Wastewater
Compliance and Enforcement Activities
The Department’s compliance activities encompass various tools
necessary to evaluate the compliance status of a facility. These
activities range from a review of their Discharge
Monitoring Reports (DMR), to various types of on-site facility
compliance inspections.
Compliance Inspections
In order for the Department to adequately evaluate a facility’s
overall compliance status, several types of on-site inspections are
performed by district staff. These inspection types may range from a
simple facility overview to a detailed inspection and file review and/or
a laboratory audit. The inspections may also involve comprehensive
biological and chemical sampling designed to determine compliance with
both permit requirements and assess whether there are any impacts to
water quality. Based on the results from onsite inspections and review
of past monitoring data, the Department can provide a more reliable and
comprehensive evaluation of a wastewater facility’s overall compliance
status. Below is a brief description of the types of compliance
inspections the department may conduct:
- Compliance Evaluation Inspection (CEI) - The CEI is a
non-sampling inspection designed to verify permittee compliance with
applicable permit self-monitoring requirements and compliance
schedules. The CEI examines both chemical and biological
self-monitoring programs and is the basis for all other inspection
types except the Reconnaissance Inspection (RI).
- Compliance Sampling Inspection (CSI) - The CSI is one of
the more intensive Compliance Evaluation type inspections and
involves sample collection. Sample collection may be done to check a
facility’s own sampling and laboratory analysis procedures, to check
actual discharge rates, or to document the extent of a contaminated
area or environmental damage.
- Performance Audit Inspection (PAI) - The PAI is used to
evaluate a facility’s self-monitoring program. It is used to verify
a facility’s reported data through an in-depth records review and
laboratory evaluation. The inspector evaluates the facility’s sample
collection techniques, flow calibration/determinations, laboratory
analysis procedures, techniques and reporting
- Reconnaissance Inspection (RI) - The RI is used to
provide a preliminary overview of a facility’s compliance program by
performing a brief visual inspection of the facility’s treatment
works, effluent and receiving water or land application site. The RI
is the least intensive of all inspections.
Enforcement Activities
Each enforcement case is handled
directly by the appropriate District
Office, with the assistance of the Office of
General Counsel. Enforcement activities are tracked in
Department databases and those relating facilities subject to
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements
are also tracked in the United States Environmental Protection
Agency's (USEPA's)
Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS).
- For specific information on the Department’s enforcement
process and the different options available to the Department,
please refer to the
Department's Enforcement Manual.
Other Monitoring and Compliance Related Activities
There are other monitoring and compliance-related activities
related to wastewater not performed by or regulated through the
Department that may be of interest as well.
Department of Health's (DOH's) Environmental Laboratory
Certification Program
The DOH ELCP is a recognized accrediting authority for the
National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP)
and certifies all laboratories according to the National
Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference (NELAC)
standards.
Department of Health's(DOH's) Beach Monitoring Program
DOH's Beach Water Monitoring Program (also known as Florida
Healthy Beaches Program) provides weekly sampling data for
fecal coliform as well as enterococci bacteria for all 34 of
Florida's coastal counties.
Sanitary Sewer Overflow Prevention: USEPA's Region 4
Water Enforcement MOM Program
The Management, Operation and Maintenance (MOM) Programs
Project is a pilot enforcement approach developed by the
United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPAs)
Region 4 to bring municipal sewer systems into full
compliance with the Clean Water Act by eliminating sanitary
sewer overflows (SSOs) from municipal sewer systems.
Contact Information
For more information related to compliance and enforcement
activities, you may wish to contact the
appropriate District Office.
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