In part one of this extended two-part blog series, we looked at the importance of stormwater pollution prevention plans (SWPPPs), and some of the key elements that are typically present within them. SWPPP is a vital area of consideration for any significant construction project, ensuring not only environmental friendliness, but also legal compliance.
At Silver Leaf SWPPP, we're happy to offer an extensive range of SWPPP services to clients in Idaho and nearby states, including SWPPP inspections, street sweeping solutions and much more. In today's part two of our series, we'll shift gears a bit and look at a few other important tenets of SWPPP: The vital realm of inspections and how often they need to happen, plus some typical approaches that will be found on many construction sites to help with SWPPP formulation and compliance.
In part one of our series, we went over the guidelines that cover SWPPP permits, which are required federally but governed by states and even sometimes local municipalities. Once you have obtained your permit and are covered within it, however, the process is not simply finished - rather, inspections will be a major continuous part of the picture.
There are two kinds of inspections that will take place here:
For inspections by the General Contractor, federal regulations require that this person be "qualified" - there are no specific guidelines that define this term, but it is generally assumed that a person who can read and interpret a SWPPP (which we went over in part one) possess the necessary skills. These inspections must be carried out at least once every seven calendar days, or once every 14 days plus after any rain event that results in at least 0.25 inches of water. In many cases of protected waters or related areas, these requirements will be even stricter. And as we noted in part one, some states or local municipalities will be extremely strict and require multiple inspections per week.
Government inspections, on the other hand, can be a bit more random - they may show up more than once a week, or sometimes far less. However, because of the potentially significant fines that can come with non-compliance in this regard, it's always best to be prepared for them with the right documentation and active SWPPP measures in place.
There are a few key approaches that you’ll see on virtually any construction site when it comes to ensuring compliance with an SWPPP. In a broad sense, these can include the following:
Getting a bit more specific, some distinct SWPPP practices that are often used on jobsites include:
In summary, ensuring compliance with an SWPPP is essential for any construction project. As we’ve seen here, having the right site management, inspection and documentation practices in place can go a long way towards achieving this goal.
For more here, or to learn about any of our SWPPP services for Idaho clients, speak to our team at Silver Leaf SWPPP today.