SWPPP example: a filled-in plan for a commercial site disturbing 1.75 acres

1.1 Operators. Operator 1, the owner and developer, controls the plans and specifications for the whole site. Operator 2, the general contractor, has day-to-day control of all construction activities on the whole site and its staging area. Each filed its own NOI. 24-hour emergency contact: the general contractor's superintendent (cell number). Subcontractors (earthwork, utilities, concrete) sign the agreement in Appendix G before they start.

1.2 Stormwater team.

• Superintendent (Operator 2): leads the team; installs and maintains controls; signs corrective action entries under the delegation in Appendix J.
• Site inspector (Operator 2): weekly inspections and reports. Passed EPA's construction inspection course and exam; certificate in Appendix I.
• Equipment foreman (Operator 2): fueling, spill kit, washout.
• Project engineer (Operator 1): prepared this SWPPP and makes changes to it and to the grading plan. Licensed civil engineer and Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC); qualifications in Appendix I, as New Mexico's Part 9 condition requires.

All four were briefed on the permit's deadlines, the control locations, pollution prevention and corrective action before work started (Part 6.2); sign-in sheet in Appendix I.

2.1 Project. One-story retail building, 12,000 sq ft, with parking. Property 2.6 acres; area to be disturbed 1.75 acres (to the nearest quarter acre), all of it in one phase, so the most disturbed at any one time is 1.75 acres. No demolition. No off-site support areas. Work Monday to Saturday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

2.2 Discharges. The site sheet-flows south to one curb inlet on the public street (discharge point DP-1), which drains to the city storm sewer and then to the first receiving water, an ephemeral arroyo 0.6 mile downstream. EPA's How's My Waterway lists no impairment for it, it isn't a Tier 2, 2.5 or 3 water, and it isn't an Outstanding National Resource Water. No water of the U.S. lies within 50 feet of the site, so no buffer is required (Part 2.2.1).

2.3 Nature of the work. Clearing and grubbing, mass grading of about 2 feet of cut and fill, utilities, footings, slab, paving, landscaping. Pollutants: sediment; fuel and hydraulic oil; concrete washout; paint, sealants and adhesives; trash; sanitary waste; fertilizer during landscaping.

2.4 Schedule.

2.5 Authorized non-stormwater discharges. Water for dust control, potable water line flushing, and uncontaminated pavement wash-down without detergents.

2.6 Site map. Appendix A, sheets 1 and 2: property line; limits of disturbance; slopes of 2 to 4 percent before grading and 1 to 2 percent after; flow arrows before and after grading; DP-1 and the curb inlet; the construction exit; stockpile area; washout, fuel and dumpster locations; every control below.

3.1 Endangered species. Criterion A. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's IPaC official species list and NOAA Fisheries' species maps show no ESA-listed species or critical habitat in the action area; the list's consultation code is in the NOI and the list is in Appendix K.

3.2 Historic properties. Appendix E, Step 1: the only controls that disturb the subsurface are the trenched-in sock anchors and the exit's excavation, on ground already graded for the previous use. Step 2: prior disturbance precludes historic properties; the 1990s grading permit is in Appendix L.

3.3 Underground injection. No infiltration trenches, drywells or subsurface chambers.

4.1 Sediment yield (New Mexico). Appendix A compares soil loss before and during construction (RUSLE) and gives the reason for each control below, to show that sediment yield and flow velocity stay, as far as practicable, no higher than before construction. For each control it also lists the design and construction spec, the maintenance schedule, inspection criteria, and expected performance and service life, with a long-term maintenance plan for the permanent swale and landscaping.

4.2 Perimeter. 12-inch compost filter sock along the south and east edges only, where the map shows flow leaving the site; north and west edges drain inward. Spec: manufacturer's sheet and the state erosion control manual's detail (both cited in Appendix A). Remove sediment before it reaches 6 inches, half the sock's height.

4.3 Track-out. Stabilized construction exit at the north gate, stone over geotextile, built to the manual's detail. Sweep any sediment on the street by the end of the same work day.

4.4 Stockpiles. Topsoil stockpile in the northwest corner, more than 50 feet from the inlet, ringed with sock on its downslope side, covered or tackified if idle 14 days.

4.5 Dust. Water truck on dry, windy days; no water allowed to run to the street.

4.9 Inlets. Filter bag in the curb inlet at DP-1 and in the next inlet downstream; cleaned after each storm inspection, replaced when torn.

4.11 to 4.13. No sediment basin, treatment chemicals or dewatering.

4.15 Stabilization. Disturbance stays under 5 acres, so the 14-day deadline applies: start stabilizing any area idle 14 days by the end of the next business day, finish within 14 days. Temporary: hydromulch with tackifier. Final: landscaping and pavement; native seed with erosion blanket on the swale. The arid-area deadlines weren't used.

Fueling from a mobile tanker at the staging area with drip pans and a spill kit; no vehicle or equipment washing on site; a leak-proof prefabricated concrete washout container, pumped out at 75 percent full; covered dumpster emptied weekly; paint and sealants under cover in the trailer; portable toilets staked down and away from the inlet; fertilizer at label rates, never before forecast rain. Spill response: stop, contain with the kit, clean up, and the superintendent reports any release at or above a reportable quantity to the National Response Center.

6.1 Inspections. Every 7 calendar days (Part 4.2.1), using EPA's inspection report template; reports within 24 hours, signed, kept in the site trailer and for three years. Rain gauge on the trailer fence, recorded daily. Stabilized areas drop to the Part 4.4.1 reduced schedule; dates go in Appendix H.

6.2 Corrective action. Next business day for simple fixes; 7 days for a new or replaced control; logged in Appendix E within 24 hours of finding and of finishing.

7. Turbidity monitoring. Not applicable: no dewatering.

8. Certification. Signed by each operator's responsible corporate officer with the certification statement from Appendix G.11, before the NOIs were filed.