The California Water Boards' Annual Performance Report - Fiscal Year 2016-17

REGULATE: NPDES WASTEWATER

GROUP:

NPDES WASTEWATER

MEASURE: INSPECTION TRENDS

MESSAGE:

Statewide, inspections of NPDES Major Facilities continue to make up the majority of the program's inspection workload. However, the number of all NPDES inspections performed annually continues to decline.

Key Statistics for FY 2016-17
Number of Major Inspections:	118
Number of Minor Inspections:	64
Number of General Inspections:	37

MEASUREMENTS - Data Last Updated on: 12-14-2017 (9:52 am)

NPDES Major Individual

Region	2001 2002	2002 2003	2003 2004	2004 2005	2005 2006	2006 2007	2007 2008	2008 2009	2009 2010	2010 2011	2011 2012	2012 2013	2013 2014	2014 2015	2015 2016	2016 2017	Grand Total
1	26	35	37	27	16	26	20	16	15	19	15	10	12	8	8	6	331
2	58	62	55	50	60	45	50	58	57	54	30	30	24	29	30	27	752
3	42	39	28	24	24	27	21	26	16	17	17	20	16	7	13	4	395
4	102	100	90	61	31	52	43	37	60	42	28	30	29	36	27	29	862
5F	3	3	7	6	3	0	7	7	7	8	5	4	3	0	5	3	79
5R	9	12	16	16	12	22	21	7	20	18	16	20	11	0	7	5	233
5S	37	36	35	24	17	30	44	35	41	43	56	44	34	0	17	15	541
5 all.	49	51	58	46	32	52	72	49	68	69	77	68	48	0	29	23	853
6A	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	0	1	16
6B	3	2	2	2	4	3	2	1	1	8	2	1	2	2	2	2	42
6 all.	5	3	3	3	5	4	3	1	1	9	3	2	3	3	2	3	58
7	20	26	10	3	7	8	8	11	18	11	11	10	13	10	3	4	191
8	49	39	26	38	32	20	20	18	24	24	25	26	23	20	22	3	469
9	36	42	37	21	32	34	20	33	27	22	27	19	16	13	27	19	478
TOTAL	387	397	344	273	239	268	257	249	286	267	233	215	184	126	161	118	4,389

NPDES Minor Individual

Region	2001 2002	2002 2003	2003 2004	2004 2005	2005 2006	2006 2007	2007 2008	2008 2009	2009 2010	2010 2011	2011 2012	2012 2013	2013 2014	2014 2015	2015 2016	2016 2017	Grand Total
1	41	43	22	21	19	21	33	20	25	18	22	18	11	0	9	11	377
2	5	4	12	3	2	4	9	10	4	6	4	4	1	0	2	4	92
3	5	4	12	3	2	4	9	10	4	6	4	4	1	0	2	4	92
4	36	31	46	20	14	14	23	22	26	17	20	36	20	24	10	11	415
5F	5	4	12	3	2	4	9	10	4	6	4	4	1	0	2	4	92
5R	41	43	22	21	19	21	33	20	25	18	22	18	11	0	9	11	377
5S	37	52	22	18	3	18	38	21	18	30	18	31	6	0	6	10	368
5 all.	83	99	56	42	24	43	80	51	47	54	44	53	18	0	17	25	837
6A	5	2	4	3	0	0	1	0	0	2	2	1	5	2	2	0	36
6B	5	5	4	0	3	2	2	2	4	1	4	3	1	3	0	2	46
6 all.	10	7	8	3	3	2	3	2	4	3	6	4	6	5	2	2	82
7	33	33	6	2	4	6	4	3	5	7	11	5	15	2	3	4	158
8	37	52	22	18	3	18	38	21	18	30	18	31	6	0	6	10	368
9	41	43	22	21	19	21	33	20	25	18	22	18	11	0	9	11	377
TOTAL	291	316	206	133	90	133	232	159	158	159	151	173	89	31	60	82	2,798

