Background

In 1972, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (also referred to as the Clean Water Act [CWA]) was amended to provide that the discharge of pollutants to waters of the United States from any point source is effectively prohibited unless the discharge is in compliance with an National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.  The 1987 amendments to the CWA added Section 402 (p) that establishes a framework for regulating municipal and industrial storm water discharge under the NPDES Program.  On November 16, 1990, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) published final regulations that establish application requirements for storm water permits.  The regulations require that storm water associated with industrial activity (storm water) that discharges either directly to surface waters or indirectly through municipal separate storm sewers must be regulated by an NPDES permit.

Storm Water Pollutions Prevention Program

The development, implementation, and maintenance of the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) will provide school districts with the tools to reduce pollutants contained in storm water discharge and comply with the requirements of the General Storm Water Permit.  The primary goals of the SWPPP will be to: 

• Identify potential sources of pollutants that affect storm water discharge from the site;

• Describe the practices that will be implemented to prevent or control the release of pollutants in storm water discharges; and

• Create an implementation schedule to ensure that the practices described in this SWPPP are in fact implemented and to evaluate the plan's effectiveness in reducing the pollutant levels in storm water discharges.

This SWPPP includes all of the following:

• Identification of the SWPPP coordinator with a description of this person's duties;

• Identification of the SWPPP implementation team members;

• Description of the facility, including information regarding the facility's location and activities as well as a site description and site map;

• Identification of potential storm water contaminants;

• Description of storm water management control and various Best Management Practices (BMPs) necessary to reduce pollutants in storm water discharge;

• Description of the facility monitoring plan; and a

• Description of the implementation schedule and provisions for amendment of the plan.