For some time, construction projects disturbing 1 or more acres of soil have been subject to discharge requirements established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and regulated by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) under a statewide permit, General Construction Storm Water Permit Order 99-08-DWQ.  Applicants whose projects are subject to this permit must prepare a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), which identifies erosion and sediment measures to protect downstream water quality during construction.
 
General Construction Storm Water Permit Order 99-08-DWQ has recently been superseded. Effective July 1, 2010 all dischargers are required to obtain coverage under new CGP Order 2009-0009-DWQ (hereinafter referred to as the CGP).  (View the entire document at Stormwater Permit.)The new CGP contains significant requirements that must be addressed and differs from Order 99-08-DWQ in some important ways.  For example, it now contains:

• waivers for small construction sites,

• a risk-based permitting approach,

• technology-based discharge limitations for pH and turbidity,

• minimum Best Management Practice (BMP) requirements,

• minimum monitoring and reporting requirements,
  

• preparation of a "Rainfall Event Action Plan," and

• post-construction performance standards.
  

The new CGP also establishes minimum qualification requirements for SWPPP preparers and inspectors and specifies an on-line permit application process.
 
The application requirements of the CGP establish a mechanism to clearly identify the responsible parties, locations, and scope of operations of dischargers covered by the CGP and to document the discharger's knowledge of the permit requirements.  To obtain coverage under CGP, the Legally Responsible Person (LRP) must electronically file the Permit Registration Documents (PRDs) with the SWRCB, including a Notice of Intent (NOI), a risk assessment (standard or site-specific), site map, signed certification, SWPPP, and other site-specific PRDs that may be required (e.g. post-construction water balance, particle size analysis for risk assessment, etc.).  
 
We have prepared a white paper providing substantially more detail on the new requirements, which we're providing free of charge to our clients.  You can download the document at Stormwater White Paper #3.

In a previous DHA (Douglas Herring & Associates) eAlert we told you about a fast, easy, and free way to send large files via email using YouSendIt.  With their free account, you can send files up to 100 MB in size (up to 2 GB with a paid account).  Now we want to tell you about an even more versatile service, which gives you unlimited uploads, downloads, and online file storage, and allows you to send 200-MB files, all for free.  We're using it to provide the stormwater white paper referenced in the first article in this issue.  You can get started using MediaFire right here.

In previous issues of DHA's eAlerts we have shared some of the ways we use the powerful free tools Google Earth and Google Maps to improve our work efficiency, including the ability to get step-by-step driving directions to any location, and virtually travel the entire route, either with a bird's-eye view, or at ground level. 

Now we want to make sure you're aware of the increased accessibility and convenience of these useful tools.  Google Mobile provides the same capabilities for your smart phone.  It also allows you to speak your queries (even if you have a British or Australian accent!) and automatically search for businesses near your current location.  Google's latest addition now provides verbal turn-by-turn directions to your destination, allowing hands-free navigation.  Google Mobile is available for most smart phones at Google Mobile.  The voice directions are available for the Droid phone (Verizon), my Touch 3G (T-Mobile), and G1 (T-Mobile) at Google Maps Navigation, and will be available soon for the iPhone (AT&T).

Google continues to roll out powerful free tools that can improve your work efficiency and enhance your personal endeavors.  You've probably read about Google's ambitious plan to digitize the world's books and documents, including historic manuscripts and magazines.  Although the project continues to generate controversy and legal challenges, the company has overcome some of these hurdles, and has made substantial progress on this Herculean task.  Google has partnered with 20 major libraries-including those at Columbia, Cornell, Oxford, Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford universities, and numerous state universities (including University of California and University of Michigan)-to digitize their collections and make them available online.  Millions of books have already been digitized. 

If a book you want to view is out of copyright (or if the author or publisher has granted permission), the entire digitized document is available for online viewing, and you can even download a PDF copy.  For books still under copyright protection, card catalog information is provided, and you may be able to view a limited number of pages or snippets online.  Where applicable, there is a direct link to any online sellers of the book and/or libraries where you can borrow it.  You can already access millions of documents in their digital form.  Try searching or browsing the results at Google Books.

by Barbara Kaplan

Douglas Herring & Associates (DHA) works with public agencies, developers, and other businesses in California to expertly obtain the environmental and planning approvals needed to move projects from the conceptual stage to physical, benefit-generating reality in an efficient and cost-effective manner.  Since 1997, DHA has helped dozens of California cities and counties and scores of other businesses and organizations save money while obtaining high-quality planning and environmental analysis services necessary to get their projects expeditiously approved and built.  DHA can prepare quantitative greenhouse gas analyses consistent with the proposed CEQA Guidelines amendments. Learn more on our website:  Douglas Herring & Associates.

 
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