Wisconsin General WPDES Permit Program

StormwaterONE’s online course for the Wisconsin General Permit to Discharge Under the Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) course. This course will guide you through the 2016 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources mandates.

In compliance with the Wisconsin Administrative Code, a landowner of a construction site engaging in land-disturbing construction activities including clearing, grading and/or excavating, but excluding storm water discharges from Indian activities within Indian Country that discharges Storm Water Associated with Land-Disturbing Construction Activity is authorized to discharge storm water to waters of the State provided that the discharge is in accordance with the conditions in this permit.

Unless notified in writing by the Department of Natural Resources to the contrary, the effective date of coverage under this permit is 14 working days AFTER an applicant's complete Notice of Intent (NOI) has been received by the Department.

Permit coverage continues until submittal of a Notice of Termination (NOT) for a project and terminates upon written confirmation by the Department. The maximum period of permit coverage for any project is limited to THREE (3) years per Notice of Intent. Therefore, AFTER THREE (3) years of initial permit coverage, the permittee is no longer authorized to discharge under this permit UNLESS another Notice of Intent for the original project including the application fee is submitted to retain coverage under this permit or a reissued version of this permit.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) construction site permit requires landowners to install practices to help decrease the amount of sediment that pollutes Wisconsin’s waterways from construction projects.

Landowners of most construction projects where one or more acres of land will be disturbed must submit an application called a Water Resource Application for Project Permits (WRAPP) (equivalent to a DNR storm water Notice of Intent or NOI) to request coverage under the Construction Site Storm Water Runoff General Permit No. WI-S067831-5 [PDF]

A landowner is any person holding fee title, an easement or other interest in the property that allows the person to undertake land disturbing construction activity on the property.

Landowners submitting a WRAPP should read the general permit carefully because he/she is agreeing to comply with all the permit requirements. Landowners without proper permit coverage or not in compliance with the permit for a construction site may be subject to enforcement action by the DNR.

 The main objective of this course is to provide you with a thorough understanding of the 2016 Wisconsin General Permit to Discharge Under the Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES). This pertains to Storm Water Associated with Land-Disturbing Construction Activity.

At the completion of this course, you will be able to describe and administratively explain the following:

•  The history of the Clean Water Act and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program;
• The terms and applicability criteria, regulations, eligibility conditions and compliance required under the Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES);
• The timelines and process for the Notice of Intent (NOI);
• Design, install, inspect and maintain BMPs to control runoff at the source to prevent pollution from entering neighboring waters;
• Erosion control and water quality standards;
• Inspection requirements, monitoring, maintenance and corrective actions;
• The requirements of a compliant Storm Water Management Plan;
• The deadlines for terminating permit coverage and the Notice of Termination (NOT) filing process;
• General conditions, liabilities, severability, spill reporting, enforcement and recordkeeping requirements.

• 2.5 PDHs
• Resume' Enhancer (Available on the Credential Validation Page)