Stormwater Business Inspectors

Municipal Stormwater Inspectors visit commercial and industrial businesses to help them understand and comply with stormwater pollution control requirements. Each permitted facility must have a written Stormwater Management Plan

Goals of the Stormwater inspection process:

• To prevent and eliminate pollutant sources from being discharged to storm water conveyances
• To protect Bay area creeks, waterways, the Pacific Ocean, and the San Francisco Bay.
• To promote public water quality awareness through education, outreach, and enforcement as needed.

Stormwater Management Plan
Each permitted industrial facility is required to establish and implement a Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP) which details how potential pollutant sources are being managed to prevent any commingling with stormwater.

The inspection is a 4 or 5 step process:

1. Review of the Stormwater Management Plan to verify that all required components of the SWMP are identified and addressed appropriately as required by the stormwater discharge permit, and review of required records
2. Facility walk-through inspection to verify all items addressed in the SWMP are being implemented on site and that there is no potential for any pollutants to be discharged offsite or to waters of the state
3. Inspection report write-up documenting all deficiencies found during the inspection and what the required actions are to get into compliance with all relevant regulations and permit requirements by the given compliance deadline
4. Review of correspondence and follow-up visit if necessary to determine if the facility has reached compliance with their stormwater discharge permit
5. Follow-up/referral to the San Mateo County Environmental Health Department for enforcement action if required

Need help developing your Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP)?

The State Water Resources Control Board has some good guidance for preparing a SWPPP. For a comprehensive list of issues to consider during the development of a SWPPP, click here(pdf) or click here (word). For the State Water Resources Control Board's Construction General Permit, click here.

Developing Your Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan: A Guide for Construction Sites - This guidance manual is provided by the U.S. EPA NPDES Program and is intended as a helpful reference for construction site operators who must prepare a SWPPP in order to obtain NPDES permit coverage for their stormwater discharges. It describes the SWPPP development process and provides helpful guidance and tips for developing and implementing an effective SWPPP. In addition, the guide provides customizable SWPPP templates and a sample inspection report, in Microsoft Word format. This Guide may be used by construction site operators anywhere in the U.S. The SWPPP Template and Inspection form should be customized to meet the requirements in the applicable State Construction General Permit.

Work from a SWPPP Template provided by CalTrans