Oysters: Nature’s Dirt Recycler

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Boating is a great way to enjoy our natural resources but boating and boat yards are also potential pollutant sources if not managed effectively. It may be hard to visualize how boat yards contribute to pollution outside of the occasional small fueling mishaps, but boat yards and marinas still have to stay on guard to prevent pollution. For…

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Dust Control on Construction Sites

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It’s that time of year in Florida when the winds are high and rainfall is low, leading to a common and pervasive issue on active construction sites – dust. In accordance with the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), all construction sites that disturb 1 acre of land or more must have coverage under the…

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Exposure or No Exposure, that is the Question!

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Conditional No Exposure Exclusion Permits: What are They & Do I Need One? All industrial businesses that fall within one of the EPAs 30 pre-defined industrial sectors must have some type of stormwater permit. The good news is that the types of activities and processes conducted on site may qualify you for the Conditional No…

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NPDES Compliance and COVID-19

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Perhaps the biggest question in the environmental sector right now is: how, has COVID-19 affected enforcement? The EPA offered a Temporary Enforcement Policy in June 2020, which expired as of August 31, 2020. Even with the temporary policy, regulated entities were “expected to make every effort to comply with all applicable requirements.†And it’s true:…

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Storm Events – What They Are & How to Tackle Them

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One of the most important requirements of your Construction Generic Permit (CGP) is the NPDES Stormwater Inspections. In the State of Florida, NPDES inspections have 2 components: routine inspections and storm event inspections. So—what is the difference between them? A big difference between the two is frequency. Routine inspections must be conducted once every 7…

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Secondary Containment on Construction Sites

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One of the requirements of the Florida  CGP, Construction Generic Permit, that seems to elude many of its permittees is secondary containment. Maybe you’re not even aware of it. Come to think of it, what does it even mean? Let’s start from the beginning. What is containment? Primary containers hold a liquid medium. An example…

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The Why on NPDES Inspections

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In the state of Florida construction projects that impact over an acre of land are required to perform NPDES inspections once a week and for every half inch rain event in accordance with the FDEP Construction Generic Permit. It is important to understand the purpose of these inspections and how they can help the surrounding areas and be…

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Don’t Be a Bad [Concrete Plant] Batch!

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Concrete batching plants use equipment to produce concrete and concrete products by batching or mixing cements and other raw materials. The components of concrete include many substances such as: silica, calcium, alumina, magnesia, iron oxide, sulfur dioxide, fly ash, gravel and sand. During the process of making cement, pollutants exposed to wind or run off can…

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Sheet and Rill and Gully, Oh My!

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With the proper use of erosion control and stabilization measures as defined in the Construction Generic Permit (CGP), your construction site can be prepared to prevent erosion form occurring. But how can erosion be prevented if it you do not know what it is! Construction activity is notorious for disturbing and moving large amounts of…

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Beginners Guide to Liquid Waste

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It is no secret that construction sites often get very chaotic at times. With the high volume of activity, messes are bound to occur on site! At first glance, a tiny liquid spill doesn’t seem all that important and is placed lower on the priority list. That small spill can go on to very major…

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