Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP)

SWPPP stands for a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan.

To make it easier to say, many pronounce it as a “Swip”. Some other used pronunciations include “Swippy” or “SWP3”

Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs) are mandated by federal legislation stemming from the Clean Water Act of 1972 to reduce pollution entering our waterways.

Additionally, many state and local environmental laws and regulations have been added over the years .

You'll need a SWPPP if your project will be disturbing one acre or more or if it is part of a common plan of development. Most states have instituted fines and/or shut down procedures for projects that ignore their regulations.

A short and simple answer is a SWPPP contains details about the project site, the potential pollutants (such as soil erosion or chemical spills), measures known as Best Management Practices (BMPs) that will be used to prevent pollutants from leaving the site (such as silt fences or sediment basins), inspection schedules for the site, and a map of the BMP locations.

A SWPPP is a living document that needs to be updated throughout the life of the project. Municipal inspectors frequently look at the map upon beginning an inspection and will take action if the map is not updated and amendments have not been made to the SWPPP to reflect the site’s current circumstances.

For a more comprehensive list of what is included in a SWPPP, click here.

It's a written plan that shows how a construction site, industrial facility, or municipality will prevent polluted rainwater from running off a site and into a storm drain or local waterways.

The top pollutants are soil, silt, and clay. Also causing problems are:

• trash

• litter

• building materials

• packaging

• sanitary waste

• concrete washout

• paint and stucco washout

A SWPPP identifies these potential causes of pollution and spells out the controls to prevent that pollution from running off the site.

Best Management Practices (BMPs) are the practices and devices utilized to prevent stormwater pollution. Some of them are:

• Installing barriers to capture soil, silt, or clay before it leaves the site. Examples include curb cutbacks, silt fence, wattles, and berms.

• Protecting stormdrains using techniques such as geotextile fabric coverings, drain insert bags (sometimes called “Witches Hats”), sediment logs, or gravel bags. Some products may be more expensive initially but save money over the life of the project.

• Applying mulch or vegetation to inhibit soil erosion or avoiding scraping existing vegetation is often preferred by the regulators.

• Providing designated areas for washing out concrete truck chutes including digging lined pits, bins, or washout bags.

• Keeping a spill kit on-site for chemical, gas, or oil cleanup

For a more comprehensive list of SWPPP BMPs, click here.

Federal, state, and local regulators hold the owner or principal operator (such as the general contractor at a construction site) responsible to develop and implement the SWPPP.

Frequently, these responsibilities are not within the core business or expertise of the contractor and they will hire out SWPPP services to a third-party company such as Accena SWPPP Services just like they do for the concrete, drywall, electrical, and plumbing subcontractors.

Expenses are then calculated into the overall project budget.

Operator Inspections: Stormwater pollution prevention permits mandate routine on-site inspections by the Operator to facilitate compliance and self-enforcement by the responsible party for the construction work (the operator, who may be the owner, general contractor, or both).

The aim is to confirm that the SWPPP is actually being adhered to as required, that BMPs are properly installed and maintained, and that sources of stormwater pollution are controlled.

Frequency of Operator Inspections: The Stormwater Permit requirements are to inspect at least every 7 or 14 calendar days and within 24 hours of the occurrence of a trigger rainfall event (e.g., 0.25 or 0.5 inches or more).

Regulator Inspections: In addition to operator inspections, the City, County, State, or EPA inspects construction and development sites for enforcement, verification, and oversight of stormwater regulations and permit compliance. The purpose is to ensure that construction or excavation activity is not degrading local water quality.

Frequency of Regulator Inspections: Regulators inspect Less frequently than Operators due to budgets and the number of construction sites they have in their jurisdiction. Inspections can be on a routine schedule (e.g., monthly, quarterly), complaint response, or risk assessment basis for the site (e.g., proximity to sensitive waters, site size, violation history).

Updating the SWPPP: The SWPPP is a "living" document and must be revised whenever there are project modifications that might have a potential to impact stormwater pollution or if inspections find that the measures taken are found to be insufficient. Permits also typically have renewal periods of one to five years.

For a more comprehensive explanation of Stormwater Inspections, click here.

Lacking a proper SWPPP and Permit or not complying may result in huge EPA, state, or local government fines. The fines range from hundreds to thousands of dollars per day and even jail time in cases of gross or negligent noncompliance.

Failures to comply can also trigger stop-work orders until the shortcomings are remedied, causing expensive project delays.