NPDES Construction Stormwater General Permits

Guidance for Requests to Disturb 50 Acres or More Under the NPDES Construction Stormwater Permits

The NPDES Stormwater Discharges Associated with Construction for Stand Alone Construction Projects (GAR100001) and for Common Development (GAR100003) (collectively, the NPDES Permits) each mandate that there be no more than 50 acres of disturbance at any one time unless the permittee has received prior written authorization from the appropriate Environmental Protection Division (Division) District Office. The permittee for any such site must provide this information sufficiently in advance of disturbing 50 or more acres for the Division to evaluate the request and to determine what additional conditions may be applied to that activity.  The guidance linked below outlines the review criteria and specifies design components expected for such requests.

The Division held a virtual stakeholder meeting on the draft guidance on December 7, 2023, and accepted public comments on the draft guidance through December 15, 2023.   In response to comments received, the Division has produced a Response to Comments document found at [ Download this pdf file. Response to 50-Acre Guidance Comments 1-16-2024 ]. The official Guidance for Requests to Disturb 50 Acres or More under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Construction Stormwater Permits can be found at [ Download this pdf file. Official NPDES Construction Stormwater 50 Acre Approval Guidance] and 50+ Acre Clearing Decision Rationale can be found at [ Download this pdf file. Official 50 Acre Clearing Decision Rationale ].

 

Important Update - July 27, 2023

In July, a petition was filed with EPD appealing issuance of the 2023 Permits.  As provided in state law at O.C.G.A. § 12-2-2(c)(2)(B), because that petition was filed, the 2023 Permits are stayed until the case is resolved.  This means that, right now, the 2023 Permits are not in effect.

The 2018 versions of the construction stormwater Permit Nos. GAR100001, GAR100002 and GAR100003 each specifically provide that they continue “in force and effect until a new general permit is issued, final and effective.”  Consistent with that language and with state law at O.C.G.A. § 50-13-18(b) and Ga. Comp. R. and Regs. Rule 391-3-6-.16(13), until the case about the 2023 Permits is resolved, the 2018 permits will remain in force.

Until further notice:

  • Permittees who have submitted an NOI under the 2018 Construction Stormwater General Permits do not need to file a renewal of their NOI after August 1, 2023.
  • New permittees who wish to file an NOI after August 1, 2023 may do so under the 2018 permits, which will remain active in GEOS. 
  • When the case about the 2023 Permits is resolved, EPD will provide additional updates for all entities with active NOIs.

General questions may be directed to:  [email protected]

 

2023 NPDES Construction Stormwater General Permits

The 2023 NPDES General Permits Nos. GAR100001, GAR100002 and GAR100003 authorizing stormwater discharges associated with construction activities to the waters of the State of Georgia have been reissued with an effective date of August 1, 2023.  The Permits, Response to Comments, and Fact Sheets are available below.

 

2018 NPDES Construction Stormwater General Permits

The 2018 NPDES General Permits Nos. GAR100001, GAR100002 and GAR100003 authorizing stormwater discharges associated with construction activities to the waters of the State of Georgia have been reissued with an effective date of August 1, 2018.  The permits and resources are available below. 

The 2018 NPDES Construction Stormwater General Permits require electronic submittals.  Please register for the Georgia EPD Online System (GEOS;  https://epd.georgia.gov/geos/) to apply for coverage. 

Please refer to these step-by-step instructions for submitting Notice of Intent (NOI), Notice of Termination (NOT), and Sampling Reports in GEOS.

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