SWPPP Builder

The Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) Builder (currently available for facilities under the Federal EPA (NH, MA, NM, DC, PR, USVI), AZ, CA, and NV multi-sector general permits or industrial general stormwater permits)  can be used by facilities regulated under the respective permit to prepare a SWPPP with site-specific info including contacts/pollution prevention team members, industrial activities and potential pollutants, best management practices (BMPs), monitoring & sampling activities, etc.

Within each section of the SWPPP builder, there are fields for a user to input the site-specific information required to be documented in the SWPPP per the respective permit.

Downloading from the SWPPP builder provides the SWPPP as a PDF document with both templated text from the permit and the site-specific information entered in the builder in the applicable sections. While the scope of the SWPPP builder covers the general requirements, each facility should be familiar with site-specific requirements to ensure the SWPPP is compliant.

SWPPP Builder

To access the SWPPP Builder, on the Records section. Here, select "Stormwater: SWPPP". See below to learn how to edit and download content within your SWPPP and its Amendment Log.

Amendment Log

Log each new SWPPP amendment in the SWPPP Update Log. Click on the plus sign to add an update. Each update will automatically populate the Amendment Log table in the downloaded SWPPP. A user can also download the Amendment Log alone (without the rest of the SWPPP) by clicking the download button to the left of the "Add an Update" button. 

PDF Download Preview of the Amendment Log:

Edit SWPPP

Click on the pencil icon to create or edit the SWPPP in the SWPPP builder. 

The user can navigate to different sections by either clicking on them in the left-hand ribbon or the “Next Section” button on the bottom on the screen. When the required field(s) within a section are completed, a green checkmark shows up next to the section after moving on to the next section. Click through each section and provide the required information for each field. 

If required information is missing from a field, a red exclamation mark will appear on the left-hand ribbon after saving. To correct this, click back into the section and fill out the required information before saving again. 

Some sections are duplicable - these sections will have a plus sign (+) icon next to them on the right side of the Sections sidebar. Duplicable sections allow users to add separate items with the same information fields under a section. To add items in these sections, click on the "+" icon.

💡Note: Gray outlined checkmarks identify duplicable sections that do not have any items. Until an item is added under that section, the section will not trigger any “incomplete” warnings because it is completely empty. However, this does not mean that the information in that section is “not required.” Applicable information should be added under each duplicable section to meet permit requirements.

Adding Attachments

The last section of the SWPPP builder editor is the Attachments section. Click the plus sign to add an Attachment. 

See the Attach Additional Documents section of this Guide for additional information.

Certification Date

Before downloading your updated SWPPP, click on the "Certification" tab and change the date to the date of the update. 

Download SWPPP

Download a copy of the SWPPP as a PDF at any time. To download the SWPPP from within the SWPPP Builder edit page, click on the three dots in the upper right-hand corner of the page and select "Download"

The SWPPP can also be downloaded from the site dashboard view. Click on the Records section and navigate to Stormwater: SWPPP. Download the SWPPP by clicking the download button (located to the right of the Create or Edit SWPPP button). 

The download SWPPP button will only download the PDF of the main SWPPP text, it will not include the figures and attachments stored as separate documents. See the Attach Additional Documents and Maintain Records of Finalized SWPPP sections of this Guide for additional information.

Attach Additional Documents

Attach site maps and any other separate documents you'd like to keep in your SWPPP to the PDF. The downloaded SWPPP PDF will provide placeholder sections to attach additional documents. A good way to preview this at-a-glance is to download the SWPPP as a PDF and open the Table of Contents. Following the last section of the main body of the SWPPP, the designated sections - Figures, Appendices, and Attachments - are placeholders to bring in additional documents as a final step to complete the SWPPP, when necessary. After downloading the SWPPP, the user can then insert the separate document(s) under the appropriate Attachment section in the SWPPP PDF. Many PDF editing tools allow users to add pages from separate PDF(s) to another PDF by simply dragging and dropping the page thumbnails to the main document, and saving the updated file:

Figures

Attach site maps and any other separate documents you'd like to keep in your SWPPP to the PDF. 

