State of the California Construction General Permit (CGP)

State of the California Construction General Permit (CGP) OK, it's been a couple of years since the new permit (CGP) kicked in and slowly we are seeing some improvements with regards to people understanding the impact of compliance on their daily operations. The problem now is that inforcement has been somewhat lacks either because of a lack of State Inspector resources or as some speculate, maybe they are just turning a blind eye to non-compliance because of the sluggish economy. Regardless of the reason, I have noticed that some contractors are now wondering what all the fuss was about. It's regretible because we have made significant headway in certifying QSPs and QSDs, as well as educating contractors in general and City and County inspectors on basic storm water compliance. I heard from one inspector that the gloves are coming off this fall (2013) regarding site compliance and that citations for non-compliance will become the norm, including penalties for violations of the law.

Apparently the feeling at the Board is that 3 years have past since the permit became law, and there is no excuse at this point for non-compliance with the States Clean Water Regulations (CGP).

Annual Reports The reporting year for all active WDID Numbers runs from July 1st to June 30th. All projects which were active for 3 months (in actuality 60 plus days) within the reporting year are required to file an Annual Report by September 1st, 2013.

Caltrans Projects require their Annual Reporting to be submitted to them by July 15th, so that they can be sure to file with the state on time. Last year they started chasing Annual Report violators by mid-October, I am guessing they will now start using those manaditory minimum penalties for failure to file on time...or maybe not.

Remember if your project is active for 3 consecutive months (60 plus days) you must file an Annual Report before you can file your NOT.

QSP / QSD Training We have been running QSP / QSD Training for the past 18 months and have seen some great candidates go through the program and become successful inspectors. The big issue now is making sure that everyone is getting a sufficient number of continueing education units CEUs to meet the requirements of their underlying certifications (CISEC / CESSWI). These certifications require a total of 20 hours every two years.

As a result we are now providing these classes to meet this demand with 2 hour courses that not only meet the requirement, but were developed to meet real deficits in the original training that can be applied directly to the field.

BMP Implementation...

Here is a great example of high quality Silt Fence installed correctly, and I mean high quality, they used hardwood stakes.

"The Good"











"The Bad"


and "The Ugly..."