CESSWI CESSWI Post-Construction BMP Maintenance and Long-Term Controls

Question 1

Under the EPA's Construction General Permit (CGP), when is a permittee typically required to transition from construction-phase BMPs to post-construction stormwater controls?

Accepted Answer

When the site reaches final stabilization and permit coverage is terminated

Answer

Permit coverage — and the obligation to maintain construction BMPs — ends when final stabilization is achieved and the Notice of Termination (NOT) is filed, at which point long-term post-construction controls take over.

Question 2

A dry extended-detention basin is a post-construction BMP designed primarily to:

Accepted Answer

Detain stormwater temporarily to reduce peak discharge rates and allow sediment settling

Answer

Dry extended-detention basins hold runoff for an extended period (typically 24–40 hours) after a storm to attenuate peak flows and remove suspended sediments before releasing water.

Question 3

Which post-construction BMP is specifically designed to reduce both runoff volume and pollutant loading through infiltration and evapotranspiration?

Accepted Answer

Bioretention cell (rain garden)

Answer

Bioretention cells use engineered soil media and vegetation to infiltrate, filter, and evapotranspirate stormwater, removing pollutants through physical, biological, and chemical processes.

Question 4

During a post-construction inspection of a wet retention pond, an inspector observes the permanent pool is 50% smaller than the design volume due to sediment accumulation. The required action is to:

Accepted Answer

Notify the owner that sediment must be removed to restore design storage capacity

Answer

Excessive sediment accumulation reduces the pond's water quality treatment volume and hydraulic performance; the owner must restore the pond to design capacity through sediment removal.

Question 5

Permeable pavement is classified as which type of Low Impact Development (LID) stormwater practice?

Accepted Answer

Volume reduction / green infrastructure BMP

Answer

Permeable pavement allows runoff to infiltrate through the surface into a gravel reservoir below, reducing total runoff volume — the defining characteristic of a green infrastructure/LID approach.

(CESSWI) Certified Erosion, Sediment, and Storm Water Inspector Practice Test

(CESSWI) Certified Erosion, Sediment, and Storm Water Inspector Practice Test

CESSWI CESSWI Post-Construction BMP Maintenance and Long-Term Controls