NPDES Construction Stormwater General Permits
Important Update - August 23, 2024
In July 2023, 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 were stayed until the case is resolved.
As of August 22, 2024, the legal challenge has been resolved. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) reissued General NPDES Permits Nos. GAR100001, GAR100002 and GAR100003 authorizing stormwater discharges from construction activities to the waters of the State of Georgia on August 1, 2023, and as of August 23, 2024 are now in effect. These NPDES permits will authorize the discharges of stormwater to waters of the State from sites where construction activities occur through July 31, 2028.
Please refer to the [
Construction
Stormwater Permit Reissuance Notice]
for additional information and visit https://epd.georgia.gov/construction-stormwater-instructions for further instructions and relevant forms.
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The Division held a virtual stakeholder meeting on the draft guidance on December 7, 2023, and accepted public comments on the draft guidance through December 15, 2023.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 [
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 [
Official
NPDES Construction Stormwater 50 Acre Approval Guidance]
and 50+ Acre Clearing Decision Rationale can be found at [
Official
50 Acre Clearing Decision Rationale
]
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.
-
GAR100001
Stand Alone Construction General Permit
- June 2023
-
GAR100002
Infrastructure Construction General Permit
– June 2023
-
GAR100003
Common Development Construction General Permit
– June 2023
-
EPD
Response to Draft NPDES Construction Permit Comments
– June 2023
-
Fact
Sheet for Construction General Permits
– March 2023
-
Fact
Sheet Addendum for Construction General Permits
– June 2023
-
GAR100001
Summary of Changes
- June 2023
-
GAR100002 Summary
of Changes
- June 2023
-
GAR100003 Summary
of Changes
- June 2023
The 2023 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 visit https://epd.georgia.gov/construction-stormwater-instructions for instructional guides and forms.
Other Links and Documents
