For many facilities, there is a significant fear or concern over being inspected by a regulator. For some it is a fear of being caught, but for many it is the fear of the unknown. In California, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) writes the Industrial Stormwater General Permit (IGP) that governs industrial facilities’s stormwater discharges. However, the administration and enforcement of the IGP is left up to the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards (RWQCBs) across the state ( fact sheet). Last week, I sat down with Christine Boschen and Brian Thompson of the San Francisco Bay RWQCB (Region 2) to talk about industrial stormwater permit compliance. Christine is the head of the stormwater unit, overseeing RWQCB staff that inspect and assess compliance of companies and construction sites under the California stormwater Industrial General Permit (IGP) and Construction General Permit (CGP), respectively. Brian supervises the enforcement unit at the SF-RWQCB, which handles enforcement actions referred to his unit by Christine and her staff, following inspections and assessments. During a site inspection, a member of the RWQCB will typically arrive unannounced at your site and likely ask to take a tour of the site. This is a good way for the inspector to 1) understand the industrial processes that are occurring and 2) see the entire site impacted by stormwater. During the site walk, the inspector is going to be looking at Best Management Practices (BMPs) such as the sweeping program or inlet drain protection. Sites that have good BMPs, especially good housekeeping, are going to be scrutinized a lot less than sites that are messy or dis-organized. For example, an inspector likely will ask to see a stormwater pollution prevention plans (SWPPPs) at most sites. However, inspection forms are typically reviewed in situations where the inspector has concerns about a facility’s stormwater program based on a visual assessment during the site walk, SWPPP review or water quality monitoring results. Following an inspection, the inspector will either provide the facility with a written Notice of Violation or an email saying the program looks good. If a facility receives a NOV, which is considering an informal action, they should take steps immediately to address the deficiencies identified in the Notice of Violation. Typically, a NOV letter from the RWQCB is a template cover letter and the inspection report containing photos (parts of an example Notice of Violation are below).
First page of a NOV with the details of the inspection report attached