NPDES Violation Response
Go through the sections below.
Complete violation response is an involved process. For more information on this process--including spill containment, spill cleanup, corrective actions, and reporting--review this guidance document.
A Note on Other Stormwater NPDES Permits
Some operations are covered under other stormwater NPDES Permits, separate from the Municipal Stormwater NPDES Permit. The most common are the Industrial NPDES Stormwater Permit and the Construction NPDES Stormwater Permit. The Construction Permit applies to projects that disturb one acre or more of land. The Industrial Permit applies to facilities with certain Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes. These Permits are solely between site owners/operators and the Regulator--the State Water Board. The Municipal NPDES Stormwater Permit still requires municipal staff to enforce its water quality ordinances at sites with Industrial and Construction NPDES Stormwater Permits.Â
The regulatory overlap between the Municipal Stormwater Permit and the Industrial and Construction Stormwater Permits can be confusing. For example, sites with Industrial and Construction Stormwater Permits have Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs) that list specific BMPs that should be implemented onsite. So if you are investigating such a site for an NPDES-related code violation, should you review the SWPPP to aid in determining compliance? That depends on your job description. However, as noted before, municipalities should have an experienced NPDES inspector on-hand. The best approach may be to partner with--or defer to--them. Specific protocol is up to your Division/Department.
State Regional Water Board Assistance
Since the State Regional Water Board is the primary NPDES regulator, you might think it would make sense to refer all cases of NPDES noncompliance to them. However they expect municipalities to address the lion's share of day-to-day NPDES violations. In fact, the Regional Board refers complaints they receive from the public to municipalities for follow-up. When this occurs, they expect the municipality to provide them with a full NPDES investigation report.
Still, there are times when you may want--or need--to refer an NPDES violation to the Regional Board for follow-up. They include:
Potential threats to the environment.
Repeated or egregious noncompliance at sites that are covered by their own NPDES Permit.
Cases where your agency has exhausted their own enforcement resources.
