Practice Test Geeks(CSM) Certified Stormwater Manager Practice Test
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Stormwater Regulations & Compliance Flashcards

7 cards from real CSM practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Stormwater Regulations & Compliance flashcards as text

  1. A municipality wants to discharge treated stormwater from a wet pond into a stream listed as impaired for phosphorus. Which additional requirement likely applies?

    Answer: Compliance with the TMDL-derived wasteload allocation for phosphorus

    Discharges to impaired water bodies must meet wasteload allocations established in the applicable Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL).

  2. What does 'no exposure' certification allow certain industrial facilities to avoid?

    Answer: Obtaining NPDES stormwater permit coverage

    Facilities that can certify all industrial materials and activities are protected from stormwater contact (no exposure) may qualify for an exemption from NPDES industrial stormwater permit coverage.

  3. Under the Construction General Permit, how frequently must a qualified person conduct site inspections during active grading when there is no rain?

    Answer: Every 14 calendar days

    The EPA CGP requires routine inspections at least every 14 calendar days during active construction, with post-storm event inspections within 24 hours of a qualifying event.

  4. Which CWA section is the primary authority for establishing water quality standards that stormwater permits must achieve?

    Answer: Section 303

    CWA Section 303 requires states to establish water quality standards (designated uses + criteria) that serve as the basis for permit limits.

  5. A Phase I MS4 permittee must demonstrate 'maximum extent practicable' (MEP) pollutant reduction. How does MEP differ from technology-based effluent limits used for industrial dischargers?

    Answer: MEP is a flexible standard that considers costs and technical feasibility rather than fixed numeric limits

    MEP allows MS4s to implement cost-effective and technically feasible BMPs rather than meeting fixed numeric effluent limits, acknowledging the diffuse nature of stormwater.

  6. Which federal act requires municipalities to develop and implement stormwater management programs as a condition of receiving federal transportation funding?

    Answer: Clean Water Act Section 402 (NPDES)

    The NPDES program under the CWA Section 402 is the primary federal driver for municipal stormwater programs, including those connected to transportation project funding conditions.

  7. A stormwater manager discovers a non-stormwater discharge (sanitary sewage) entering a storm drain. Under the MS4 permit, what is the required response?

    Answer: Investigate and eliminate the illicit discharge under the IDDE program

    The Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE) minimum control measure requires MS4 permittees to find and eliminate non-stormwater discharges from their systems.