Stormwater Discharges & Permits

This course covers federal and state regulations to control and prevent stormwater discharge. Stormwater discharges are generated by runoff from land and impervious areas such as paved streets, parking lots, and building rooftops during rainfall and snow events that often contain pollutants in quantities that could adversely affect water quality. Federal and state storm water regulations require industrial facilities to take steps to prevent storm water pollution.

All stormwater permits require the development and implementation of minimum control measures (for MS4 stormwater permits) and best management practices (for industrial stormwater permits). Consequently, this course also discusses procedures required for NPDES permit and pollution prevention plans.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course, the student will be able to:

Describe the EPA construction general permit requirements

Identify sources of stormwater discharge from industrial facilities

Describe the EPA multi-sector general permit (MSGP)

Discuss the impact of Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permits on municipalities and industrial facilities

Describe the phases of and exclusions from the NPDES stormwater program

Identify the components and benefits of the national menu of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to reduce and eliminate stormwater pollution including public education, public involvement, illicit discharge detection and elimination, construction, post-construction, and pollution prevention/good housekeeping

Discuss stormwater best practice case studies