VA DEQ SWM INSPECTOR 2026 EXAMS SCRIPT
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Other regulating agencies involved in live watercourse activities - ✔✔- U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (404 permit)
- DEQ's 401 permitting regulations
- Virginia's Marine Resources Commissions (VMRC)
- DGIF or local wetland board time of year restrictions
✔✔Minimum Standard 15 - ✔✔Bed and Bank Stabilization
the bed and banks of a watercouse shall be stabilized immediately after work in the
watercourse is completed (don't want to work in more areas than they can stabilize in
one day -> stabilize as you go)
when working in water, the safety of the workers and equipment is important; weather
also factors in heavily when deciding to continue working in a watercourse or not due to
potentially high flows of water
protect streambanks from erosive forces of flowing water
✔✔Minimum Standard 16 - ✔✔Utility Construction
underground utility lines shall be installed in accordance with the following standards in
addition to other applicable criteria:
1. no more than 500 linear feet of trench may be opened at one time
2. excavated material shall be placed on the uphill side of trenches
3. effluent from dewatering operations shall be filtered or passed through approved
sediment trapping devices (or both), before being discharged in a manner that does not
adversely affect flowing streams or off-site property
4. material used for backfilling trenches shall be properly compacted in order to
minimize erosion and promote stabilization
,5. re-stabilization shall be accomplished in accordance with this chapter (9VAC25-840)
basic principle of controlling erosion and sedimentation on utility projects is to get the
trench back-filled and stabilized as soon as possible
section (f) refers to the safety requirements set forth by OSHA in regards to trench
depth and the requirement for shoring or tench boxes when workers are in the trench
✔✔Minimum Standard 17 - ✔✔Vehicular Tracking and Construction Entrances
where construction vehicle access routes intersect paved or public roads, provisions
shall be made to minimize the transport of sediment by vehicular tracking onto the
paved surface
where sediment is transported onto a paved or public road surface, the road surface
shall be cleaned thoroughly at the end of each day
sediment shall be removed from the roads by shoveling or sweeping and transported to
a sediment control disposal area
street washing shall be allowed only after sediment is removed in this manner (this
provision shall apply to individual development lots as well as to larger land-disturbing
activities:
1. during we weather, construction traffic can transport a significant amount of sediment
(i.e. mud) onto paved public roads, creating not only a sedimentation problem but also a
safety hazard and public nuisance
2. the operator is responsible for keeping public roads adjacent to the project clean
3. mud should be swept or shoveled off the road and deposited on areas where it will
not cause another sedimentation problem
✔✔Sweeping and Washing - ✔✔washing is only permitted after shoveling and
sweeping of sediment
✔✔Temporary Stone Construction Entrance - ✔✔reduce amount of mud transported
onto paved public roads by motor vehicles or runoff
✔✔Minimum Standard 18 - ✔✔Temporary Control Removal
all temporary erosion and sediment control measures shall be removed within 30 days
after final stabilization or after the temporary measures that are no longer needed,
unless otherwise authorized by the VESCP authority
, trapped sediment and the disturbed soil areas resulting from the disposition of
temporary measures shall be permanently stabilized to prevent further erosion and
sedimentation
temporary erosion and sediment control measures can become a problem if left in place
beyond their useful life:
1. sediment fences can trap widlife and small animals (ex. silt fence doesn't biodegrade,
only photo-degrades - 6 month life span)
2. sediment basins can become drowning hazards or sources of sediment in cases of
failure, and they become unsightly (some sediment basins are designed to be converted
to stormwater basins at the end of a project - this should only be done once final
stabilization has been achieved)
temporary control measures should be removed and the area should be stabilized as
soon as their function has been completed or are no longer needed
✔✔Minimum Standard 19 - ✔✔Standards and Criteria for Stormwater Discharges
requires designers to evaulate the adequacy of the downstream manmade and/or
natural channels to safely convey the developed condition runoff
the criterion of the ESC regulations requires the designer verify the adequacy of all
channels and pipes in the following manner:
1. demonstrate that the total drainage area to the point of analysis within the channel is
one hundred times greater than the contributing drainage area of the project (in which
case the channel or pipe system is assumed to be adequate based on the
correspondingly small impact of the project's runoff to the larger stream or channel
system)
2. (a) natural channels shall be analyzed by the use of a 2-year storm to verify that
stormwater will not overtop channel banks nor cause erosion of channel bed or banks,
2. (b) all man-made channels (ex. paved flume) shall be analyzed by the use of a 10-
year storm to verify that stormwater will not overtop its banks and by the use of a 2-year
storm to demonstrate that stormwater will not cause erosion of channel bed or banks
2. (c) pipes and storm sewer systems (ex. closed pipe systems) shall be analyzed by
the use of a 10-year storm to verify that stormwater will be contained within the pipe or
system
if existing natural or manmade channels or pipes are not adequate, the applicant shall:
1. improve the channel to a condition that meets 2. (b)
