CESSWI PART I – Questions With Complete Answers
CESSWI is qualified to preform what inspections? ✔️Ans - Construction,
post construction, industrial, MS4
Clean Water Act year of creation and intent of law ✔️Ans - 1972, enacted
to restore and maintain the physical, bio, chem integrity of the waters of the
US
CWA Section 402 ✔️Ans - Est. NPDES System, originally focused on
industrial process waste water and POTW
CWA Section 404 ✔️Ans - regulated impacts to waters of the US, typically
associated with a 401 certification
CWA Section 401 ✔️Ans - 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 ✔️Ans - Establishes Water quality standards
Stormwater discharge definition ✔️Ans - stormwater runoff, snow melt
runoff, and surface runoff/drainage
To be subject to NPDES rules, stormwater must: ✔️Ans - be in a
discernible conveyance
Definitions of waters of the US ✔️Ans - 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 ✔️Ans - Uses necessary for the survival of and
well-being of people, plants, and wildlife
Water quality standards definition ✔️Ans - 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 ✔️Ans - est a process for states, territories, and tribes to i.d.
impaired waters, also referred to as water quality limited
TMDL ✔️Ans - id's the amount of a specific pollutnant that may be
dicharged to a water body, states are responsible for implementing
Waste load allocations ✔️Ans - allocations of pollutant loadings to point
sources
TMDL Implementation ✔️Ans - Define waste load allocation, develop
implementation plan to connect allocations and permits, translate allocations
to permit conditions.
Origin of NPDES stormwater regs ✔️Ans - NURP studies showed
stormwater had many of the same qualities of commercial, industrial areas
NPDES Phase I and II regs implemented via ✔️Ans - 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: ✔️Ans - Industrial activity
Construction activity <5 acres
Cities over 100k population
Phase II NPDES Permits ID'd as: ✔️Ans - Construction activity 1 - 5 acres
Cities 10k - 100k population
commercial, retail, light industrial, institutional
CESSWI is qualified to preform what inspections? ✔️Ans - Construction,
post construction, industrial, MS4
Clean Water Act year of creation and intent of law ✔️Ans - 1972, enacted
to restore and maintain the physical, bio, chem integrity of the waters of the
US
CWA Section 402 ✔️Ans - Est. NPDES System, originally focused on
industrial process waste water and POTW
CWA Section 404 ✔️Ans - regulated impacts to waters of the US, typically
associated with a 401 certification
CWA Section 401 ✔️Ans - 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 ✔️Ans - Establishes Water quality standards
Stormwater discharge definition ✔️Ans - stormwater runoff, snow melt
runoff, and surface runoff/drainage
To be subject to NPDES rules, stormwater must: ✔️Ans - be in a
discernible conveyance
Definitions of waters of the US ✔️Ans - 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 ✔️Ans - Uses necessary for the survival of and
well-being of people, plants, and wildlife
Water quality standards definition ✔️Ans - 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 ✔️Ans - est a process for states, territories, and tribes to i.d.
impaired waters, also referred to as water quality limited
TMDL ✔️Ans - id's the amount of a specific pollutnant that may be
dicharged to a water body, states are responsible for implementing
Waste load allocations ✔️Ans - allocations of pollutant loadings to point
sources
TMDL Implementation ✔️Ans - Define waste load allocation, develop
implementation plan to connect allocations and permits, translate allocations
to permit conditions.
Origin of NPDES stormwater regs ✔️Ans - NURP studies showed
stormwater had many of the same qualities of commercial, industrial areas
NPDES Phase I and II regs implemented via ✔️Ans - 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: ✔️Ans - Industrial activity
Construction activity <5 acres
Cities over 100k population
Phase II NPDES Permits ID'd as: ✔️Ans - Construction activity 1 - 5 acres
Cities 10k - 100k population
commercial, retail, light industrial, institutional
