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Mission Statement
"We will foster the success of our clients and staff by providing quality professional services in an ethical and collaborative environment. We will strive to deliver our services with professionalism, integrity, dedication and vision for the benefit of our clients, the public and our company."
~Bruce Shrake
President
At GHA, every principal, myself included, is involved in projects on a daily basis, keeping us in tune with the state of the art and the needs of our clients. We have now grown to three offices (Vernon Hills, Chicago, and Gurnee, Illinois), and a staff of over seventy employees. Our Staff turnover rate is exceptionally low, providing high continuity from year to year and project to project. Several clients have had the same senior professional as their primary contact for over twenty years!! Both client and employee satisfaction with GHA remains excellent.
Storm water runoff pollution is a leading cause of degraded water quality. This type of pollution is caused by rainfall and snowmelt moving across and through the ground picking up pollutants along the way and depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands and our underground source of drinking water. Runoff can include such pollutants as sediments, pathogens, fertilizers/nutrients, hydrocarbons, metals, household chemicals that are improperly disposed of, automobile fluids, and road deicing/anti-icing chemicals.
The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination (NPDES) Program was initiated as part of the 1987 amendments to the federal Clean Water Act to address pollution associated with storm water runoff. The NPDES Program required implementation of on-site erosion and sediment controls necessary to minimize discharge of pollutants from storm water runoff, regulates storm water discharges into Waters of the United States, and sets limitations for off-site discharges of sediment and other pollutants.
The program was introduced in two phases. Phase I of the NPDES Storm Water Program began in 1990 and applied to large and medium Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) and 11 industrial categories including construction sites disturbing five acres of land or more. Phase II of the NPDES Storm Water Program began in March 2003 and applies to all other MS4s and construction sites disturbing one acre or more. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) is charged with implementing both phases of the NPDES Storm Water Program in Illinois.
Construction Sites
Phase II of the storm water program requires all construction activities disturbing one acre or more to obtain an NPDES permit, prepare a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), submit a Notice of Intent (NOI), perform inspections and submit a Notice of Termination (NOT).
The SWPPP should be developed prior to the start of construction and must be present on the project site and accessible to everyone during construction activities. Best Management Practices (BMPs) must be implemented according to the SWPPP. All sites are subject to inspection by government officials.
An SWPPP Must Include the Following:
A Notice of Termination (NOT) must be submitted to IEPA when land disturbing activities are complete and the site has been finally stabilized or when the permittee is no longer an operator of the site. The EPA considers a site has finally stabilized when all land-disturbing activities are complete and a uniform perennial vegetative cover with a density of 70 percent of the cover for unpaved areas and areas not covered by permanent structures has been established or equivalent permanent stabilization measures have been used.
