STORMWATER MANGEMENT

Any construction site where one or more acre of land is disturbed requires a storm water discharge permit under the USEPA National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program.  The project must apply for coverage under a General Permit for Storm Water Discharges from Construction Activities.  Application for coverage is made by preparing a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) and submitting a complete Notice of Intent (NOI) to USEPA Headquarters in Washington, DC.  When the NOI is posted on USEPA’s website at:

http://cfpub1.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/noi/noisearch.cfm

and listed as “active”, your are authorized under the permit (authorization takes approximately 7 days).  Although a waiver from the rule can be sought for construction sites located in areas of low predicted rainfall, for projects in New England the waiver is generally limited to construction activities that are very short duration.

The Project Manager can opt to retain the Architect, the Licensed Site Professional, or another entity to review the construction plan and determine the applicability and need for coverage under the NPDES General Permit for Storm Water.   

Based on the applicability assessment, the General Contractor may be directed to submit and NOI and prepare a SWPPP on behalf of the Owner.  The entity completing the assessment (e.g., architect, LSP, etc) will prepare a specification that details the notification process and outlines the requirements of a SWPPP.