Code of Maine Rules
06 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
096 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION - GENERAL
Chapter 500 - STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
Appendix 096-500-B - Inspection and maintenance
This appendix applies to all projects, except that a project that is eligible for stormwater PBR need only meet the standards in Section 1.
See Appendix D(5) for additional maintenance requirements related to infiltration of stormwater.
1. During construction. The following standards must be met during construction.
(a) Inspection and corrective action. Inspect disturbed and impervious areas, erosion control measures, materials storage areas that are exposed to precipitation, and locations where vehicles enter or exit the site. Inspect these areas at least once a week as well as before and within 24 hours after a storm event (rainfall), and prior to completing permanent stabilization measures. A person with knowledge of erosion and stormwater control, including the standards and conditions in the permit, shall conduct the inspections.
(b) Maintenance. If best management practices (BMPs) need to be repaired, the repair work should be initiated upon discovery of the problem but no later than the end of the next workday. If additional BMPs or significant repair of BMPs are necessary, implementation must be completed within 7 calendar days and prior to any storm event (rainfall). All measures must be maintained in effective operating condition until areas are permanently stabilized.
(c) Documentation. Keepa log (report) summarizing the inspections and any corrective action taken. The log must include the name(s) and qualifications of the person making the inspections, the date(s) of the inspections, and major observations about the operation and maintenance of erosion and sedimentation controls, materials storage areas, and vehicles access points to the parcel. Major observations must include BMPs that need maintenance, BMPs that failed to operate as designed or proved inadequate for a particular location, and location(s) where additional BMPs are needed. For each BMP requiring maintenance, BMP needing replacement, and location needing additional BMPs, note in the log the corrective action taken and when it was taken.
The log must be made accessible to Department staff and a copy must be provided upon request. The permittee shall retain a copy of the log for a period of at least three years from the completion of permanent stabilization.
2. Post-construction. The following standards must be met after construction.
(a) Plan. Carry out an approved inspection and maintenance plan that is consistent with the minimum requirements of this section. The plan must address inspection and maintenance of the project's permanent erosion control measures and stormwater management system. This plan may be combined with the plan listed in Section 2(a) of this appendix. See Section 7(C)(2) for submission requirements.
(b) Inspection and maintenance. All measures must be maintained in effective operating condition. A person with knowledge of erosion and stormwater control, including the standards and conditions in the permit, shall conduct the inspections. The following areas, facilities, and measures must be inspected and identified deficiencies must be corrected. Areas, facilities, and measures other than those listed below may also require inspection on a specific site. Inspection or maintenance tasks other than those discussed below must be included in the maintenance plan developed for a specific site.
NOTE: Expanded and more-detailed descriptions for specific maintenance tasks may be found in the Maine DEP's "Stormwater Management for Maine: Best Management Practices."
(i) Inspect vegetated areas, particularly slopes and embankments, early in the growing season or after heavy rains to identify active or potential erosion problems. Replant bare areas or areas with sparse growth. Where rill erosion is evident, armor the area with an appropriate lining or divert the erosive flows to on-site areas able to withstand the concentrated flows. See permanent stabilization standards in Appendix A(5).
(ii) Inspect ditches, swales and other open stormwater channels in the spring, in late fall, and after heavy rains to remove any obstructions to flow, remove accumulated sediments and debris, to control vegetated growth that could obstruct flow, and to repair any erosion of the ditch lining. Vegetated ditches must be mowed at least annually or otherwise maintained to control the growth of woody vegetation and maintain flow capacity. Any woody vegetation growing through riprap linings must also be removed. Repair any slumping side slopes as soon as practicable. If the ditch has a riprap lining, replace riprap on areas where any underlying filter fabric or underdrain gravel is showing through the stone or where stones have dislodged. The channel must receive adequate routine maintenance to maintain capacity and prevent or correct any erosion of the channel's bottom or sideslopes.
(iii) Inspect culverts in the spring, in late fall, and after heavy rains to remove any obstructions to flow; remove accumulated sediments and debris at the inlet, at the outlet, and within the conduit; and to repair any erosion damage at the culvert's inlet and outlet.
(iv) Inspect and clean out catch basins. Clean-out must include the removal and legal disposal of any accumulated sediments and debris at the bottom of the basin, at any inlet grates, at any inflow channels to the basin, and at any pipes between basins. If the basin outlet is designed to trap floatable materials, then remove the floating debris and any floating oils (using oil-absorptive pads).
