Construction Stormwater Compliance

Stormwater Compliance

Construction and land development often remove vegetated or paved earth and expose soil, making the site more susceptible to erosion from weather. The Commission works to ensure that sediment in construction site stormwater runoff is controlled by following permit requirements. This is done using erosion and sedimentation BMPs throughout the course of construction until vegetative cover is restored. BMPs are temporary structural or vegetative practices that are designed to trap or filter sediment in stormwater runoff at construction sites. BMPs require site-specific design, routine inspection, and maintenance to ensure that they are functioning properly throughout the construction process.

Compliance Management Plan

In 2021, as part of a consent agreement with the United States EPA, the PA Turnpike agreed to implement a Compliance Management Program (CMP) for controlling sediment and erosion that could take place during construction and eliminate stormwater runoff leaving a construction area. The PA Turnpike’s plan applies to any project that is required to obtain coverage under a NPDES Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated with Construction Activities.

The CMP contains five primary elements:

• Designation of Compliance Management Plan Administrator
  As part of the CMP the PA Turnpike was requested to identify an Administrator of the plan who is responsible for its implementation. The PA Turnpike has selected the Chief Engineer to fulfill this roll and will serve as the Administrator throughout the entire term of the agreement.
• Stormwater Inspection Training
  The PA Turnpike will be training its staff and our contracted staff on the requirement of NPDES permits and the means by which inspections are to occur and how to resolve deficiencies which may be observed during construction.
• PA Turnpike Stormwater Self-Audit Program
  The PA Turnpike will be utilizing a third-party auditor to review each NPDES permitted project annually to look at both the prior year’s inspection information and to review current site conditions.
• Stormwater Compliance Data Tracking
  PA Turnpike will be submitting annual reports to EPA on the status of all its active construction projects with an NPDES permit. The PA Turnpike has developed and is implementing an internal application which will collect and store all this information.
• Public Information Portal
  This webpage and the resources linked to it constitute the public information portal. A list of information for PA Turnpike projects with an NPDES (construction stormwater) permit, that were active as of June 10, 2021, is available in the Construction Stormwater Compliance Resources section at the bottom of this page. Project information will be updated approximately once every three months.