Polluted runoff has been widely recognized by environmental scientists and regulators as the single largest threat to water quality in the United States. Contractor training and certification are among the four main Best Management Practices that the Environmental Protection Agency recommends to assist contractors in complying with Phase II Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems requirements that regulate construction sites stormwater runoff. The focus of the study is the review of training requirements for construction activities and stormwater permitting requirements in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The review of the various training and certification requirements for the study states indicates the appropriateness and timeliness for the development and implementation of a model standard stormwater, erosion and sediment control training and certification program for contractors of construction sites of one acre or larger in Desoto County Mississippi to minimize stormwater pollution from construction sites.

The 1929 stock market crash on Black Thursday, followed by the subsequent four-year period of extreme economic downturn, signifies an extremely profound piece of U.S. history. During this time, global economic productivity – measured by GDP – decreased while the U.S. unemployment rate increased staggeringly. Leveraging construction permits as a forward-looking measure of economic activity, I empirically evaluate the effect of construction permits – specifically, the lagged growth rate of monthly construction permits – and lagged monthly stock returns on monthly Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) stock returns. Lagged construction permit returns and lagged stock returns provide early indications (i.e., stock returns) of the following Great Depression.