Module 8: Emerging Issues – EPA’s Construction General Permit€¦ · • What if I do site field inspections, can I count these towards my needed PDUs? – No, only publications

Continuing Education Associated with Maintaining CPESC and CESSWI

Certification

Module 8: Emerging Issues – EPA’s Construction General Permit

November 2012

Sponsor: ODOT – Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP)

Module 8: Emerging Issues

Key Emerging Issues To Watch

• Clean Water Guidance – Defining waters of the state

• Comparison of New EPA CGP with existing OEPA CGP • BMP Performance Standard Revisions

• Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELG) • TMDL Waste Load Allocation – Numeric Limits • Nutrients becoming key pollutant driver.

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Construction general permit - USEPA’s Clean Water Protection Guidance defines “Waters of the United States”

Navigable / Interstate Waters Broadens interpretation of U.S. Supreme Court “significant nexus” criteria

– Tributaries: If part of a network of tributaries with defined bed and bank

– Wetlands: “Adjacent” to navigable / interstate waters or part of a system of wetlands in a watershed

• Navigable, interstate are “waters” by statute

• Aggregate effects of similarly situated waters (in a watershed)

• Effects include sediment / pollutant trapping / filtering, nutrient recycling, retention / attenuation of flood waters, runoff storage, provision of habitat

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CONSTRUCTION GENERAL PERMIT RENEWAL Emerging Issues

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Construction General Permit Renewal NPDES Permit Update – Federal/Ohio

What is the latest on Ohio’s CGP

• Final version of USEPA CGP issued February 15, 2012.

• OEPA next generation permit to be issued - April 2013. Public comment estimated for November/December 2012.

• The following slides summarize key permit changes.

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Module 8: Emerging Issues 6


USEPA CGP (2/2012) Ohio EPA CGP (4/2008)

For earth disturbance > 1 acre Same

No post-construction control requirements

Includes proscriptive post-construction control requirements

5 page NOI, electronic submittal —Operator information —Location information —Discharge information —Impaired waters —Chemical treatment —SWPPP information —Endangered species —Historic preservation

1 page NOI, no electronic submittal: —No operator information —Less detailed location information —No discharge information —No impaired waters information —No chemical treatment information —No SWPPP information —No endangered species information —No historic preservation information

Submit NOI 14 days prior to construction Submit NOI 21 days prior to construction

50-ft stream setback required 25-ft stream setback recommended




Sediment basin volume = 3,600 ft3/acre Sediment basin volume = 1,800 ft3/acre Minimum 48-hr drain time

List chemicals used / treatment methods No explicit requirement

Prescriptive controls for dewatering: —No floating solids or foams —Oil/water separator, if oil present —Dewater in vegetated uplands —Discharge at non-erosive velocity

Non-proscriptive controls for dewatering

Specify pollution prevention standards for on-site vehicle/equipment washing, construction debris disposal, cleaning applicators / containers for paint, concrete and other materials

General pollution prevention requirement

Restrictions of fertilizer discharges None included

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Inspections: —Discharge to non-impaired stream

• Weekly or bi-weekly + within 24 hrs of 0.25 “ rain

• Frozen ground: Monthly —Discharge to impaired stream

• Weekly + within 24 hrs of 0.25 “ rain

Inspections: —Active sites: Weekly + within 24 hrs of

0.5 “ rain —Stabilized / frozen sites: monthly

Areas to Inspect: —Cleared / graded areas —All stormwater controls —Material waste / borrow —Storage / maintenance areas —Drainageways —Discharge points —Stabilized areas

Areas to Inspect: —Discharge Points —Stormwater controls

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Stabilization: —Discharge to non-impaired stream

• 14 days after earth-disturbance ends —Discharge to impaired stream

• 7 days after earth-disturbance ends

Stabilize all areas idle >21 days: —Within 50’ of a surface water: 2 days —Other areas: 7 days

Water Quality-based Effluent Limitations to meet TMDL or waste load allocation.

General requirements to meet WQ Standards

Staff Training Requirements: —Conduct prior to earth disturbance —Target personnel who prepare SWPPP,

install/maintain controls, inspect sites, apply/store chemicals

—Address control locations, pollution prevention requirements, inspection recordkeeping, corrective actions

No training requirement

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Construction general permit - BMP Updated Performance Standards

• Stormwater control measures that harvest, infiltrate, and evapotranspirate stormwater are critical to reducing the volume and pollutant loading of small storms.

• Impervious area reduction.

• Increased training in all areas.

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Construction general permit - Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELG) Snapshot

What is required currently in the new federal CGP (2/10/12): • Areas of Disturbance

• Design Requirements

• Installation Requirements

• Maintenance Requirements

• Requirements when surface waters are within 50 feet of the

projects Earth Disturbing Activity.

