Georgia construction stormwater NOIs are filed electronically through GEOS, the Georgia EPD Online System, at least 14 calendar days before construction begins. Your Erosion, Sedimentation and Pollution Control plan has to be finished and certified before the NOI goes in, not after. Which of three permits you file under depends on the kind of project.
Pro SWPPP prepares plans and files construction stormwater permits for contractors nationwide.
Not sure your Georgia project needs coverage at all? Take the 60-second SWPPP quiz.
How do you file a Georgia stormwater NOI in GEOS?
The sequence matters more than the form. In order:
- Have the Erosion, Sedimentation and Pollution Control (ES&PC) plan prepared and certified. The permit is explicit that the plan must be completed before the NOI is submitted and before any construction activity.
- Register for a GEOS account at the Georgia EPD Online System. Electronic submittal is mandatory; paper NOIs are no longer the route.
- Identify which permit covers the project and whether you are the primary, secondary or tertiary permittee.
- Enter the NOI in GEOS with site location, disturbed acreage, receiving waters and the plan certification details.
- Pay the applicable fee, which is set by the Board of Natural Resources rules rather than in the permit itself, and submit.
- Submit at least 14 calendar days before construction begins.
That 14-day figure is the one contractors get wrong. It is not 14 days before the permit is issued or 14 days before you want coverage. It is 14 days before any land disturbance.
Which Georgia permit do you file under?
Georgia issues three construction general permits, all effective August 1, 2023 and running through July 31, 2028:
- GAR100001 — stand-alone construction. A single project on a single site.
- GAR100002 — infrastructure construction. Linear and utility work such as roads, waterlines and sewer.
- GAR100003 — common development. Subdivisions and other developments built in lots or phases by more than one party.
Picking the wrong one is the most common filing error, and it usually happens on subdivisions. If lots will be sold and built out by other builders, the project is a common development and the primary permittee’s NOI does not cover the lot builders — each has to file their own secondary or tertiary NOI. That is the same common-plan trap that catches builders nationally; see when a SWPPP is required.
Coverage is required at one acre of disturbance, or less than an acre where the work is part of a larger common plan.
What has to be finished before you can submit?
The certified ES&PC plan. In Georgia the plan is not a document you attach later; the permit conditions the NOI on it existing first. The plan has to be prepared by a qualified design professional and certified before submittal, and it governs what the site is allowed to look like from day one.
Georgia also caps disturbance: no more than 50 acres open at any one time without prior written authorization from EPD. On a large site that means the plan has to phase the work, and the phasing has to be real, because the inspector will compare it to the ground.
For the plan itself, see Georgia ES&PC plan requirements. Get your plan prepared by a CPESC and it is ready to certify and file.
When can you break ground?
After the 14-day window has run and EPD has granted coverage. Build the 14 days into the schedule as a hard constraint rather than a formality — it sits in front of clearing, grubbing and stockpiling, which means it sits in front of everything.
A project that starts moving dirt while the NOI is pending is discharging without coverage, and that is the violation Georgia writes up most often. It is also the one that is impossible to fix after the fact, because the start date is in the record.
What are Georgia’s inspection rules once you are covered?
Georgia inspects at least once every seven calendar days, and within 24 hours of the end of a storm event of 0.5 inches of rainfall or greater.
That 0.5-inch figure is a Georgia number, not the federal one. The 2022 EPA Construction General Permit uses 0.25 inches, and contractors who work in more than one state routinely apply the wrong trigger. Georgia is looser on the rainfall threshold and stricter on who may sign: a Level 1B certified inspector is required for the inspections the permit calls for. See Georgia Level 1B inspection requirements and how inspection frequency works generally.
What trips up Georgia NOI filings?
Four things, in order of how often they happen.
Filing under the wrong permit. A subdivision filed as stand-alone construction leaves every lot builder uncovered.
Submitting before the plan is certified. The NOI depends on the plan, so an uncertified plan makes the NOI defective.
Missing the secondary and tertiary NOIs. On a common development, each party that disturbs land files. The primary permittee’s coverage is not a blanket.
Counting the 14 days from the wrong date. It runs to the start of land disturbance, not to the closing or the notice to proceed.
Pro SWPPP writes the plan, files the permit, performs the inspections and keeps the records. Your crews install and maintain the controls; we document that they were there and that they worked. Get a Georgia SWPPP estimate.
Frequently asked questions about Georgia NOI filing
How do I file a construction stormwater NOI in Georgia?
Electronically, through GEOS, the Georgia EPD Online System. Register for a GEOS account, select the correct permit, enter site and plan details, pay the fee and submit at least 14 calendar days before construction begins.
How far in advance must the Georgia NOI be submitted?
At least 14 calendar days before the commencement of construction activities, per the permit. The clock runs to the start of land disturbance, not to a contract or notice-to-proceed date.
Which Georgia construction permit applies to my project?
GAR100001 for stand-alone construction, GAR100002 for infrastructure and linear work, GAR100003 for common developments such as subdivisions. All three took effect August 1, 2023 and expire July 31, 2028.
Does the ES&PC plan have to be done before the NOI?
Yes. The permit requires the Erosion, Sedimentation and Pollution Control plan to be completed before the NOI is submitted and before any construction activity begins.
How often are inspections required in Georgia?
At least once every seven calendar days, and within 24 hours of the end of a storm of 0.5 inches or greater. Note that this rainfall trigger is higher than the 0.25 inches in the federal Construction General Permit.
Do lot builders in a subdivision need their own NOI?
Yes. Under a common development permit, secondary and tertiary permittees file their own NOIs. The primary permittee’s coverage does not extend to other parties disturbing land on the site.
Ready to get started? Order your SWPPP now or schedule a free consultation.
By Derek E. Chinners, CPESC — Founder & Stormwater Consultant, Pro SWPPP, LLC