An effective SWPPP is the key for Construction Site Operators to prevent Storm water Pollution

The term Best Management Practices or BMPs is often used to describe the controls and activities used to prevent storm water pollution.

BMPs can be divided into two categories—

Structural and non-structural BMPs. Structural BMPs include silt fences, sedimentation ponds, erosion control blankets, and temporary or permanent seeding, while non-structural BMPs include picking up trash and debris, sweeping up nearby sidewalks and streets, maintaining equipment, and training site staff on erosion and sediment control practices.

A Storm water Pollution Prevention Plan  is more than just a sediment and erosion control plan. Most SWPPPs are written documents that describe the pollution prevention practices and activities that will be implemented on the site. It includes descriptions of the site and of each major phase of the planned activity, the roles and responsibilities of contractors and subcontractors, and the inspection schedules and logs. It is also a place to document changes and modifications to the construction plans and associated storm water pollution prevention activities.

A Storm water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) is a detailed plan that:

• Identifies potential sources of storm water pollution

• Describes the practices that will be used to prevent storm water pollution. These should include: erosion and sediment control practices, good housekeeping practices, conservation techniques, and infiltration practices (where appropriate), and

• Identifies procedures the operator will implement to comply with all requirements in the construction general permit

In most cases, the site designer can compile all this information on a digitized drawing that can then be adapted to show the planned construction activity, the phases of construction, and the final site plan.

Your Storm water Pollution Prevention Plan should contain a brief description of the construction activity, including:

•  Project type or function (for example, low-density residential, shopping mall, highway)

•  Project location, including latitude and longitude

•  Estimated project start and end dates

•  Sequence and timing of activities that will disturb soils at the site

• Size of the project

• Estimated total area expected to be disturbed by excavation, grading, or other construction activities, including dedicated off-site borrow and fill areas

•  Percentage of impervious area before and after construction

When you evaluate your construction site, you should clearly identify vegetation, trees, and sensitive areas, such as stream buffers, wetlands, highly erodible soils, and steep slopes at your site. You should protect these areas from disturbance. Inventorying a site’s natural features is a technique called fingerprinting. Fingerprinting identifies natural features that you can protect from clearing and heavy equipment by signage or physical barriers.

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Conducting construction activity in a waterway or wetland without the proper permits can result in significant penalties. Once you have obtained permit coverage and you are ready to begin construction, it is time to implement your SWPPP. You must implement appropriate parts of your SWPPP before construction activity begins. This generally involves installing storm drain inlet protection, construction entrances, sediment basins, and perimeter silt fences before clearing, grading, and excavating activities begin. After construction activities begin, your SWPPP should describe when additional erosion and sediment controls will be installed (generally after initial clearing and grading activities are complete). You should also begin BMP inspections once clearing and grading activities begin. For more information on Storm water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), visit www.questepa.com.