Sheet Flow Construction Erosion Control

June 14, 2023

Idaho 2022 Construction General NPDES Permit Regulatory Update

Filed under: Uncategorized — Sheetflow @ 8:54 am

September 14, 2022

Multi-sector General Permit Stormwater Compliance

Filed under: Uncategorized — Sheetflow @ 8:38 am

October 3, 2016

Permit Appealed

On December 29th, 2010, the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance appealed the NPDES permit to the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board. The appeal calls for a re-write and reissue as they consider the permit to be ” unlawful and unfair” because it does not meet the “requirements or intent” of the Clean Water Act, Environmental Protection Agency rules, Washington state water quality law ( RCW 98.40 and WAC 173-201A), or Department of Ecology rules.

The document can be read here:
Puget Soundkeeper Alliance Notice of Appeal

February 25, 2011

Construction Stormwater General Permit

Construction Stormwater General Permit

Construction site operators are required to be covered by a Construction Stormwater General Permit if they are engaged in clearing, grading, and excavating activities that disturb one or more acres and discharge stormwater to surface waters of the state. Smaller sites may also require coverage if they are part of a larger common plan of development that will ultimately disturb one acre or more. Operators of regulated construction sites are required to:

  • Develop stormwater pollution prevention plans.
  • Implement sediment, erosion, and pollution prevention control measures.
  • Obtain coverage under this permit.

NEW! - 01/29/09 Ecology issues the Construction Stormwater General Permit December 1, 2010

WebDMRs and PARIS

Contact Us – Contact your Permit Administrator for permit assistance or your Regional Office for site specific questions.

Permit, Forms and Application – Permit, application, forms, and appeal information.

High Turbidity Reporting – Construction projects must report high stormwater turbidity results within 24 hours.  If you get a high result, call your Ecology regional office.

Resources and Guidance – DMRs, Stormwater monitoring,  manuals, 303(d) list information.

CESCL Training and Certification Programs

Historical Information – Pollution Control Hearing Board information, public comments.

Construction Stormwater General Permit.

October 23, 2021

Writing Contract Specifications

Topic: Writing specifications is always challenging. Writing specifications that incorporate environmental permit requirements is especially challenging. After this presentation, attendees will understand the difference between contract and permit language, how to determine what parts of a permit should be in a contract, and how to translate permit language into enforceable contract language.

Presenter: Dave Jenkins, CPESC Dave has worked in construction erosion control for over 27 years. He recently retired after 22 years as the Port of Seattle Erosion Control/Stormwater Engineer. Prior to the Port, he was the WSDOT Statewide Erosion Control Coordinator, responsible for developing and implementing their first contractor erosion control certification program. All of Dave’s experience is in heavy civil, public works construction, primarily seaport, airport and roadway infrastructure.

December 18, 2020

Prepare for Fall and Winter Rains by Preventing Erosion

This is a blast from the past. I think I wrote this in 1996 with I was the first State-wide Erosion Control Coordinator at the Washington State Dept. of Transportation.

Preventing erosion is the best preparation.  Here are some things to consider when you prepare for fall and winter rains:

Cover bare soil. Final grades can be covered with hydroseed, erosion blankets, topsoil, bark or whatever final cover is planned for the project.

Get your hydroseed contractor lined up now and avoid the October rush.

Don’t open up more than a few acres after September 1st.

Grades that aren’t being actively worked can be covered with straw at a rate of 3000 pounds per acre. This is a very cheap and effective way to protect bare soil from raindrop impacts and erosion. Hand seed before spreading the straw. Spray it with water to help hold it in place.

Track your slopes with a Cat: up and down slope, not across slope. The first helps prevent erosion, the second speeds it up.

Use flex pipe drains at bridge ends if your permanent drainage system and curbs are not in place. Collect the water from the bridge using sand bags and divert it to the pipe. Make sure the pipe is long enough to reach the bottom of the slope.

Another good way to prepare for fall and winter rains is to use a water truck and water seeded areas weekly to get quicker growth. The better the growth going into winter the better.

If you have to open up a large area, only clear and grub small areas. You can clear larger areas if you don’t grub. Roots and slash help protect the bare soil.

