Are you headed for ERA Level 1 Status under the California Industrial General Storm Water Permit?

The new Industrial General Permit 2014-0057-DWQ (IGP) adopted by the California State Water Resources Control Board became effective on July 1, 2015. The IGP includes a requirement to conduct potentially costly exceedance response actions (ERAs) if your facility’s storm water sampling results exceed the established numeric action levels (NALs) listed in the IGP. As your business receives sampling results from the laboratory for the first half of the monitoring year, it is important to assess if your facility has the potential to be in ERA Level 1 compliance status before the end of the reporting year. If any of your results are above the listed NALs, we recommend starting investigations to understand pollutant sources and implement corrective actions to reduce concentrations as soon as possible.  

What are the NALs?


The IGP includes two types of NALs. For compliance purposes, the reporting year is defined as July 1 through June 30.

• Annual NAL exceedances occur when the average of all sample results for a given parameter from all sample locations exceed a parameters listed NAL.
• Instantaneous NAL exceedances occur when results for primary required monitoring parameters (total suspended solids (TSS), pH, or oil & grease) exceed the instantaneous maximum NAL two or more times in a given reporting year.

What happens if a NAL is exceeded?

If an instantaneous maximum NAL or an annual NAL is exceeded from a single monitoring event it does not necessarily mean you will be in ERA Level 1 status the next reporting year. However, you will have a much higher chance if subsequent results are also elevated or above the NALs. Once a facility exceeds the Instantaneous NAL or the Average NAL the facility will move from Baseline status to ERA Level 1 status for the next reporting year, beginning July 1, 2016. Responding to a NAL exceedance will require expert guidance, new and/or improved BMPs, and additional reporting. Your business must designate a Qualified Industrial Storm Water Practitioner (QISP) and is required to evaluate their SWPPP and implement BMP changes by October 30, 2016 and prepare and submit a Level 1 ERA report by January 1, 2017. A facility may also move from Baseline to ERA Level 1 status in subsequent years if conditions change that result in NAL exceedances.

The figure above demonstrates the annual NAL calculation for hypothetical TSS results from a facility with two discharge locations. In this scenario, even if BMPs are implemented after the first two sample events and are effective at lowering subsequent TSS results, the facility will still exceed the annual NAL. The scenario above assumes near perfect results for TSS (near the reporting limit) after effective BMPs are implemented. If sources were corrected and low results were achieved similar to these, it may be possible to add another round of sampling to reduce your annual NAL and avoid ERA Level 1 status. This essentially becomes a numbers game and it would be advisable to assess likely scenarios based on the actual results a facility is able to achieve after BMPs have proven to be effective at lowering results to a consistent level. In some cases, it may not be possible to conduct additional events due to no more rain events or practical if one can anticipate that additional events will yield similar elevated results.  

What now?

In reality, there may be nothing one can do to avoid ERA Level 1 status based on the results that have already occurred. Here are a few options facility managers have.

Do nothing now….

Take no action now, but plan for ERA Level 1 requirements in July. 

• This may present elevated risk of third party lawsuits by delaying efforts and continuing to discharge elevated concentrations of pollutants off site. Facility data is publically available on the State’s Strom Water Multiple Application and Report Tracking System (SMARTS).
• ERA Level 1 requirements will still need to be implemented in the future.  
• Once in ERA Level 1 status, sampling results from four consecutive samples with no additional NAL exceedance is required to return to Baseline status.

Improve….

Conduct a comprehensive site evaluation to identify the sources of the exceeding parameter and implement the appropriate BMPs. 

• Even if Level 1 status isn’t avoided, starting early will provide the opportunity to establish how effective the chosen BMPs are. This will provide greater insight for adjusting your facility’s chance of returning to Baseline status by getting one year of results below the NALs.

Avoid…..

Conduct a comprehensive site evaluation to identify the sources of the exceeding parameter and implement the appropriate BMPs as soon as possible. 

• If the chosen BMPs are effective, collecting additional samples during the second half of the reporting year may enable your business to avoid a NAL exceedance and ERA Level 1 status. This scenario is shown in the figure above.

With a comprehensive site evaluation and implementation of effective BMPs, reducing TSS results may be relatively easy and cost effective.  However, parameters such as metals and nutrients may be more difficult and costly to address. Pollutants can come from a variety of sources that may include industrial activities or may be related non-industrial sources (e.g., building materials, aerial deposition, or landscaping activities to name a few). The table below provides examples of lost cost BMPs commonly used to address TSS.

​Straw Wattles, Silt Fences, and Filter Socks  Source Control and/or Treatment Control Sediment control BMPs that can be used as perimeter control or drain inlet protection.  Designed to help with various erosion control applications such as control along slopes, banks, and hillsides.

Erosion Control Blanket Source Control Provides temporary stabilization for erodible surfaces. Generally used in conjunction with seeding to provide temporary erosion control while awaiting vegetation. A variety of different ECB’s are available depending on the site specific requirements (e.g. grade, soil type etc.)

Drain Guards Treatment Control BMP Removes trash, debris, and large particles. Routine maintenance consist of grate removal to clean out trash, debris and sediment. Inlet filter is equipped with bypass ports to prevent flooding.

Alta Environmental can help assess your facility’s data, evaluate the likelihood of an NAL exceedance, conduct site evaluations, source identifications, and recommend BMPs to possibly avoid ERA Level 1 status.  If ERA Level 1 status can’t be avoided, Alta’s experts can provide your business with proactive solutions to mitigate the escalating cost of IGP compliance. 

To learn more, or for assistance keeping your business in compliance before it’s too late, give us a call at 562-495-5777 or email our Water Resources experts.

David Renfrew, QISP/ToR, QSD, CPSWQ, can be reached via email at david.renfrew@altaenviron.com. 
Garth Engelhorn, CPSWQ, can be reached via email at garth.engelhorn@altaenviron.com.