MN CSW Permit Section 11 Inspections and Maintenance

SECTION 11 INSPECTIONS AND MAINTENANCE

11.1

Inspections and Maintenance.

11.2

Permittees must ensure a trained person, as identified in item 21.2.b, will inspect the entire construction site at least once every seven (7) days during active construction and within 24 hours after a rainfall event greater than ½ inch in 24 hours.

11.3

Permittees must inspect and maintain all permanent stormwater treatment BMPs.

11.4

Permittees must inspect all erosion prevention and sediment control BMPs and Pollution Prevention Management Measures to ensure integrity and effectiveness. Permittees must repair, replace or supplement all nonfunctional BMPs with functional BMPs by the end of the next business day after discovery unless another time frame is specified in item 11.5 or 11.6. Permittees may take additional time if field conditions prevent access to the area.

11.5

During each inspection, permittees must inspect areas adjacent to the project surface waters, including drainage ditches and conveyance systems but not curb and gutter systems, for evidence of erosion and sediment deposition. Permittees must remove all deltas and sediment deposited in areas adjacent to the project, surface waters, including drainage ways, catch basins, and other drainage systems and restabilize the areas where sediment removal results in exposed soil. Permittees must complete removal and stabilization within seven (7) calendar days of discovery unless precluded by legal, regulatory, or physical access constraints. Permittees must use all reasonable efforts to obtain access. If precluded, removal and stabilization must take place within seven (7) days of obtaining access. Permittees are responsible for contacting all local, regional, state and federal authorities and receiving any applicable permits, prior to conducting any work in surface waters.

11.6

Permittees must inspect construction site vehicle exit locations, streets and curb and gutter systems within and adjacent to the project for sedimentation from erosion or tracked sediment from vehicles. Permittees must remove sediment from all paved surfaces within one (1) calendar day of discovery or, if applicable, within a shorter time to avoid a safety hazard to users of public streets.

11.7

Permittees must repair, replace or supplement all perimeter control devices when they become nonfunctional or the sediment reaches ½ of the height of the device.

11.8

Permittees must drain temporary and permanent sedimentation basins and remove the sediment when the depth of sediment collected in the basin reaches ½ the storage volume within 72 hours of discovery.

11.9

Permittee’s must inspect and photograph dewatering discharges at the beginning and at least once every 24 hours during operation. Dewatering discharges that only last for minutes, as opposed to hours and do not reach a surface water, do not require photographs or documentation

11.10

Permittees must ensure that at least one individual present on the site (or available to the project site in three (3) calendar days) is trained in the job duties described in item 21.2.b.

11.11

Permittees may adjust the inspection schedule described in item 11.2 as follows:

a. inspections of areas with permanent cover can be reduced to once per month, even if construction activity continues on other portions of the site; or

b. where sites have permanent cover on all exposed soil and no construction activity is occurring anywhere on the site, inspections can be reduced to once per month and, after 12 months, may be suspended completely until construction activity resumes. The MPCA may require inspections to resume if conditions warrant; or

c. where construction activity has been suspended due to frozen ground conditions, inspections may be suspended. Inspections must resume within 24 hours of runoff occurring, or upon resuming construction, whichever comes first.

d. for projects where a pollinator habitat or native prairie type vegetated cover is being established, inspections may be reduced to once per month if the site has temporary vegetation with a density of 70% temporary uniform cover. If after 24 months no significant erosion problems are observed, inspections may be suspended completely until the termination requirements in section 13 have been met.

11.12

Permittees must record all inspections and maintenance activities within 24 hours of being conducted and these records must be retained with the SWPPP. These records must include:

a. date and time of inspections; and

b. name of persons conducting inspections; and

c. accurate findings of inspections, including the specific location where corrective actions are needed; and

d. corrective actions taken (including dates, times, and party completing maintenance activities); and

e. date of all rainfall events greater than ½ inches in 24 hours, and the amount of rainfall for each event. Permittees must obtain rainfall amounts by either a properly maintained rain gauge installed onsite, a weather station that is within one (1) mile of your location, or a weather reporting system that provides site specific rainfall data from radar summaries; and

f. if permittees observe a discharge during the inspection, they must record and should photograph and describe the location of the discharge (i.e., color, odor, settled or suspended solids, oil sheen, and other obvious indicators of pollutants); and

g. any amendments to the SWPPP proposed as a result of the inspection must be documented as required in Section 6 within seven (7) calendar days; and

h. all photographs of dewatering activities and documentation of nuisance conditions resulting from dewatering activities as described in section 10.