Two workers in yellow hard hats and high-visibility vests look at a tablet on a graded dirt construction site, with soil stockpiles and black perimeter sheeting behind them.

Stormwater & Erosion Control

SWPPP services: preparation, QSP inspections and close-out

For California construction sites: a QSD-prepared SWPPP, QSP-led inspections and the close-out package, as one program or any part of it.

Start your request Call (530) 682-7679

What are SWPPP services?

SWPPP services are the stormwater compliance work a California construction site needs to obtain, keep and end Construction General Permit coverage: a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) and registration documents before ground disturbance, inspections and records while work goes on, and the Notice of Termination package at the end.

The permit splits that work between two certified roles. A Qualified SWPPP Developer (QSD) writes and amends the SWPPP. A Qualified SWPPP Practitioner (QSP) carries it out in the field, including inspections and sampling, and a QSD may do any QSP task. Our SWPPPs are QSD-prepared and our inspection programs are QSP-led.

If you're choosing a SWPPP consultant, you can order the whole program or one piece of it, such as a SWPPP for a site whose QSP is already lined up. Our SWPPP preparation and SWPPP inspections pages explain each service in depth; this page compares the packages and covers taking over an active site.

Packages

Which package fits your site?

Scope is set for each site and confirmed in writing before work starts. Three packages split the permit work: preparation, inspections, or the full program.

Package A: SWPPP preparation and registration

For a site that needs permit coverage before ground disturbance, with its inspections handled separately.

  • A site-specific SWPPP, prepared and signed by a QSD, with erosion, sediment and housekeeping controls (BMPs) keyed to the grading plans
  • Risk level determination from the construction dates, soils, slopes and receiving waters
  • SWPPP drawings and the monitoring program
  • Permit Registration Documents prepared for your Legally Responsible Person (LRP) to certify in SMARTS; construction cannot begin until SMARTS issues the WDID

Package B: QSP inspection program

For a site with coverage that needs its inspections, sampling and records handled until coverage ends.

  • Monthly and pre-storm inspections by a QSP
  • Weekly, during-storm and post-storm inspections by a QSP, or by your trained delegates with QSP review
  • pH and turbidity sampling at Risk Level 2 and 3 sites, plus non-visible pollutant sampling when a spill, leak or BMP failure requires it
  • Signed checklists, photos, saved forecasts, rain gauge readings, and corrective action and training logs
  • Records organized for the Annual Report, and the QSP's final Notice of Termination inspection

Package C: Full Construction General Permit program

For a project that wants one firm handling the permit work, from the first draft of the SWPPP to the end of coverage.

  • Everything in Packages A and B
  • QSD site visits and SWPPP amendments as grading, phasing or dates change
  • Change of Information support for new dates, changed acreage or inactive status
  • The Annual Report and the Notice of Termination package, prepared for the LRP to certify

Add-ons

Added where the site or the local agency calls for them.

  • The local erosion control plan sheet for a city or county grading or building permit
  • Post-construction calculations for the registration documents
  • Before any package: an erosivity waiver check for a one-to-five-acre site, which may qualify if the rainfall erosivity (R) factor for its construction period is less than 5 (within a larger common plan, the whole project must qualify); the waiver must be issued through SMARTS before work starts, and a waiver site needs no SWPPP
  • Delegate training for your superintendent, foreman or other site staff
  • Takeover of an active site from another QSP

Whichever package you choose, the permit requires the discharger to keep a QSD on the project from the start until the Notice of Termination is approved, and the discharger stays responsible for work done by the QSD, the QSP and any delegates (CGP §V.A.1, §V.C.1).

Deliverables

What each package includes

Every deliverable tracks the 2022 Construction General Permit (Order WQ 2022-0057-DWQ). A check means the package includes it.

Deliverables by package
Deliverable APreparation BInspections CFull program
Before ground disturbance
Site-specific SWPPP, prepared and signed by a QSD Included Not included Included
Risk level determination Included Not included Included
SWPPP drawings: drainage areas, discharge points and BMP locations Included Not included Included
Monitoring program: inspection and sampling procedures Included Not included Included
Permit Registration Documents, prepared for the LRP to certify in SMARTS Included Not included Included
While the site is active
Weekly, monthly and storm (QPE) inspections, with signed checklists and photos Not included Included Included
Saved forecasts and on-site rain gauge readings Not included Included Included
pH and turbidity sampling at Risk Level 2 and 3 sites Not included Included Included
Corrective action log, from finding to verified repair Not included Included Included
Delegate training log, for upload to SMARTS Not included Included Included
QSD site visits and SWPPP amendments Not included Not included Included
Change of Information support: dates, acreage, inactive status Not included Not included Included
Reporting and close-out
Inspection records organized for the Annual Report Not included Included Included
Annual Report, prepared for the LRP to certify Not included Not included Included
QSP's final Notice of Termination inspection Not included Included Included
Notice of Termination package: final site map, stabilization photos and post-construction BMP maintenance plan Not included Not included Included

Takeovers

Taking over an active site or replacing a QSP

When a QSP leaves mid-project, the site's coverage and its inspection calendar carry on. If the site itself changes hands, coverage does not transfer: the existing discharger submits a Notice of Termination for the change of ownership, and the new owner files its own Permit Registration Documents for a new WDID before construction continues (CGP §III.F.5).

