stormwater permit compliance

June 10, 2022

SCS Engineers Environmental Consulting and Contracting
Stormwater treatment systems help scrap metal recycling facilities mitigate and avoid corrective actions.

 

Scrap facilities’ stormwater permits incorporate strict sampling requirements, numeric limits (generally referred to as benchmarks, numeric action levels, or numeric effluent limits), and mandated corrective actions. Furthermore, facilities face emerging challenges with increased regulatory scrutiny within environmental justice communities and communities implementing new stormwater utilities. Good planning can ease the operational, maintenance, and reporting requirements and provide positive results for your facility’s relationship with local communities and regulators.

If your facility is facing scrutiny or requires additional best management practices (BMPs) to meet stormwater permit requirements, follow this simple stepped approach:

  • Walk the site and identify:
    • Where flows and drainage pathway issues exist (e.g., ponding areas, flow paths that lead to stockpiles or key operational areas);
    • Where fluff or sediment may accumulate;
    • The presence of discoloration of soils or pavements;
    • Where potential wetlands or other areas that should be avoided; and
    • Areas where additional stormwater BMPs may be incorporated without interfering with site operations or environmentally sensitive areas.
  • Improve water flow through problem areas, including re-grading areas to promote gravity flow or incorporate pumped conveyance systems.
  • Incorporate stormwater treatment systems.
    • There are many options for treating runoff, including pre-treatment devices, stormwater basins, biofilters, media filters/filtration systems, enhanced vaults, treatment trains, and proprietary systems.
    • Each site need is different, but a typical approach might consider a BMP that prioritizes 1) removing solids, 2) removing oil, 3) providing reserve area for future additional treatment if needed (i.e., dissolved metals, PFAS, PCBs, etc.),
    • Where regulations allow, consider constraining treatment capacity to manage the “first-flush” of potential pollutants to optimize the treatment system and reduce the footprint needed, thereby reducing potential impacts on operations.

Good planning and design create effective conveyance and treatment systems that improve stormwater quality and help you meet benchmark requirements. Proactive measures to plan for stormwater treatment systems will help existing scrap metal recycling facilities address corrective action and avoid Additional Implementation Measure (AIM) levels based on their benchmark monitoring results.

 


 

Need assistance with managing stormwater runoff at your scrap facility? Contact our Author, Scott Knoepke, to set up a meeting at the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries’ 2022 Safety and Environmental Conference.  Or reach out anytime; SCS’s environmental professionals are nationwide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by Diane Samuels at 6:00 am

May 21, 2021

Nathan Williams of SCS Engineers helps businesses and municipalities meet environmental challenges such as managing stormwater.

 

SCS Engineers is expanding its environmental expertise with Nathan Williams, PE, as an Environmental Engineer in the firm’s Portland, Oregon office. Williams will support SCS’s growing client base in the region to meet and remain compliant with local, state, and federal regulations that impact their business or municipality, with particular emphasis on stormwater compliance and management.

Washington, Oregon, and Idaho clients have regulatory requirements that include Compliance Audits, Spill Prevention and Countermeasure Plans (SPCC), Stormwater Pollution Control Plans (SWPCP), Air Pollution Control Discharge Permits, Risk Management Plans, Form R reports and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Part B. These plans and permits address regulatory requirements and help protect watersheds and wetlands that provide drinking water to downstream communities, habitat for fish and wildlife, and countless other public and economic benefits.

Williams brings expertise and credentials to provide comprehensive stormwater management services to support businesses in the region ranging from vineyards to landfills. His experience includes working on permitting and remediating contaminated sites for industrial, residential, and power generation reuse across Oregon and Washington.

As a Certified Erosion and Sediment Control Lead, Williams has extensive experience in erosion and sediment control projects, from design, permitting, implementation, and project closeout with final stabilization. Combining these skillsets helps businesses continue to deliver products and services on schedule as they encounter increasingly rigid compliance regulations.

As with all SCS Engineers employee-owners, Nathan Williams engages in industry associations and his community. Learn about Nathan and how his work on the SCS team helps municipalities, all citizens, and businesses thrive.

 

About SCS Engineers

SCS Engineers’ environmental solutions and technology directly result from our experience and dedication to industries responsible for safeguarding the environment as they deliver services and products. For information about SCS, watch a short video, visit our website, or follow us on your favorite social media.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by Diane Samuels at 6:00 am