Oceanit inspected over 470 properties adjacent to State right-of-ways for illicit connections and illegal discharges to the Highways Division’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System.
Challenge: This project spanned four years from 2005 to 2009. The State Highways Division needed to meet the requirements of a Consent Decree and the Highways Division’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit. Oceanit was tasked with ensuring Consent Decree and NPDES MS4 permit compliance with the following programs: illicit connection/illegal discharge (IC/ID) elimination, industrial and commercial (ICI) inspections, and waste
load allocations (WLAs).
Innovation Delivered: Oceanit inspected over 470 properties adjacent to State right-of-ways for illicit connections and illegal discharges to the Highways Division’s MS4. By employing a mobile data collection system developed by Oceanit’s in-house IT division, Oceanit completed the IC/ID inspections and reports required by the Consent Decree five months ahead of schedule. In addition, Oceanit inspected over 160 industrial and commercial properties for potentially contaminating activities. All ICI inspections and reports were completed ahead of the strict deadlines set by the Highways Division’s NPDES MS4 permit. Oceanit prepared the stormwater sampling and monitoring plans, collected stormwater samples, had the samples tested for key parameters, and analyzed the test results for each winter season during the course of the project. Oceanit set up automatic samplers triggered remotely or by physical conditions, such as rainfall or water level, to collect samples and also collected grab samples at key locations. Oceanit’s annual WLA data reports were used to identify the locations and types of potential permanent best management practices (BMPs) along State Highways right-of-ways and to quantify the Highways Division’s contribution to the waste load entering environmentally impaired streams on O‘ahu. Oceanit’s efforts on the WLA program complied with the requirements of the Highways Division’s NPDES MS4 permit. In 2008, the USEPA auditor gave an excellent review of the programs for which Oceanit was responsible.
