NPDES Compliance Inspection Manual

The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Compliance Inspection Manual has been developed to support personnel that conduct NPDES inspections of wastewater treatment plants, storm water industrial and construction sites, pretreatment facilities, biosolids handling and treatment facilities, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), municipal wastewater collection systems (combined and separate from storm water) as well as pollution prevention and multimedia concerns. These procedures are fundamental to the NPDES compliance program and provide inspectors with a method for conducting inspections. The manual presents standard procedures for inspections. Three objectives should be met during a routine compliance inspection. According to this section, the inspection should be performed in a manner designed to: Determine compliance status with regulations, permit conditions, and other program requirements, Verify the accuracy of information submitted by permittees, Verify the adequacy of sampling and monitoring conducted by the permittee. Other purposes of compliance inspections include: Gathering evidence to support enforcement actions, Obtaining information that supports the permitting process, Assessing compliance with orders or consent decrees.