To learn more about creating, editing, and downloading maps in Mapistry, see the Maps section of our product guide! This guide walks through how to download Mapistry maps as PDFs.

Appendices

The SWPPP PDF will download with 4 appendices.

1. Appendix A: Monthly Visual Observation Form,
2. Appendix B: Sampling Visual Observation Form,
3. Appendix C: Operating and Maintenance Procedures (if necessary), and
4. Appendix D: Chain of Custody

Appendices A, B, and C will have blank example templates for the respective forms in the SWPPP PDF download. A user may replace the templates with site-specific forms and add applicable documents in the Appendices. See our Setting Up a Form Template product guide to learn more about setting up site-specific inspection form templates in Mapistry.

Attachments

For each Attachment created in the last section of the SWPPP builder editor, the Attachments will be listed by name in the Table of Contents and a page with the Attachment Name (and text, if inserted directly into the field in the builder) will be added to the end of the SWPPP PDF. If the attachment is a separate document, the Name of the Attachment will serve as a place-holder page at the end of the SWPPP PDF download.

Maintain Record of the Finalized SWPPP

The finalized SWPPP PDF may then be shared or uploaded as required. 

To simplify recordkeeping and keep documents organized in one centralized location, upload the final SWPPP PDF to the Documents tab of the Records section on Mapistry. Then, for future reference, the final SWPPP will be available to download again from this Documents section.

Tips

• To preview the templated text that will be automatically displayed in your SWPPP PDF, download the SWPPP at any time. 
• Press the Save button at the bottom right to save progress. As long as the Save button turns white/grey after pressing it, the current content in the SWPPP is saved. A user may save an incomplete SWPPP and return to it at a later time.
• Sections may have instructions or useful guidance at the top of the page. Field-specific guidance may be provided under a field or in the help text question mark bubble.
• One last check - are you done? 
  • Is your amendment captured in the amendment log?
  • Have you updated the "Certification Date" to the accurate date?
  • Have you attached the necessary attachments (ex: site map, COC, etc)?

Related Regulatory References

AZ MSGP

• AZPDES Industrial Stormwater Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP)
• AZ MSGP requirements for the SWPPP are in Section 5 of the permit.
• In AZ, the site map is a required element of the SWPPP, the required site features to be displayed on the SWPPP are discussed in Section 5.1.2 of the permit.

CA IGP

• CA Industrial General Permit (IGP) 
• CA IGP requirements for the SWPPP are in Section X of the permit.
• In CA, the site map is a required element of the SWPPP, the required site features to be displayed on the SWPPP are discussed in IGP Section X.E.

NV MSGP

• NV Multi-Sector General Permit (Industrial Permit)
• NV MSGP requirements for the SWPPP are in Section 6 of the permit.
• The site map is a required element of the SWPPP, the required site features to be displayed on the SWPPP are discussed in Section 6.2.2.3 of the permit.

Federal EPA MSGP

• Stormwater Discharges from Industrial Activities-EPA's 2021 MSGP
• EPA’s 2021 MSGP applies in areas of the country where EPA is the NPDES permitting authority and has made the permit available for coverage. These areas include:
  • Four states:  Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Idaho
  • The District of Columbia
  • Puerto Rico
  • All U.S. territories except for the Virgin Islands
  • Federally operated facilities in Colorado, Delaware, Vermont, and Washington
  • Most Indian country lands, and
  • Other designated activities in specific states (e.g., oil and gas activities in Texas and Oklahoma)
• MSGP general requirements for the SWPPP are in Section 6 of the permit.
• The site map is a required element of the SWPPP, the required site features to be displayed on the SWPPP are discussed in Section 6.2.2.3 of the permit.
• Sector Specific requirements for industrial activity are specified in Section 8 of the permit.

Don’t see your state’s permit here? Let us know! We’re constantly growing the SWPPP builder library and would love to know which permit to cover next.