Construction sites, industrial plants, and municipalities all need a stormwater management plan in effect before beginning work. The EPA's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) specifies that these three entities must practice stormwater management and implement a plan according to local standards.
The NPDES defines "stormwater" as any precipitation that flows over land and is not absorbed into the ground. As the water travels over land, it picks up debris, chemicals, sediment, and pollutants that can affect the water quality if not treated. The NPDES Stormwater Program, then, regulates such discharges from municipal separate storm systems (MS4s) and construction and industrial sites, requiring all to have a permit to discharge in order to prevent stormwater from washing pollutants into nearby bodies of water.
The NPDES Stormwater Program is not a national standard, and states administer their own programs based upon these standards. The EPA, however, may be the primary authority for stormwater management in some states and territories.
Stormwater regulations vary for construction and industrial sites. Operators of construction sites of one or more acres, for example, must have a Construction General Permit. In order to obtain this permit, the site owner must create stormwater prevention plans that effectively prevent erosion, sediment, and pollution.
Stormwater management regulations are more stringent for industrial sites. Material handling and storage sites need to implement such regulations; according to General Pretreatment Regulations 40 CFR 405 to 471, these facilities include heavy manufacturing, coal and mineral mining, hazardous waste treatment and storage, landfills, metal scrap yards, steam electric power plants, sewage treatment, light manufacturing, and transportation facilities. All such facilities follow the guidelines specified by the EPA's Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP): submit a Notice of Intent, install stormwater management procedures, and develop a stormwater pollution prevent plan (SWPPP) according to the 2008 MSGP requirements.
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