Walk the site looking only at erosion controls, thinking ahead of areas that could have a problem. Identify them and start making additions and corrections.

Locate all existing water flows in and around your project and find out where they drain to.

Think about maintenance and regular inspection of erosion controls. When are silt fences going to be inspected and who does it? Who removes mud from check dams? Who covers slopes with straw or other mulch?

Get materials on site now. Again beat the rush for materials in October and November when everyone is in a panic to get plastic and straw. Stockpile enough straw, plastic, silt fence, flex pipe, sand bags, seed, rock, now to cover all areas that are bare.

Set up emergency procedures now. Who should be called in emergencies? Do you have a Certified Erosion and Sediment Control Lead (CESCL)? Brief your personnel on what to do if they see muddy water and who to go to.
Make sure that erosion control material installers know proper installation methods.

Make sure all your silt fence is installed on contour with the ends flared up slope a few feet. If it is not on contour, identify the lowest points of the fence as these will be the failure spots. Install a double row of silt fence at these low spots before you have a failure. Double up your silt fence in areas where eroding slopes could flow into wetlands or streams.

Do you have bare spots where previous seeding hasn’t grown? Cover it with seed and straw if the area is small, remobilize the hydroseeder for larger areas.

Make sure all catch basins within the project boundary are protected with inserts, fence surrounds, or other methods to keep mud out. Locate any catchbasins outside project boundaries that may receive water from your site and protect them.

Make sure that you have a copy of the  Temporary Erosion and Sediment Control plan (TESC) and any grading or environmental permits on site in the job shack. Know what they say. Give each inspector a copy of the TESC to keep in their truck. These are working copies that can be adapted to site conditions.

Modify your permanent stormwater ponds into temporary sediment ponds by installing a standpipe and blocking the outlet with sand bags. Cut a few small holes in the standpipe to allow for slow release of water. You can also use perforated pipe as the standpipe and hold it in place with “T” posts, wire, and gravel piled up around it.

Use geotextile fabric as a temporary ditch lining to protect bare soil from erosion. Hold the fabric in place with rock check dams, wooden stakes, or sand bags.

Make sure that all check dams are installed so that the top center point is lower than the bottom end points. This prevents end-cutting. You may have to add more material to the dam to increase the width, especially on wide ditches with shallow grade side slopes.

Now you know how to prepare for fall and winter rains: Prevent Erosion

September 23, 2020

What Every CESCL Should Know

Filed under: Web Site — Tags: , , , , — Sheetflow @ 5:58 am

Today is the day! Be sure to sign up: IECA Washington Virtual Connection: What Every CESCL Should Know, September 23rd and 24th online.

Wednesday, September 23rd
Thursday, September 24th

On-Demand Presentations – you will be notified as these are posted:

  • Improving Specification of Subsurface LID Measures with Jason Bailey, PE

September 18, 2020

What Every CESCL Should Know

Filed under: Web Site — Tags: , , , , — Sheetflow @ 5:36 am

Be sure to sign up: IECA Washington Virtual Connection: What Every CESCL Should Know, September 23rd and 24th online.

Wednesday, September 23rd – What Every CESCL Should Know
Thursday, September 24th-What Every CESCL Should Know

On-Demand Presentations – you will be notified as these are posted:

  • Improving Specification of Subsurface LID Measures with Jason Bailey, PE

September 11, 2020

What Every CESCL Should Know

Filed under: Web Site — Tags: , , , , — Sheetflow @ 4:36 am

Be sure to sign up: IECA Washington Virtual Connection: What Every CESCL Should Know, September 23rd and 24th online.

Wednesday, September 23rd
Thursday, September 24th

On-Demand Presentations – you will be notified as these are posted:

  • Improving Specification of Subsurface LID Measures with Jason Bailey, PE

September 4, 2020

What Every CESCL Should Know

Filed under: Web Site — Tags: , , , , — Sheetflow @ 2:37 am

Be sure to sign up: IECA Washington Virtual Connection: What Every CESCL Should Know, September 23rd and 24th online.

Wednesday, September 23rd
Thursday, September 24th

On-Demand Presentations – you will be notified as these are posted:

  • Improving Specification of Subsurface LID Measures with Jason Bailey, PE
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