The California Water Boards' Annual Performance Report - 2012

REGULATE:NPDES STORMWATER

GROUP:

NPDES STORMWATER

MEASURE: INSPECTION TRENDS

MESSAGE:

Uptrend in the number of inspections conducted in the NPDES Stormwater program.

Key Statistics for FY 2010-11
NUMBER OF Construction Inspections:	1,742
NUMBER OF Industrial Inspections:	966

MEASUREMENTS

NPDES Stormwater Construction

Region	2000 2001	2001 2002	2002 2003	2003 2004	2004 2005	2005 2006	2006 2007	2007 2008	2008 2009	2009 2010	2010 2011	2011 2012	Grand Total
1	5	4	29	61	32	66	78	120	108	88	134	95	820
2	115	59	322	48	1	8	17	7	140	54	73	80	924
3	0	0	0	0	1	16	29	23	9	14	43	14	149
4	617	650	695	468	549	534	326	246	485	535	630	402	6,137
5F	0	0	199	63	101	139	20	18	58	18	35	38	689
5R	132	106	0	94	176	52	61	108	123	66	90	82	1,090
5S	6	21	141	250	267	279	170	190	586	456	701	366	3,433
5 all.	138	127	340	407	544	470	251	316	767	540	826	486	5,212
6A	18	18	24	19	27	41	19	11	13	15	6	7	218
6B	3	27	16	10	2	4	30	38	32	34	52	37	285
6 all.	21	45	40	29	29	45	49	49	45	49	58	44	503
7	0	1	0	0	7	63	137	182	131	79	73	23	696
8	271	471	272	244	474	777	777	774	1,124	1,756	859	575	8,374
9	36	47	147	55	74	18	13	29	40	17	74	23	573
TOTAL	1,203	1,404	1,845	1,312	1,711	1,997	1,677	1,746	2,849	3,132	2,770	1,742	23,388

NPDES Stormwater Industrial

Region	2000 2001	2001 2002	2002 2003	2003 2004	2004 2005	2005 2006	2006 2007	2007 2008	2008 2009	2009 2010	2010 2011	2011 2012	Grand Total
1	61	58	53	50	34	35	11	54	45	71	54	41	567
2	69	84	41	77	1	20	32	45	29	72	71	58	599
3	0	1	0	2	0	1	6	4	2	24	33	1	74
4	489	1,143	816	451	372	259	173	77	234	239	227	272	4,752
5F	1	0	6	44	34	8	4	20	7	2	21	13	160
5R	25	15	64	9	21	13	13	38	34	30	33	33	328
5S	1	5	44	138	76	34	38	64	42	23	206	163	834
5 all.	165	147	454	598	675	525	306	438	850	595	1,086	695	6,534
6A	19	12	15	26	0	5	3	3	2	8	12	4	109
6B	5	13	2	3	0	4	1	0	15	21	17	6	87
6 all.	45	70	57	58	29	54	53	52	62	78	87	54	699
7	0	0	0	0	15	0	1	33	2	0	8	16	75
8	449	316	282	151	144	178	165	165	311	248	306	323	3,038
9	111	181	86	85	38	6	0	33	4	9	49	36	638
TOTAL	1,230	1,828	1,409	1,036	735	563	447	536	727	747	1,037	966	11,261

WHAT THE MEASURE IS SHOWING

Although the number of construction facilities regulated under the stormwater program has seen a significant reduction due to the slowdown in construction activity, the program maintained a similar level of inspection coverage to previous years. The data show an uptrend in the number of inspections conducted since Fiscal year 2000-2001. This uptrend is not equal in every region and regions such as R5 and R4 had been able to maintain the number of inspections conducted. For compliance purposes, some facilities are inspected more than once a year, which is why the total number of inspections is greater than the total number of facilities inspected.

WHY THIS MEASURE IS IMPORTANT

Inspections are the primary tool used in the NPDES Stormwater Construction and Industrial programs to assess compliance with NPDES requirements. The Stormwater construction program is unique in that the industrial activity (construction, land disturbance) is temporary in nature. Other industrial activities tend to be more long term (e.g., cement manufacturing, auto dismantling). As a result, it is critical to inspect construction facilities during the actual construction activity. Most construction sites follow a process of (1) Grading and Land Development Phase, (2) Streets and Utilities Phase, (3) Vertical Construction Phase, and (4) Post Construction Phase. The type of storm water controls varies depending on the phase of construction. It is also helpful to inspect a construction site during both wet and dry weather periods to determine permit compliance. For all of these reasons, the storm water program considers inspection of construction facilities a high priority.

TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Data Source: SMARTS.
Unit of Measure: Number of inspections performed.
Data Definitions:Inspections: include inspections conducted by Regional or State Water Board staff, or US EPA. It includes any inspection type. Facilities: Include any construction facility enrolled under the stormwater construction program that was active at least one day during FY 10-11.
References: Information on the Water Boards' NPDES Stormwater program.
Public reports and data.
Enforcement and compliance assurance information.

GLOSSARY

Construction Stormwater Program: Dischargers whose projects disturb 1 or more acres of soil or are part of a larger common plan of development that in total disturbs 1 or more acres, are required to obtain coverage under the General Permit for Discharges of Storm Water Associated with Construction Activity (Construction General Permit, 2009-0009-DWQ).
Industrial Stormwater Program: Discharges associated with 10 broad categories of industrial activities are regulated under the Industrial Storm Water General Permit Order 97-03-DWQ (General Industrial Permit), which is an NPDES permit.
General Permit: An NPDES permit issued under 40 CFR 122.28 that authorizes a category of discharges within a geographical area. A general permit is not specifically tailored for an individual discharger.
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES): The NPDES permit program (Section 402 of the Clean Water Act ) controls water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. Point sources are discrete conveyances such as pipes or man-made ditches. Individual homes that are connected to a municipal system, use a septic system, or do not have a surface discharge do not need an NPDES permit; however, industrial, municipal, and other facilities must obtain permits if their discharges go directly to surface waters. US EPA has approved the Water Board’s program to issue NPDES permits.

( Page last updated: 6/13/12 )