Ensuring that your facility or construction site follows federal and state stormwater requirements is vital to protecting the surface waters of the United States and can also help you avoid costly fines.
To protect our nations surface waters, the Federal government requires specific activities to obtain a stormwater permit. These permits are issued through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) via the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), although the EPA has delegated this permitting authority to many state agencies. So which activities require a permit? In short, any facility that participates in an industrial activity falling under a standard industrial classification (SIC) code, stores materials on site that are exposed to stormwater, and allows for exposed stormwater to discharge from the site, requires a NPDES or state equivalent permit and a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). Additionally, any construction activity that disturbs one or more acres of land and has the potential to discharge stormwater from the site also requires a permit and SWPPP. For assistance in determining stormwater permit applicability for your facility or construction site, preparing a SWPPP, or applying for stormwater permit, contact us to learn more.
