I was wondering how many of you offer SWPPP preparation, implementation, sampling, and inspection as part of your business. California has created a niche for companies specializing in this type work. Every construction project that disturbs more than 1 acre or is part of a larger project that will disturb more than 1 acre is required to get this permit. In addition, all non-residential building construction is required as part of the Calif. Green Building code to obtain a permit.
In order to better secure the niche, you are required to be licensed by the state to prepare, implement, and inspect a SWPPP.
The construction site has to be inspected daily and prior to any predicted rain event. Storm Water run-off must be sampled during every rain event. It has to be shipped to a lab and tested. The data must be entered reported into a state database as well. I do not think it would be a full time job.
Seems to me though, offering both services would bring in more work. You would be on-site most of the time for the storm water stuff, you might as well be performing the construction staking as well.
The SWPPP is painfully boring, but could bring in money? Surveyors have traditionally worked with government agencies to help clients obtain permits and progress though the red tape. Seems like a perfect match.
Getting up to speed and getting the correct equipment may cost several thousand dollars, but also would probably be paid for in the first several jobs.
JRL
Another form of taxation in the guise of protection. A new permit that duplicates the terms of the original application and approvals for the development or project. This will make it more expensive for development to proceed in your state and be not only a project killer but also a job killer. A nitch job, no it is not, it is a parasitic job and if your state is ever going to grow its economy these types of government growth schemes need to stop. Jumping on the bandwagon and supporting such things because of possible personal gain is very shortsighted and will continue to destroy the economic future of all of us. The results of such efforts by any government should be very obvious to all the people, especially in your state.
jud
A little back ground before I answer. All of this has been around for twenty years or so. It is coming down from the EPA to the states to administer. Then the state issues a general construction permit which the state requires the cities, townships, and villages to pass a law to enforce the permit. If the local governments do not pass the enforcement law then the big bad state and EPA will fine them. This almost happen locally last fall. Now all our area local governments have enforcement laws in place. Reality is none of this is going away. A picture will help:
My answer is do I offer SWPPPs and site inspections as part of the subdivisions and site plans I prepare, not just yes but HELL YES. Now locally most subdivisions and site plans will need a SWPPP so I am heavily marketing going to one firm to do the whole project.
SWPPPs come in two forms the smaller Erosion and Sediment Control Plan and the full blown SWPPP. In my area of practice an Erosion and Sediment Control SWPPP will start in the lower third of four figures. Where a full blown SWPPP will start in the middle third of four figures and get into five figures real quick. For me doing SWPPPs is solely a business decision.
For the April meeting of our regional surveyor's association I am preparing an one hour continuing education course on surveyors involvement with SWPPPs.
JUD, I agree with both of you if that makes sense.
I am under the impression, it is soley up to the author as to what specific measures are required, per BMP's. We need some level headed people preparing these plans.
Ihave a job wher it is stated that no equipment is to be fueled or serviced within 150' of a stream. the onlt roads are all within 150' of the stream for miles and miles. What are they supposed to do, drive the dozer to town to fuel up? common sense people!
Storm water pollution is a serious problem.
I'm glad to see more states coming around to progressive stances that benefit our environment.
:coffee:
Yes, common sense people are greatly needed in this field.
The state's construction permit must be renewed every three to five years. With each renewal the requirements of the permit change. Therefore the state must change its stormwater manual (in New York there is the New York Standards and Specifications for Erosion and Sediment Control and the New York State Stormwater Design Manual) for each permit. The state manual list BMPs to choose from that are acceptable to the state. If you do not want to use an acceptable BMP or want to change it you need to explain in great detail in the SWPPP why your BMP is better.
You need to check our state manual as to what it says about fueling.
One thing in my area of practice that has helped getting more common sense people involved was the local enforcement laws. These laws said who could write SWPPPs and who could not. This cut out people who were writing SWPPPs that talked more about the trees, plants, and animals and little about soils, who spected pie in the sky BMPs.
Currently we do not offer this service, but we are looking into this. There are several companies here in the Houston area that offer this service directly to the developer. As far as I can tell, they do not seem uniquely qualified. We offer Construction Phase Management and it seems this may be another niche for our firm.
BTW: I was a construction inspector when SWPP was first implemented. Back in the mid 90’s they would put hay bales around the inlets as a silt barrier. I was amazed at how much sediment was backed up into the project. Of course once the sediment backup became a nuisance, they would remove the hay bales and wash it all down the inlet anyway.
Our water quality boards are regional. The enforcement between the districts is night and day. Our local board brings some real far out concerns to the table.
The latest concern was that our 200' long bridge was going to allow "un-treated" storm water to run off into the river. Were are talking about a concrete deck with a 2% crown. They want us to re-design the bridge so the run off runs along 200' of bridge onto the ground, into some bushes, then into the river. This was not to deal with construction run-off or run off from the roadway approach, but long term concerns about the water running across that 2% crown and into the river.
I agree that in urban areas, storm water run-off is a major concern. All the oil stains and chemicals on the roads.
What has me riled up is the fact that anything other than pure water is considered un-natural. Silt is a prime example. We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to avoid silt and soil from getting into the rivers, however all of our rivers that support salmon populations run brown every winter for months. We have huge land slides and slips naturally that dump millions of cubic yards into the rivers and have done so for millions of years. How did the fish survive?
It's almost like these people are wearing magnifying glasses, running around looking at micro details and do not see the big picture. Others will say I do not see the big picture and that if everyone dumped a coffee can of dirt in the river, it would kill all of the fish.
How natural is this every winter? How many coffee cans of dirt?
Or this every 10 years? 
We're also into construction management, so we do the SWPPP for our projects. Yes, they are a pain, but necessary.
-JD-