  1. Review the paperwork

    We read the SWPPP and its amendments, confirm the WDID and risk level, and go through recent inspection reports, sampling results and open corrective actions.

  2. Walk the site and list the gaps

    BMPs are checked against the SWPPP drawings, and gaps in the records, such as missed inspections or forecasts not saved with reports, are written up for the discharger.

  3. Update SMARTS

    Where the permit requires one, a Change of Information is prepared for the LRP, for example when dates or acreage have changed. QSD and QSP contact details in SMARTS must be updated within 90 days of a change (CGP §V.D).

  4. Bring the training log current

    Site staff who will keep doing weekly, during-storm or post-storm inspections are trained and listed in the training log uploaded to SMARTS before they inspect (CGP §V.E).

  5. Run the first inspection

    A QSP inspection sets the corrective action list and the inspection calendar from here on. If the QSD is replaced too, a QSD site visit is due within 30 days (CGP §V.C.4).

Service area

Where we prepare and where we inspect

We are based in Chico. Preparation works from your plans, so we prepare SWPPPs for sites anywhere in California; inspections and QSD visits need someone on site, so those are scheduled from Chico for Butte County and the northern Sacramento Valley, with Sacramento and Placer sites by arrangement.

SWPPP preparation: from your plans

SWPPPs and registration documents are prepared from your grading plans, construction schedule and site location. We prepare them for sites anywhere in California.

  • Lake Tahoe Hydrologic Unit projects fall under the Lahontan Regional Water Board's permit instead of the statewide one
  • The permit's QSD site visits are field work, so for a site outside our inspection area we agree up front who will make those visits

QSP inspections: scheduled from Chico

Inspection programs are scheduled from Chico for sites in Butte County and the northern Sacramento Valley; Sacramento and Placer sites are by arrangement.

Get started

What to send to get started

These six items let us match the site to a package and set the scope. Send what you have, and we'll ask about the rest.

Send your site details

  • Site address or APN

    Include the county, so we know which city or county rules apply alongside the permit.

  • Disturbed acreage

    Including staging areas, stockpiles, access roads and later phases; all of it counts toward the disturbed area.

  • Planned start and end dates

    The construction window sets the rainfall erosivity factor, which helps set the risk level.

  • Grading plans

    The current set, so the SWPPP drawings and BMPs match the earthwork.

  • WDID number and risk level

    If the site already has coverage, along with the current SWPPP and recent inspection reports.

  • Your Legally Responsible Person

    The person who certifies documents in SMARTS for the discharger.

California rules

California requirements for SWPPP programs

The current Construction General Permit, Order WQ 2022-0057-DWQ, took effect September 1, 2023 and expires August 31, 2028. The rules that shape a SWPPP program:

  • CGP §II.A–B, §III.A

    Coverage comes before construction

    Disturbing one acre or more, or less than an acre within a larger common plan of development or sale that totals an acre or more, needs coverage before work starts. The Legally Responsible Person certifies the Permit Registration Documents in SMARTS, and construction waits for the WDID number.

  • CGP §V.A.2, §V.C

    A QSD writes and amends the SWPPP

    The SWPPP and every amendment must be developed by a QSD, and amendments go into SMARTS within 30 calendar days. The discharger keeps a QSD from the start of the project until the Notice of Termination is approved. The QSD visits the site within 30 days of construction starting, twice a year (once August to October and once January to March), and after a QSD change or a numeric action level exceedance.

  • CGP Att. D §III.C; Order §V.D.2, §V.E

    Inspections run on a set calendar

    Every risk level needs a weekly inspection and a QSP inspection every calendar month, plus inspections before and during each qualifying precipitation event (QPE) and after it when the site's rain gauge records 0.5 inch or more. Trained delegates listed in the SMARTS training log may do the weekly, during-storm and post-storm inspections; the monthly and pre-storm inspections stay with a QSP.

  • CGP Att. D, D.1

    Risk level sets the workload

    Each traditional construction site is assigned Risk Level 1, 2 or 3 by combining sediment risk with receiving-water risk; linear projects get Type 1, 2 or 3. The construction dates set the rainfall erosivity part of sediment risk, and sites at Risk Level 2 or 3 also sample storm discharges for pH and turbidity.