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔Other regulating agencies involved in live watercourse activities - ✔✔- U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (404 permit)
- DEQ's 401 permitting regulations
- Virginia's Marine Resources Commissions (VMRC)
- DGIF or local wetland board time of year restrictions
✔✔Minimum Standard 15 - ✔✔Bed and Bank Stabilization
the bed and banks of a watercouse shall be stabilized immediately after work in the
watercourse is completed (don't want to work in more areas than they can stabilize in
one day -> stabilize as you go)
when working in water, the safety of the workers and equipment is important; weather
also factors in heavily when deciding to continue working in a watercourse or not due to
potentially high flows of water
protect streambanks from erosive forces of flowing water
✔✔Minimum Standard 16 - ✔✔Utility Construction
underground utility lines shall be installed in accordance with the following standards in
addition to other applicable criteria:
1. no more than 500 linear feet of trench may be opened at one time
2. excavated material shall be placed on the uphill side of trenches
3. effluent from dewatering operations shall be filtered or passed through approved
sediment trapping devices (or both), before being discharged in a manner that does not
adversely affect flowing streams or off-site property
4. material used for backfilling trenches shall be properly compacted in order to
minimize erosion and promote stabilization
,5. re-stabilization shall be accomplished in accordance with this chapter (9VAC25-840)
basic principle of controlling erosion and sedimentation on utility projects is to get the
trench back-filled and stabilized as soon as possible
section (f) refers to the safety requirements set forth by OSHA in regards to trench
depth and the requirement for shoring or tench boxes when workers are in the trench
✔✔Minimum Standard 17 - ✔✔Vehicular Tracking and Construction Entrances
where construction vehicle access routes intersect paved or public roads, provisions
shall be made to minimize the transport of sediment by vehicular tracking onto the
paved surface
where sediment is transported onto a paved or public road surface, the road surface
shall be cleaned thoroughly at the end of each day
sediment shall be removed from the roads by shoveling or sweeping and transported to
a sediment control disposal area
street washing shall be allowed only after sediment is removed in this manner (this
provision shall apply to individual development lots as well as to larger land-disturbing
activities:
1. during we weather, construction traffic can transport a significant amount of sediment
(i.e. mud) onto paved public roads, creating not only a sedimentation problem but also a
safety hazard and public nuisance
2. the operator is responsible for keeping public roads adjacent to the project clean
3. mud should be swept or shoveled off the road and deposited on areas where it will
not cause another sedimentation problem
✔✔Sweeping and Washing - ✔✔washing is only permitted after shoveling and
sweeping of sediment
✔✔Temporary Stone Construction Entrance - ✔✔reduce amount of mud transported
onto paved public roads by motor vehicles or runoff
✔✔Minimum Standard 18 - ✔✔Temporary Control Removal
all temporary erosion and sediment control measures shall be removed within 30 days
after final stabilization or after the temporary measures that are no longer needed,
unless otherwise authorized by the VESCP authority
, trapped sediment and the disturbed soil areas resulting from the disposition of
temporary measures shall be permanently stabilized to prevent further erosion and
sedimentation
temporary erosion and sediment control measures can become a problem if left in place
beyond their useful life:
1. sediment fences can trap widlife and small animals (ex. silt fence doesn't biodegrade,
only photo-degrades - 6 month life span)
2. sediment basins can become drowning hazards or sources of sediment in cases of
failure, and they become unsightly (some sediment basins are designed to be converted
to stormwater basins at the end of a project - this should only be done once final
stabilization has been achieved)
temporary control measures should be removed and the area should be stabilized as
soon as their function has been completed or are no longer needed
✔✔Minimum Standard 19 - ✔✔Standards and Criteria for Stormwater Discharges
requires designers to evaulate the adequacy of the downstream manmade and/or
natural channels to safely convey the developed condition runoff
the criterion of the ESC regulations requires the designer verify the adequacy of all
channels and pipes in the following manner:
1. demonstrate that the total drainage area to the point of analysis within the channel is
one hundred times greater than the contributing drainage area of the project (in which
case the channel or pipe system is assumed to be adequate based on the
correspondingly small impact of the project's runoff to the larger stream or channel
system)
2. (a) natural channels shall be analyzed by the use of a 2-year storm to verify that
stormwater will not overtop channel banks nor cause erosion of channel bed or banks,
2. (b) all man-made channels (ex. paved flume) shall be analyzed by the use of a 10-
year storm to verify that stormwater will not overtop its banks and by the use of a 2-year
storm to demonstrate that stormwater will not cause erosion of channel bed or banks
2. (c) pipes and storm sewer systems (ex. closed pipe systems) shall be analyzed by
the use of a 10-year storm to verify that stormwater will be contained within the pipe or
system
if existing natural or manmade channels or pipes are not adequate, the applicant shall:
1. improve the channel to a condition that meets 2. (b)