NPDES Minor General

Region	2001 2002	2002 2003	2003 2004	2004 2005	2005 2006	2006 2007	2007 2008	2008 2009	2009 2010	2010 2011	2011 2012	2012 2013	2013 2014	2014 2015	2015 2016	2016 2017	Grand Total
1	0	0	0	0	1	1	3	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	9
2	9	34	29	0	0	4	5	7	1	1	1	2	0	8	1	0	105
3	27	18	6	4	6	8	3	3	0	2	3	3	3	3	1	1	113
4	235	222	201	133	122	143	208	176	104	73	109	124	135	104	92	33	2,347
5F	2	1	2	0	1	0	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	12
5R	14	10	4	3	2	5	8	7	6	1	4	3	1	0	0	0	72
5S	9	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	1	0	18
5 all.	25	11	9	3	3	5	11	7	6	1	5	4	3	0	1	0	102
6A	4	7	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	18
6B	0	5	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	9
6 all.	4	12	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	27
7	1	3	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6
8	220	110	39	56	2	3	2	0	1	2	0	1	0	2	0	3	652
9	4	13	2	3	1	1	1	1	0	2	1	3	2	0	1	0	36
TOTAL	525	423	291	199	137	165	233	196	112	82	119	137	144	117	97	37	3,397

WHAT THE MEASURE IS SHOWING

Since Fiscal Year (FY) 2000-01, the data show a downward trend in the number of inspections of NPDES facilities performed annually. For compliance purposes, some facilities are inspected more than once a year, so the total number of inspections performed may be greater than the total number of facilities inspected.

WHY THIS MEASURE IS IMPORTANT

Inspections are a primary tool used in determining and documenting compliance with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits and waste discharge requirements (WDR). The US EPA 2014 Compliance Monitoring Strategy provides inspection frequency goals for NPDES regulated facilities. It is the Water Boards’ policy to ensure that facilities comply with Water Quality Control Plans, NPDES permits, and WDRs. This policy is implemented through Regional Water Board comprehensive self-monitoring and compliance inspection programs. Tracking the number of inspections by FY may help to improve the Water Boards’ performance.

TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Data Source: CIWQS. Period July 1, 2000 to June 30, 2017.
Unit of Measure: Number of inspections by fiscal year (FY).
Data Definitions: Inspections: Include inspections conducted by Regional or State Water Board staff, or US EPA contractors. Facilities Inspected: Count of facilities inspected one or more times during a fiscal year.
References: Information on the Water Boards' NPDES program
Public Reports and Data
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Information

GLOSSARY

Major Facility

Major municipal dischargers include all facilities with design flows of greater than one million gallons per day and facilities with approved industrial pretreatment programs. Major industrial facilities are determined based on specific ratings criteria developed by US EPA/State.

Minor Facility

A minor facility is a discharge with a design flow of less than one million gallons per day (MGD) that has not been determined to have an actual or potential adverse environmental impact classifying the discharge as major.

General Facility

A general facility is a discharge with a design flow of less than one million gallons per day (MGD) that has not been determined to have an actual or potential adverse environmental impact classifying the discharge as major.

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)

The NPDES permit program (CWA Section 402) controls water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. Point sources are discrete conveyances such as pipes or man-made ditches. Individual homes that are connected to a municipal system, use a septic system, or do not have a surface discharge do not need an NPDES permit; however, industrial, municipal, and other facilities must obtain permits if their discharges go directly to surface waters. US EPA has approved the Water Board's program to issue NPDES permits.

Inspection (Compliance and Non Compliance)

The Regional Board or State Board may inspect the facilities of any discharger at any time pursuant to Water Code, Section 13267. Compliance activities include all activities necessary to determine if discharges are in compliance with waste discharge requirements, NPDES permits, and related enforcement orders. Compliance inspections are classified as either Level A or Level B, with Level A being more thorough.

( Page last updated: 11/15/17 )