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TMDL Waste Load Allocation Numeric Limits

• Proposed policy favors numeric water quality-based effluent limits for stormwater discharges: – System-wide (not end-of-pipe) performance standards – Surrogates (flow, volume, impervious area) – In-stream targets – Schedule for BMP implementation with numeric benchmarks – Based on “analysis of facts and circumstances” – Monitoring to demonstrate compliance – Disaggregate to pollutant source categories – Clarifies requirements, improves accountability – Expand permit coverage where necessary

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Nutrients to becoming key pollutant driver

• EPA Defines “minimum building blocks” – Prioritize watersheds – Set load reduction goals (stressor-response approach) – Strengthen permits (including stormwater permits) – Establish in-stream numeric nutrient criteria – Reduce non-point sources (land stewardship, nutrient trading)

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USEPA’s “Framework for State Nutrient Reductions” will affect most Ohio watersheds

• Nutrient discharges have escalated over past 50 years: – Contributed by urban stormwater, agricultural runoff, air

deposition, municipal wastewater – Causes algal blooms (Lake Erie, Gulf of Mexico “dead zones”,

Grand Lake St. Marys and other Ohio lakes), nitrates in drinking water, stream habitat impairment

• Defines “minimum building blocks” • A multi-year, multi-faceted effort to reduce nutrient

pollution in Ohio’s surface waters. • The goal is to find a cost-effective means to reduce the

delivery of nutrients present in point source effluents and nonpoint source runoff.

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Construction General Permit Issues Alternative CGPs • Currently 2 Alternative Construction General Permits exist in

Ohio that supersede the statewide construction general permit: – Alternative General Permit for the Big Darby Watershed – Alternative Construction General Permit for the Olentangy

River watershed (Upper/Middle only) – Chagrin River Watershed will be the next Alternative GP issued

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CGP POST-CONSTRUCTION ISSUES Emerging Issues

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CGP Post-Construction Issues Post-Construction Water Quality Performance Standards

• A performance standard is a set of measurable metrics (how much, how many, of what, by when, how quickly, how well, how accurate ) that describe a desired condition following a satisfactory job.

• Post-construction performance standards in the Big Darby alternative CGP include: – Descriptions of required temporary BMPs and their anticipated

impacts on the channel and floodplain morphology, hydrology and water quality.

– Detailed drawings and maintenance plans. Plans need to ensure proper disposal of collected materials during maintenance.

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CGP Post-Construction Issues Post-Construction Water Quality Performance Standards

• What are the types of performance standards associated with post-construction controls that are being proposed: – Retrofitting existing water quantity controls with water quality

attributes

– Infiltration – Infiltrate collected runoff into the soil or media

– Flow based type water quality controls

– Water quantity based TMDL requirements

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401/404 PERMITTING ISSUES Emerging Issues

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401/404 Permitting Issues Requirements for Roadside Ditches

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• Ditch Definition: – Water conveyances, from grassy swales to captured streams, that

possess a constructed defined channel and convey water for at least a minimal period of time

• Within Ohio, most ditches function to provide drainage from an area (roadway, agricultural field, residential area, etc…)

• May also have been constructed to provide irrigation to an area.



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Roadway Ditches: context of Clean Water Act jurisdiction – Ditches can be jurisdictional waters subject to Clean Water Act regulations

– Jurisdictional roadway ditch: • Relatively Permanent Water (RPH) with an OHWM (not fully vegetated), or

were constructed in a hydric soil unit for the purpose of draining a wetland at the time of construction

• Constructed entirely on roadway right-of-way

– Non-jurisdictional ditch/conveyance: • Non-RPWs and/or do not possess an OHWM

• Do not possess a captured stream and were not constructed in a hydric soil unit to drain a wetland at the time of construction

• Can occasionally act as a non-jurisdictional conveyance for an abutting or adjacent wetland


TRAINING AND EDUCATION Emerging Issues

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Training and Education Construction SWPPP Design and Inspection Training

• Continued emphasis on trained and experienced personnel needed for developing SWPPP plans and conducting project E/S inspections.

• Reporting will become more detailed.

• More and diverse experience will become necessary to develop the SWPPP.

• More prescriptive performance standards and measurable goals are likely. 23


Training and Education CPESC and CESSWI Certification Renewal Requirements

• CPESC – Continuing Education Requirements – 60 Professional Development Units (PDUs) every 3 years. Highly recommended that these are recorded and attendance certificates collected as available.

• CESSWI – Continuing Education Requirements – 20 Professional Development Units (PDUs) every 2 years. Highly recommended that these are recorded and attendance certificates collected as available.

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Training and Education CPESC Certification Renewal Information

• Can I count my SWPPP design towards my PDUs? – No, only publications prepared above and beyond your

normal working duties may count towards PDUs. • What if I do site field inspections, can I count these

towards my needed PDUs? – No, only publications prepared above and beyond your normal

working duties may count towards PDUs. – Question came up about whether real world experience can be used

for credit. Refer to EnviroCert International, Inc. newsletter – http://www.envirocertintl.org/broadcastings/February-2013-

EnviroCastings.pdf

• What else can I use to qualify for PDU credit? – Conferences, Workshops, Trainings.

