Stormwater and Surface Water

EKI provides a broad range of stormwater and surface water services for industrial facilities, construction sites, and forested landscapes. EKI provides litigation and regulatory enforcement support, engineering design, and compliance support services for facilities with coverage under the Industrial General Stormwater Permit, other National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, and Waste Discharge Requirements.

Violation Response

We frequently assist permittees and their counsel in responding to notices of intent to file suit under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (Clean Water Act) and other state and federal statutes. Under the Clean Water Act, during the 60-day period of the notice, EKI typically conducts a facility evaluation, recommends targeted improvements to the stormwater management program, revises the facility Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) as appropriate, provides stormwater compliance training for facility personnel, assists with preparation of a rebuttal response to the notice, and assists with settlement negotiations.

EKI also provides support to permittees who have received notices of violation and complaints from the California Regional Water Quality Control Boards, California State Water Resources Control Board, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), other agencies, and local district attorney’s offices. EKI’s work may include collection of additional data, evaluation of discharges and pollutant sources, design of innovative best management practices (BMPs), evaluation of potential penalties, and participating in negotiations related to potential Administrative Civil Liability claims.

Engineering Design Services

EKI provides engineering design services for facilities that require advanced BMPs to address pollutants in stormwater. Such services include comparative evaluation and selection of appropriate BMPs, sizing of BMPs to meet the applicable design storm standards, and preparation of design documents. EKI works closely with clients to develop cost-effective solutions that fit within project budgets, often combining multiple approaches when needed to achieve compliance goals. EKI has provided engineering design services for advanced BMPs such as sedimentation forebays, hydrodynamic separator units, and biotreatment swales. EKI also provides construction oversight, performance monitoring, and maintenance planning to support long-term system effectiveness.

Routine Stormwater Compliance Support

EKI provides routine stormwater compliance support for a broad range of industrial facilities and construction sites. EKI’s  compliance support work typically includes assisting facilities in evaluating the need for permit coverage; assisting with obtaining permit coverage, if applicable; tracking of compliance activities; performing facility inspections and pollutant source assessments; developing and maintaining SWPPPs; training facility personnel; recommending and designing BMPs; developing sampling programs for permit compliance and BMP evaluation; performing quality control review of sample chemical analysis data; developing modified BMPs as needed in response to exceedances of action levels and/or effluent limits; and reporting via regulatory databases. EKI’s proven expertise helps facilities maintain compliance, reduce environmental impact, and avoid violations and potentially costly penalties.

Surface Water Quality Services

EKI provides comprehensive surface water quality services, including evaluating surface water quality through field sampling, data analysis, and computational modeling. EKI designs and implements surface water monitoring programs that address regulatory compliance and site‑specific objectives, following guidance from agencies such as the United States Geological Survey and regulatory programs such as the California Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP). EKI provides field sampling services for field parameters and laboratory samples; water quality assessments based on available data using advanced statistical analyses; and development of predictive models to estimate constituent concentrations where data may not exist (temporally or spatially). This work supports decision-making and watershed-scale evaluations.