Municipal Construction Stormwater Site Inspection Toolkit

Rebecca Dugopolski, PE

What should an inspector be inspecting and tracking during a construction stormwater site inspection? Are inspectors inspecting and tracking the same items in neighboring jurisdictions? The City of Tumwater applied for and was awarded a Grant of Regional or Statewide Significance from the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) to address these questions by developing a set of five stormwater site inspection checklists covering pre-construction, construction, and post-construction inspections. Along with the checklists, the toolkit also includes two factsheets and a set of training materials. The primary goal of the project was to assist municipal inspectors with more effectively tracking compliance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) municipal stormwater permits. The City of Tumwater worked with Herrera Environmental Consultants and a regional group that included the City of Lacey, City of Olympia, and Thurston County to develop the toolkit.
This presentation will provide an overview of the initial construction inspection practices survey, the process used to develop the checklists, and the content included in each of the five checklists. Content related to the protection of low impact development (LID) facilities will be highlighted during the presentation. Although the checklists and training materials were developed in Western Washington, this topic and the project deliverables can be adapted and used in other parts of the country. The checklists are provided for guidance for consistent tracking for construction stormwater site inspections, but can be modified by jurisdictions prior to implementation. Builders and developers can also use the checklists to guide their construction site stormwater management practices.

Following this presentation, attendees should be able to:

• List the components included in the municipal construction stormwater site inspection toolkit
• Adapt guidance and recommendations from the project deliverables into their own programs
• Implement actions to protect low impact development facilities during construction activities

Presented by Rebecca Dugopolski, PE, Herrera Environmental Consultants

Rebecca Dugopolski, PE, is an associate engineer with Herrera Environmental Consultants in Seattle, Washington with over 13 years of experience in stormwater monitoring, design, and NPDES permit compliance. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Michigan Technological University and her Master’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Washington. Ms. Dugopolski has worked with numerous Phase I and Phase II jurisdictions in Eastern and Western Washington to develop checklists, tools, and training to help permittees meet their NPDES permit requirements. She was also one of the lead trainers for the bioretention O&M and permeable pavement O&M training modules included in the Statewide LID Training Program in Washington.