CESSWI PART I Exam Questions and
Answers 100% Pass
CESSWI is qualified to preform what inspections? - ✔✔Construction, post construction,
industrial, MS4
Clean Water Act year of creation and intent of law - ✔✔1972, enacted to restore and
maintain the physical, bio, chem integrity of the waters of the US
CWA Section 402 - ✔✔Est. NPDES System, originally focused on industrial process
waste water and POTW
CWA Section 404 - ✔✔regulated impacts to waters of the US, typically associated with a
401 certification
CWA Section 401 - ✔✔Regulates water quality impacts and state cert systems, required
permit issued by a federal agency for any activity that may discharge a pollutant,
Applies heavily in industrial sites
CWA Section 303 - ✔✔Establishes Water quality standards
Stormwater discharge definition - ✔✔stormwater runoff, snow melt runoff, and surface
runoff/drainage
Katelyn Whitman, All Rights Reserved © 2025 1
,To be subject to NPDES rules, stormwater must: - ✔✔be in a discernible conveyance
Definitions of waters of the US - ✔✔All waters used in interstate or foreign commerce,
including those subject to tidal flows
o All interstate waters, including interstate wetlands
o All INTRAstate lakes, rivers, streams (intermittent also), mudflats, sand flats,
wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lake, or natural ponds that the
destruction of which would affect interstate/foreign commerce including those which:
Could be used for recreational or other purposes
From which shellfish or fish could be retrieved and sold
Could be used for industrial purposes
o All impoundments of water defined by waters of the US by the above
o Tributaries of the waters defined above
o The territorial sea
o Wetlands adjacent to any of the waters defined above
Beneficial Uses definition - ✔✔Uses necessary for the survival of and well-being of
people, plants, and wildlife
Katelyn Whitman, All Rights Reserved © 2025 2
, Water quality standards definition - ✔✔state or tribal requirements that define the
water quality goals of a lake stream or other wateerbody by designation the benefical
uses and setting criteria to protect those uses
Section 303d - ✔✔est a process for states, territories, and tribes to i.d. impaired waters,
also referred to as water quality limited
TMDL - ✔✔id's the amount of a specific pollutnant that may be dicharged to a water
body, states are responsible for implementing
Waste load allocations - ✔✔allocations of pollutant loadings to point sources
TMDL Implementation - ✔✔Define waste load allocation, develop implementation plan
to connect allocations and permits, translate allocations to permit conditions.
Origin of NPDES stormwater regs - ✔✔NURP studies showed stormwater had many of
the same qualities of commercial, industrial areas
NPDES Phase I and II regs implemented via - ✔✔General permits for a group of similar
dischagers such as consutruction industry, industrial, utilities
Individual permits for a single entity, facility or project
Phase I NPDES Permits ID'd as: - ✔✔Industrial activity
Construction activity <5 acres
Cities over 100k population
Katelyn Whitman, All Rights Reserved © 2025 3
Answers 100% Pass
CESSWI is qualified to preform what inspections? - ✔✔Construction, post construction,
industrial, MS4
Clean Water Act year of creation and intent of law - ✔✔1972, enacted to restore and
maintain the physical, bio, chem integrity of the waters of the US
CWA Section 402 - ✔✔Est. NPDES System, originally focused on industrial process
waste water and POTW
CWA Section 404 - ✔✔regulated impacts to waters of the US, typically associated with a
401 certification
CWA Section 401 - ✔✔Regulates water quality impacts and state cert systems, required
permit issued by a federal agency for any activity that may discharge a pollutant,
Applies heavily in industrial sites
CWA Section 303 - ✔✔Establishes Water quality standards
Stormwater discharge definition - ✔✔stormwater runoff, snow melt runoff, and surface
runoff/drainage
Katelyn Whitman, All Rights Reserved © 2025 1
,To be subject to NPDES rules, stormwater must: - ✔✔be in a discernible conveyance
Definitions of waters of the US - ✔✔All waters used in interstate or foreign commerce,
including those subject to tidal flows
o All interstate waters, including interstate wetlands
o All INTRAstate lakes, rivers, streams (intermittent also), mudflats, sand flats,
wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lake, or natural ponds that the
destruction of which would affect interstate/foreign commerce including those which:
Could be used for recreational or other purposes
From which shellfish or fish could be retrieved and sold
Could be used for industrial purposes
o All impoundments of water defined by waters of the US by the above
o Tributaries of the waters defined above
o The territorial sea
o Wetlands adjacent to any of the waters defined above
Beneficial Uses definition - ✔✔Uses necessary for the survival of and well-being of
people, plants, and wildlife
Katelyn Whitman, All Rights Reserved © 2025 2
, Water quality standards definition - ✔✔state or tribal requirements that define the
water quality goals of a lake stream or other wateerbody by designation the benefical
uses and setting criteria to protect those uses
Section 303d - ✔✔est a process for states, territories, and tribes to i.d. impaired waters,
also referred to as water quality limited
TMDL - ✔✔id's the amount of a specific pollutnant that may be dicharged to a water
body, states are responsible for implementing
Waste load allocations - ✔✔allocations of pollutant loadings to point sources
TMDL Implementation - ✔✔Define waste load allocation, develop implementation plan
to connect allocations and permits, translate allocations to permit conditions.
Origin of NPDES stormwater regs - ✔✔NURP studies showed stormwater had many of
the same qualities of commercial, industrial areas
NPDES Phase I and II regs implemented via - ✔✔General permits for a group of similar
dischagers such as consutruction industry, industrial, utilities
Individual permits for a single entity, facility or project
Phase I NPDES Permits ID'd as: - ✔✔Industrial activity
Construction activity <5 acres
Cities over 100k population
Katelyn Whitman, All Rights Reserved © 2025 3
