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Calendar of Stormwater Training

What Training Are You Looking For?

You can look for the details of different stormwater training opportunities by using links in the right column under "On This Page." These training types are briefly described below:

  • "Local Events" - Usually 2-4 hour workshops or day-long stormwater courses. These include any scheduled DEC endorsed 4-Hour, Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC) Training that certain construction on-site inspectors and contractors can take to satisfy the Construction General Permit (GP-0-08-001) training requirements. This list can also include information for other local stormwater courses, which may provide continuing education credit(s) for Code Enforcement Officers and municipal and county planning boards and ZBAs.
  • "Regional and Statewide Conferences" - Larger, often multiple day events that include stormwater training content.
  • "SUNY-ESF Stormwater Continuing Education" - One-day, technical courses, which are offered to multiple audiences including design professionals and on-site contractors. To register, go directly to the SUNY-ESF webpage. A link for this is under "Offsite Links" in the right column.
  • "Other Learning Opportunities" - The list on this web page includes USEPA and other organizations, which have websites full of stormwater resources including archived 24/7 EPA Webcasts and tools for implementing local programs. The links for these are also under "Offsite Links" in the right

For your convenience, the right column also provides links for:

  • Accessing DEC Stormwater Construction and MS4 Tool Boxes for manuals, guidance and other resources and the Construction and MS4 Stormwater Permit and Forms web pages for the NOI, other forms and general permits (see "Related Links").
  • Purchasing DEC stormwater erosion and sediment control (ESC) manuals (see "Offsite Links").
  • Viewing web sites associated with this month's training (see TRAINING EVENTS in "Offsite Links") or partners featured under "Other Learning Opportunities" section of this web page (see OTHER LEARNING in "Offsite Links").

This web page is updated monthly. Should you have any comments or suggestions for improving it, use "email us" link in right column.

Local Training Events in NYS:

Statewide Stormwater Management Training Events

Who Requires Stormwater ESC Training?

Contractors and certain on-site inspectors are required to take NYSDEC endorsed Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC) training to comply with General Permit No. GP-0-08-001. Click here to scroll to bottom of this page for a more in-depth explanation of the ESC training requirement and handouts for the course.

We recommend bookmarking this page and visiting it monthly to see if a 4-hour ESC Construction Activity Training Event is scheduled in your area.

4-Hour DEC Endorsed, Erosion and Sediment Control Training Events:

June 10, 2009 4-Hour ESC Training by Onondaga County Soil and Water Conservation District
Co-sponsor: Syracuse Builders Exchange
Location: Syracuse Builders Exchange, 6563 Ridings Road, Syracuse, NY 13206
Time: 8:00 A.M. Registration (Photo ID Required to Register); Training from 8:30 AM - 12:30 P.M.
Fee: $75/person (includes training materials and break)
Pre-Registration Deadline for fee and forms: June 3, 2009
Description: You are invited to attend this 4-hour course being held for contractors, developers, planners, and erosion and sediment control inspectors. All individuals responsible for installing, constructing or maintaining erosion and sediment control practices at SPDES-GP-0-08-001 permitted construction sites must have at least one trained individual on-site daily during soil disturbance activities who has attended a 4-hour training course. Additionally, any trained technician who is not a CPESC and is working under a P.E. or L. A. must attend the 4 hour-hour training in order to be qualified to make site inspections. This stormwater training focuses on providing the training required to comply with the contractor's responsibilities under the NYS DEC Construction Activity Permit No.: GP-0-08-001. For a registration form please call Melissa Gould at Syracuse Builders Exchange (437-9936 Ext. 25). There is a 30 participant limit on a first come basis. Future sessions will be determined after this slate is full.

