Problematic Stormwater Pollution Plan Bill Sailing Through Legislature
April 29, 2016
SB 1170 will add significant new costs and inefficiencies in the delivery of essential public infrastructure.
CSAC would like to highlight a particularly problematic bill, Senate Bill 1170 by Senator Bob Wieckowski that would prohibit a public entity from delegating to a contractor the development of Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) on a public works project. Currently, a project’s SWPPP may be developed by the project owner or prepared by a contractor’s SWPPP developer.
As counties are aware, SWPPPs must be developed to ascertain potential sources of stormwater pollution on construction sites and identify the control measures needing to be taken during the construction process. SWPPPs must be written, amended and certified by qualified personnel who are knowledgeable in the principles and practice of erosion and sediment controls and possess the skills necessary to assess conditions at the construction site that could impact stormwater quality.
Public agencies rely on the expertise of qualified SWPPP developers, known as Qualified SWPPP Developers (QSDs), to conduct this work, as most agencies do not have the resources nor the regular workload required to employ such personnel throughout the year. Contractors work on multiple construction projects over time, or even simultaneously. Accordingly, many contractors develop preexisting relationships with QSDs or employ them within their own organization.
SWPPPs are currently created in accordance with the general contractor’s construction plans and, as construction progresses on public works projects, the SWPPPs must often be modified to accommodate the ever-changing conditions of a construction site. It becomes obvious that the general contractor is in the most optimal position to create the construction plan and contract for a corresponding SWPPP since he or she can incorporate an optimal construction sequence selected by the contractor.
Rather than maintain this sensible approach to SWPPP development, SB 1170 instead would create confusion and conflict within the public works process by further disconnecting the entity responsible for its development from the entity that performs the actual work related to the SWPPP. In other words, public agencies will now be asked to separately plan and contract for the security of the general contractor’s equipment on the job site, number of portable restrooms necessary or any other function intimately connected to the performance of a construction project.
Requiring the contractor to develop and maintain the SWPPP and ensuring that the contractor bears the risk of its violation creates incentives for those contractors performing the work to ensure that the SWPPP effectively protects water quality. SB 1170 would remove these incentives and increase the burden on unprepared local agencies, potentially resulting in illegal pollutant discharges, fines for public agencies, and water quality problems.
SB 1170 is awaiting a hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee. CSAC urges counties to contact their legislators to voice their opposition. Please contact Faith Conley at 916.650.8117 with any questions.