  • CGP §III.F, §III.G

    Changes go through SMARTS

    A Change of Information is due at least 14 days before a construction start or end date changes, unless that is infeasible, and before disturbed acreage increases. A site where all construction will stop for 30 days or more can request inactive status the same way; once the Regional Water Board approves, sampling may be suspended and inspections reduced.

  • CGP §III.H, §IV.P

    Annual Report and Notice of Termination

    An Annual Report is due in SMARTS by September 1 for any WDID active at least 90 days of the July-to-June reporting year. Coverage ends with a Notice of Termination: the QSP's final inspection, a final site map, photos of final stabilization and post-construction BMPs, and a long-term maintenance plan for those BMPs. It is approved automatically after 30 calendar days unless the Regional Water Board acts first.

Requirements vary by city and county: local agencies approve their own erosion control plans, and wet-season rules differ.

Sources & references
  1. Order WQ 2022-0057-DWQ, Construction Stormwater General Permit (Sections II to VI) (State Water Resources Control Board)
  2. 2022 CGP Attachment D, Traditional Construction Risk Level Requirements (State Water Resources Control Board)
  3. 2022 CGP Attachment D.1, Risk Determination Worksheet (State Water Resources Control Board)
  4. Qualifying Precipitation Event Guidance for the 2022 Construction Stormwater General Permit (State Water Resources Control Board)
  5. Qualified SWPPP Practitioner (QSP) Delegate Training Guidelines, February 2024 (California Stormwater Quality Association and State Water Board, CGP Training Team)
  6. Phase II Small MS4 General Permit, Order WQ 2013-0001-DWQ (conformed), Section E.10 (State Water Resources Control Board)

Last reviewed .

SWPPP services FAQs

Can one firm be both the QSD and the QSP?

Yes. The Construction General Permit assigns the QSD and QSP roles to certified individuals, and a QSD may perform the work of a QSP (CGP §V.C.5). One firm can write and amend the SWPPP and run the inspection program, so the QSD who revises the SWPPP works from that program's inspection records and QSP comments (§V.C.2). The discharger remains responsible for compliance, including work done by the QSD, the QSP and any trained delegates (§V.A.1).

What if our previous QSP left mid-project?

The site's coverage and its inspection calendar carry on, so the next monthly or pre-storm inspection still needs a QSP. We start by reviewing the SWPPP, WDID, risk level and recent inspection reports, then walk the site against the SWPPP drawings and list any gaps in BMPs or records. QSD and QSP contact details in SMARTS must be updated within 90 days of a change (CGP §V.D). Delegates must be in the training log before they inspect (§V.E). If the QSD is replaced too, a QSD site visit is due within 30 days (§V.C.4).

Do you also prepare the city or county erosion control plan?

Yes. The erosion and sediment control plan a city or county reviews with a grading or building permit is a separate document from the SWPPP. Both show erosion and sediment control BMPs, and the requirements overlap; some agencies accept the SWPPP in place of the local plan. We prepare the local plan sheet as an add-on to any package, drawn to the agency's checklist. Each city or county decides who may prepare its erosion control plans.

What do you need from us to start a SWPPP?

To start a SWPPP, we need the site address or APN, the disturbed acreage including staging areas, stockpiles and later phases, the planned construction start and end dates, the current grading plans, and the name of the Legally Responsible Person who will certify the documents. If the site already has coverage, add the WDID number and risk level. The dates matter because they set the rainfall erosivity (R) factor, which helps set the risk level.

Who certifies and submits the permit documents in SMARTS?

The discharger's Legally Responsible Person, or a Duly Authorized Representative they designate, certifies and submits the Permit Registration Documents, Changes of Information, Annual Reports and the Notice of Termination in SMARTS (CGP §V.B, §VI.H). We prepare those documents and the records behind them. Construction cannot begin until SMARTS issues the WDID number.

Can our superintendent do some of the inspections?

Yes, with limits. With the discharger's authorization, a QSP may delegate the weekly, during-storm and post-storm inspections and sampling to trained site staff, such as a superintendent or foreman. The QSP trains each delegate, confirms they can do the work, lists them in a training log uploaded to SMARTS before they start, and reviews their work. The monthly and pre-storm inspections stay with a QSP or QSD (CGP §V.D, §V.E).

Further reading

Explore all Stormwater & Erosion Control services

SWPPP Services & QSP Programs

Need a SWPPP, a QSP or both?

Send the site address or APN, disturbed acreage, construction dates and grading plans, plus the WDID and risk level if the site already has coverage. We'll confirm the package and scope before work starts.

Start your request Call (530) 682-7679