Other Upcoming Local Training Events include:

June 23, 2009 NYSDEC Region 3 Stormwater Training for Code Enforcement Officers and Others
Location: Ramapo Town Hall, Building Dept. Conference Room, Ramapo Town Hall, 237 Route 59, Suffern, NY 10901
Time: 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 noon
Description: You are invited to attend this important two hour technical workshop being held for Code Enforcement Officers, municipal engineers and consulting engineers for municipalities. The purpose is to educate MS-4 employees who are now tasked with inspecting erosion and sediment controls at construction sites. All aspects of construction site inspections will be covered during this classroom presentation: stormwater permit construction requirements, examples of erosion and sediment controls and common problems. Continuing education credits will available for Code Enforcement Officers. The presenter will be Natalie Browne, Environmental Program Specialist from the NYSDEC Region 3 Division of Water.
Pre-Registration by calling NYSDEC at 914-428-2505 x366. There is no fee for this presentation.

Rockland Brochure (PDF, 36 KB)

July 30, 2009 CPESC Exam by Saratoga County Intermunicipal Stormwater Management Program
Location: Cornell Cooperative Extension, 50 West High Street, Ballston Spa, NY 12020
Time: 8:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M.
See brochure below for more information:

Saratoga Brochure (PDF, 522 KB)

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Regional & Statewide Training/Conferences:

Regional logo

None to report this month.

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NYSDEC Co-Sponsored SUNY-ESF Continuing Education:

DEC Co-Sponsored SUNY-ESF Continued Education Stormwater Management courses

The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) are offering the Stormwater Management Outreach Program yet another year. Donald W. Lake, Jr., P.E., CPESC, CPSWQ, continues to lead the program. As an adjunct faculty member at SUNY-ESF, he teaches graduate courses and supports graduate student research on Stormwater Management. For 2008-09, thirty-nine 1-day courses are being presented for multiple audiences: consulting engineers, code enforcement officers, town engineers, municipal officials, planners, developers, contractors, landscape architects, resource management specialists, and others. Courses provide professional development hours (PDHs) for engineers and land surveyors, Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for Architects and Learning Units (LUs) for Landscape Architects. Training events are offered in four locations as follows:

Albany - Holiday Inn-Express - Downtown Albany, 300 Broadway Avenue, Albany NY 12207

  • Tuesday, June 9, 2009 - Fundamentals of Erosion and Sediment Control (ALB-402)
  • Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - Natural and Created Wetlands (ALB-401)

Buffalo - Holiday Inn-Buffalo Airport, 4600 Genesee Street, Cheektowaga NY 14225

  • Wednesday, June 3, 2009 - SWPPP Review for MS4s (BUF-412A)
  • Thursday, June 4, 2009 - The Preparation and Implementation of SWPPPs (BUF-412B)

Fishkill - Holiday Inn, 542 Rte 9 (Exit 13 off Rte 84), Fishkill NY

  • Tuesday, June 16, 2009 - Stormwater Ponds (FSH-413)
  • Wednesday, June 17, 2009 - Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination - IDD&E (FSH-414)

Syracuse, NY - SUNY-ESF Campus, Alumni Lounge-Marshall Hall, Syracuse NY

  • No courses until the fall of 2009

For more information (including registration, lodging and directions to training sites), see SUNY-ESF under "Offsite Links" in right column.

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Other Learning Opportunities

Note: Website links for these OTHER LEARNING opportunities are provided under "Offsite Links" in top, right column.

American Public Works Association
The APWA offers a variety of training opportunities. Along with video conferences and text-based courses, APWA offers live instructor-led workshops on stormwater management topics.

Center for Watershed Protection
The CWP offers training workshops on stormwater management and design of control practices across the country.

Certified Professionals in Erosion and Sediment Control, Inc.
 The CPESC, Inc. offers training and certification nation-wide to qualified individuals who apply for and satisfy certification standards as a professional of erosion and sediment control and/or a professional of stormwater quality.

Low Impact Development (LID) Center
The LID Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of Low Impact Development technology. Low Impact Development is a new, comprehensive land planning and engineering design approach with a goal of maintaining and enhancing the pre-development hydrologic regime of urban and developing watersheds. The Center has been involved in sustainable design and water quality research for 10 years. Featured projects include rain gardens, green infrastructure and green highways.

Stormwater Manager's Resource Center
 SMRC provides research and information about many topics on stormwater or urban watershed management. There is a 600-reference library and over 150 great articles on many aspects of watershed protection. The Center was made possible by a grant from USEPA, and was developed by the Center for Watershed Protection.