(v) Inspect resource and treatment buffers once a year for evidence of erosion, concentrating flow, and encroachment by development. If flows are concentrating within a buffer, site grading, level spreaders, or ditch turn-outs must be used to ensure a more even distribution of flow into a buffer. Check down slope of all spreaders and turn-outs for erosion. If erosion is present, adjust or modify the spreader's or turnout's lip to ensure a better distribution of flow into a buffer. Clean-out any accumulation of sediment within the spreader bays or turn-out pools.
(vi) Inspect at least once per year, each stormwater management pond or basin, including the pond's embankments, outlet structure, and emergency spillway. Remove and dispose of accumulated sediments in the pond. Control woody vegetation on the pond's embankments.
(vii) Inspect at least one per year, each underdrained filter, including the filter embankments, vegetation, underdrain piping, and overflow spillway. Remove and dispose of accumulated sediments in the filter. If needed, rehabilitate any clogged surface linings, and flush underdrain piping.
(viii) Inspect each manufactured system installed on the site, including the system's inlet, treatment chamber(s), and outlet at least once per year, or in accordance with the maintenance guidelines recommended by the manufacturer based on the estimated runoff and pollutant load expected to the system from the project. Remove and dispose of accumulated sediments, debris, and contaminated waters from the system and, if applicable, remove and replace any clogged or spent filter media.
(c) Regular maintenance
(i) Clear accumulations of winter sand in parking lots and along roadways at least once a year, preferably in the spring. Accumulations on pavement may be removed by pavement sweeping. Accumulations of sand along road shoulders may be removed by grading excess sand to the pavement edge and removing it manually or by a front-end loader. Grading of gravel roads, or grading of the gravel shoulders of gravel or paved roads, must be routinely performed to ensure that stormwater drains immediately off the road surface to adjacent buffer areas or stable ditches, and is not impeded by accumulations of graded material on the road shoulder or by excavation of false ditches in the shoulder. If water bars or open-top culverts are used to divert runoff from road surfaces, clean-out any sediments within or at the outlet of these structures to restore their function.
(ii) Manage each buffer's vegetation consistently with the requirements in any deed restrictions for the buffer. Wooded buffers must remain fully wooded and have no disturbance to the duff layer. Vegetation in non-wooded buffers may not be cut more than three times per year, and may not be cut shorter than six inches.
NOTE: Contact the Department's Division of Watershed Management (Maine DEP) for assistance developing inspection and maintenance requirements for other drainage control and runoff treatment measures installed on the site. The maintenance needs for most measures may be found in the Maine DEP's "Stormwater Management for Maine: Best Management Practices."
(d) Documentation. Keepa log (report) summarizing inspections, maintenance, and any corrective actions taken. The log must include the date on which each inspection or maintenance task was performed, a description of the inspection findings or maintenance completed, and the name of the inspector or maintenance personnel performing the task. If a maintenance task requires the clean-out of any sediments or debris, indicate where the sediment and debris was disposed after removal. The log must be made accessible to Department staff and a copy provided to the Department upon request. The permittee shall retain a copy of the log for a period of at least five years from the completion of permanent stabilization.
3. Re-certification. Submit a certification of the following to the Department within three months of the expiration of each five-year interval from the date of issuance of the permit.
(a) Identification and repair of erosion problems. All areas of the project site have been inspected for areas of erosion, and appropriate steps have been taken to permanently stabilize these areas.
(b) Inspection and repair of stormwater control system. All aspects of the stormwater control system have been inspected for damage, wear, and malfunction, and appropriate steps have been taken to repair or replace the system, or portions of the system.
(c) Maintenance. The erosion and stormwater maintenance plan for the site is being implemented as written, or modifications to the plan have been submitted to and approved by the Department, and the maintenance log is being maintained.
Municipalities with separate storm sewer systems regulated under the Maine Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (MPDES) Program may report on all regulated systems under their control as part of their required annual reporting in lieu of separate certification of each system. Municipalities not regulated by the MPDES Program, but that are responsible for maintenance of permitted stormwater systems, may report on multiple stormwater systems in one report.
4. Duration of maintenance. Perform maintenance as described and required in the permit unless and until the system is formally accepted by the municipality or quasi-municipal district, or is placed under the jurisdiction of a legally created association that will be responsible for the maintenance of the system. If a municipality or quasi-municipal district chooses to accept a stormwater management system, or a component of a stormwater system, it must provide a letter to the Department stating that it assumes responsibility for the system. The letter must specify the components of the system for which the municipality or district will assume responsibility, and that the municipality or district agrees to maintain those components of the system in compliance with Department standards. Upon such assumption of responsibility, and approval by the Department, the municipality, quasi-municipal district, or association becomes a co-permittee for this purpose only and must comply with all terms and conditions of the permit.
5. Additional requirements. Additional requirements may be applied on a site-specific basis.
