Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP) Development and Implementation

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, regulate industrial stormwater discharge activities under the 2021 Multi-Sectoral General Permit (MSGP). All MSGP eligible permittees must develop a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) for which it is described  the industry location, SWPPP team, location of discharge points, control, and monitoring of discharge activities, quarterly and visual inspections, and others. The PRPA has nine (9) regional airports under their control for which the NPDES MSGP SWPPP must be developed and submitted to EPA under the NPDES Notice of Intent (NOI):

• Rafael Hernández International Airport (BQN) in Aguadilla, PR

• Antonio “Nery” Juarbe (ABO) in Arecibo, PR

• José Aponte de la Torre Airport (RVR) in Ceiba, PR

• Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport (CPX) in Culebra, PR

• Dr. Hermenegildo Ortiz Airport (HUC) in Humacao, PR

• Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (SIG) in Isla Grande, San Juan, PR

• Eugenio María de Hostos Airport (MAZ) in Mayagüez, PR          

• Mercedita International Airport (PSE) in Ponce, PR

• Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport (VQS) in Vieques, PR    

All these airports are considered NPDES Primary Industrial Activity SIC code 4581 Sector S (Air Transportation Facility).  Every regional airport has an SWPPP for which all discharging activities are described. QCG has participated in the planning, implementation, and evaluation sections of the described project. Part of the evaluations and actions performed by the QCG team in the SWPPP project were:

• SWPPP redaction and implementation – SWPPP document was developed and implemented in all regional airports (quarterly site visits, training, site visit reports).

• SWPPP NOI filling – QCG file all nine SWPPP to EPA NOI e-reporting system. As a result, every airport has a unique NPDES ID and active MSGP permit.

• SWPPP training – QCG team provide training to PSE and BQN airport personnel on how to perform SWPPP quarterly inspections and monitoring as described in the MSGP permit.  

• SWPPP site visits monitoring and evaluation –QCG team visited all 9 airports quarterly (May, June, September, and December 2021) to perform site evaluation of discharge activity locations and to evaluate the discharging points for any visible contamination in these areas.

• SWPPP site visit report – QCG reported all site viewing and results to PRPA.

• Client meetings – QCG and PRPA evaluated project development and results after 2021 full-year inspections.

• SWPPP Annual report – file all airport annual reports to EPA NOI e-reporting tool.