USEPA National Point Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Training
 Archived United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Webcasts - These webcasts provide training at "no cost", which can be viewed at your own leisure (24/7) from your personal computer. While this training is generic for nation-wide viewing, and may not satisfy all Phase II stormwater requirements in New York State, the training content is expected to increase awareness and generally add to one's learning experience. Targeted audiences vary. Those of interest would include:

  • Construction SWPPPs from A to Z: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know and More!
  • Developing Your IDDE Program with Jennifer Zielinski of the Center for Watershed Protection
  • Killing Two Birds with One Stone: Building a Local Program to ... Prevent Pollution from Municipal Operations
  • Municipal Stormwater Compliance: EPA's MS4 Program Evaluation Guidance
  • Post Construction Overview and Introduction to Smart Growth and Low Impact Development
  • Social Marketing: A Tool for More Effective Stormwater Education and Outreach Programs
  • Stormwater Phase II: Developing an Effective Municipal ... Program For Construction Sites (Construction 101)
  • Using Outreach and Public Involvement to Meet Your Stormwater Phase II Goals Webcast
  • Financing a Municipal Stormwater Program
  • Revising Local Plans, Codes and Ordinances and Water Harvesting
  • The Many Benefits of Green Infrastructure and Philadelphia Municipal Case Study
    And More Archived Training...

USEPA Nonpoint Source (NPS) Outreach Toolbox
This Toolbox is intended for use by state and local agencies (including Municipal Stormwater Separate Sewer Systems - MS4s) and other organizations interested in educating the public on nonpoint source pollution or stormwater runoff. The Toolbox contains a variety of resources to help develop an effective and targeted outreach campaign.

Environmental Research Foundation
 The Water Environment Research Foundation's website provides landscape architects, designers, engineers, stormwater managers, elected officials and the public creative new ideas on sustainable stormwater practices. The site goes beyond the idea stage and provides practical tools, frameworks for implementation and planning aids that may be adapted to your community or project.

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NYSDEC Endorsed 4-Hour Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC) Construction Activity Training

By May 1, 2010, Trained Individuals (TRI) and certain Qualified Inspectors (QIs) who work on construction sites in New York State ~ specifically, individuals working under direct supervision of a licensed Professional Engineer or licensed Landscape Architect of NYS ~ are required to complete 4 hours of erosion and sediment control (ESC) training under the State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) General Permit (GP) for Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activity (Permit No. GP-0-08-001). Such training is required every 3 years and is needed to demonstrate that s/he is knowledgeable in the principles and practices of ESC. The GP requires that an owner or operator shall have each contractor and subcontractor identify at least one TI as responsible for implementation of the SWPPP and be on site on a daily basis when soil disturbance activities are being performed. In addition, an owner or operator shall have a QI conduct certain site inspections.

NYSDEC has endorsed its 4-hour course titled "Protecting New York's Natural Resources with Better Construction Site Management," which is being delivered through county Soil and Water Conservation Districts across the State on an on-going basis. Scheduled upcoming training events are listed on this web page. Each trainee will receive handout(s), wallet card with Stormwater Trainee ID# and, possibly, a certificate. Currently, this training does not provide continuing education credit for Code Enforcement Officers, municipal officials, or licensed professionals (e.g., a P.E., L.A., or L.S.).

Below are links for downloading PDFs of the training materials from this course:

PowerPoint Slides and Notes ~

4-Hour ESC Course Handouts ~

NYSDEC has endorsed two other courses as satisfying the GP-0-08-001 training requirement. A TI or QI (that must meet the training requirement) could, as an alternative, elect to take either (1) the 1-day SUNY-ESF "Fundamentals in ESC" course, which is taught a few times each year (see SUNY-ESF section of this web page for for availability) or (2) the 1-day CPESC Review Class that is taught in NYS in preparation for taking the CPESC Exam; eligibility requirements may apply (for more information go to the CPESC, Inc lnk in top right column under "Offsite Links"). NYSDEC may endorse other courses that would satisfy this training requirement in the future.

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