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http://www.envirocertintl.org/broadcastings/February-2013-EnviroCastings.pdf

http://www.envirocertintl.org/broadcastings/February-2013-EnviroCastings.pdf


Training and Education CESSWI Certification Renewal Information

• What if I do site field inspections, can I count these towards my needed PDUs? – No, only publications prepared above and beyond your

normal working duties may count towards PDUs. • What else can I use to qualify for PDU credit?

– Conferences, Workshops, Trainings. • Let’s do the Math:

– ODOT CE class (7 PDUs/year). Take every other year = 14 PDUs

– Add 2 training sessions at 3 PDUs per session = 6 PDUs – Total = 20 PDUs

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WORKSHOP CLOSING COMMENTS Emerging Issues

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• Caution! Other water resources can be found in ditches. – Captured streams:

• RPW or Non-RPW streams – Originate outside of the roadway right-of-way and flow into the right-

of-way becoming captured within the roadway ditch – May lose their OHWM due to maintenance, or may become fully

vegetated due to a wide configuration – Should be characterized and assessed as streams

– Wetlands: • Jurisdictional wetlands can form in ditches due to the lack

of maintenance (aggraded ditch profiles or clogged culverts) or by their design (such as a fade-away ditch line)

– The wetland boundary must extend more than an insignificant amount beyond the configuration of the ditch

– Should be characterized and assessed as wetlands rather than ditches



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– Petition ditches: • Historically channelized watercourses constructed or

improved in accordance with Ohio’s petition ditch Laws.

• Often modified streams, with clearly defined channels and OHWMs.

• Petition ditch laws do not apply to impacts that are not implemented in accordance with the ditch laws (such as a roadway project).

• Petition ditches within an ODOT project study area should be evaluated to determine if they meet the characteristics of a stream, wetland, or ditch, regardless of the “petition ditch” designation.

• In most circumstances, these watercourses will be characterized and discussed as streams.


Stormwater Control Strategies Good News, Bad News. . .

Good News… – Traditionally, the EPA has always worked with ODOT understanding that

linear projects have unique situations – We are given special privileges at times – ODOT’s projects and Program are improving

Bad News… • Storm Water Regulations are getting more restrictive . . . rapidly

• SWPPPs are improving…slowly

Future regulations are much more restrictive • US EPA CGP Effective Feb. 16th, 2012 • Ohio must follow - 2013 Time

Pro

gres

sion

Def

icie

ncy

ODOT learned that not all Districts review and implement SS 832 the same way.

This is good and bad – SWPPP Designers and ODOT reviewers need to develop consistency in how they

design, develop, review, and accept SWPPPs.

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Training and Education CPESC Certification Renewal Information

• Let’s do the Math for CEs for 3 years: – ODOT CE class (7 PDUs/year). Take every other year = 14 PDUs – SWPP designs- need to design 4 Plans over 3 years at 5 PDUs per plan

= 20 PDUs – Inspections – perform 4 site inspection over 3 years at 5 PDUs per

inspection = 20 PDUs (Note: Additional conferences/workshops can be substituted here)

– Attend 2 conferences/workshops over 3 years at between 3 PDUs per event = 6 PDUs

– Total = 60 PDUs

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Construction general permit - Watersheds are Emerging as a Key Regulatory Framework for Clean Water

• “All stormwater and other wastewater discharge permits should be based on watershed boundaries . . . with a lead municipality.” National Research Council

• “The logical and scientifically valid region for determining whether similarly situated waters have a significant nexus is the watershed” Draft USEPA Clean Water Protection Guidance

• “More and more states are bundling TMDLs on a watershed scale.” USEPA Webpage

• Big Darby Creek and Olentangy River General Permits for Construction Sites Ohio EPA

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OEPA Proposed Section 401 Mitigation Protocol

• Premise – Ecological integrity of a stream will be maximized in its natural state, when best fit to its existing conditions.

• Ohio Revised Code – Proposed 3745 Rule package – Currently under review w/ Directors Common Sense initiative.

Tier Categories Stream Characteristics Objectives

4 Exceptional ecology Maintain Biota, habitat, form and function

3 Possesses specific biological, habitat quality goals

Maintain habitat form (physical, biological) and function

2 Historic modifications, with aquatic life restoration potential

Maintain form (stable channel) and function

1 Ephemeral, constructed, no aquatic life restoration potential

Maintain function (moderate flow, assimilate pollutants)

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Module 8: Emerging Issues 34

Maintaining the hydrologic function of a stream requires an understanding of the frequency of floodplain inundation

DBF 1.5*DBF

2*DBF Bank Full Channel

WBF A1.5-BF

ABF

W1.5-BF A2-BF

W2-BF

ASF

Streamway: WSW = Approximately 10xWBF


Emerging Issues Agenda

• New EPA Construction General Permit (CGP) – February 2012.

• Construction General Permit –

Post-Construction Issues • 401/404 Permitting Issues • Training and Education

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Documents

Module 8: Emerging Issues – EPA’s Construction General Permit€¦ · • What if I do site field inspections, can I count these towards my needed PDUs? – No, only publications