follow-up requirements, including the triggers, the timeline, and the documentation expected.

Explain visual assessment requirements and how they interact with analytical monitoring results.

Complete 120 mixed practice questions across all three domains under timed conditions, then classify every miss by domain and by failure mode (knowledge gap, misread, or reasoning error).

Re-study only the two weakest subareas identified by the practice results, rewriting the relevant reference sheet from memory.

Recite the key numeric thresholds, timelines, and reporting deadlines from all three programs from memory without notes.

Build a one-page final review sheet that ties construction, municipal, and industrial requirements together by shared theme: permits, plans, inspections, monitoring, and reporting.