The Georgia EPD NPDES Construction Stormwater Permit is the state’s way of allowing rain runoff from your construction site to reach a stream, ditch, or storm drain without breaking the law, and you join that permit by filing a Notice of Intent (NOI) with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. You do not “fill out” the permit itself. You fill out the NOI form, which is the application that puts your project under one of three general permits: GAR100001 (Stand-Alone), GAR100002 (Infrastructure), or GAR100003 (Common Development).
If your project disturbs one acre or more of soil, or is part of a larger common plan that adds up to an acre, you need this coverage before a single shovel hits the dirt. Across Georgia, thousands of these forms move through EPD each year, and a clean, typed NOI is usually processed in 7 to 14 business days — while a sloppy one gets returned with zero coverage and a stalled job site.
Here is what you will learn in this guide:
- ✅ Who must file the NOI and which of the three permits fits your project
- 📋 Every document and number you must gather before you open the form
- 🖊️ A line-by-line walkthrough of all five sections of the Primary Permittee NOI
- 🏗️ Three full filled-out examples using real project types
- ⚠️ The exact mistakes that get an NOI rejected and how to dodge them
What the Form Is and Who Must File It
The form is the Notice of Intent (NOI) — Primary Permittee for storm water discharges associated with construction activity, issued by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, a branch of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The form covers all three construction general permits, and you pick the one that matches your job at the top of the page. The version most counties still circulate carries an effective date printed on the permit, so always confirm you have the newest revision on the EPD forms page before you type.
The NOI exists because of the federal Clean Water Act and Georgia’s own Water Quality Control Act at O.C.G.A. § 12-5-20. These laws say muddy runoff from a building site is “pollution,” and you cannot discharge it without a permit. The NOI is how you tell the state, “I plan to disturb dirt, here is where, and I promise to control my mud.”
You must file if you are the owner or the operator of a site that disturbs one acre or more, including smaller lots that are part of a larger development plan totaling an acre. There are three permittee roles. The Primary Permittee controls the overall site and plan. A Secondary Permittee disturbs soil on a primary’s site, like a homebuilder on one lot. A Tertiary Permittee is usually a utility doing limited work. This guide walks the Primary Permittee NOI, the most common and most detailed version.
The three permits differ by project type. GAR100001 (Stand-Alone) fits a single project on one tract, like one store or one warehouse. GAR100002 (Infrastructure) fits linear work such as roads, pipelines, and utility corridors. GAR100003 (Common Development) fits subdivisions where many builders work lots inside one master plan. Pick wrong, and EPD can void your coverage and treat your discharge as unpermitted.
Before You Start: Documents and Information You Need
Gather everything below before you open the NOI, because the form must be typed, and any blank or illegible entry gets the whole thing returned with no coverage granted, per the official EPD instructions. A returned NOI means your start date slips and your site sits idle. Mark anything that does not apply as “N/A” rather than leaving it empty.
Here is your pre-filing checklist:
- The exact site project name and physical location. EPD files your record by site name, and a vague name makes your project hard to track or match to inspections.
- GPS coordinates of the construction exit. District staff use these to find your site for inspection, and a missing or wrong coordinate can flag your NOI as incomplete.
- Owner’s full legal name and mailing address. This is the legal party on the hook for compliance, so an error here can misdirect every notice and violation letter.
- Operator’s name, address, and phone. The operator runs daily site work, and EPD calls this person first when a problem appears.
- Estimated disturbed acreage to the nearest 1/10 acre. This number sets your fee at $40 to $80 per acre and decides which attachments you owe.
- Start date and completion date. The NOI must be filed before construction, and unrealistic dates invite scrutiny.
- Name of the receiving water and whether it is a trout or warm water stream. Trout streams carry tighter limits, and naming the wrong water type can void your monitoring plan.
- Name of the MS4 operator, if you drain to a city or county storm sewer. You may have to call the city or county to learn the receiving water at the discharge point.
- A completed Erosion, Sedimentation and Pollution Control (ES&PC) Plan / SWPPP. This plan must be drafted by a Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission certified design professional before you file.
- A location map and major-activity schedule. These are required attachments for larger or unincorporated-area projects, and leaving them off triggers a return.
Missing even one of these forces a “N/A” or a guess, and guesses on a legal certification carry penalties including fine and imprisonment for false information.
Where to Get the Form and How to Access It
The official NOI form lives on the EPD NPDES Construction Stormwater page, under the Watershed Protection Branch storm water forms. Download the Primary Permittee version, not the Secondary or Tertiary version, unless your role calls for those. Always pull the form fresh from EPD rather than reusing an old county copy, because field labels and permit references change between revisions.
Georgia now accepts NOIs electronically through the Georgia EPD Online System (GEOS), the state’s web portal for environmental filings. You create a GEOS account, start a new construction storm water NOI, and the portal walks you through the same five sections found on the paper form. The portal also handles your fee payment and gives you a digital receipt, which is your proof of filing.
The legacy paper path still appears on many county handouts. On that path, you type the form and mail the first two pages plus attachments to the EPD District Office that serves your county, per the district office list in the NOI instructions. For example, a Fulton or Cobb County site mails to the Mountain District Cartersville Office, while a DeKalb or Gwinnett site mails to the Mountain District Atlanta Satellite.
Whichever path you choose, read the underlying permit first. EPD says it is “highly recommended that the permittee read and understand the terms and conditions of the Permit prior to submitting a NOI,” because every certification you sign promises you will follow it.
Step-by-Step: How to Fill Out the Notice of Intent Line by Line
The Primary Permittee NOI has a permit-selection box at the very top, followed by five numbered sections. Fill them in the order they appear. Type everything. Use “N/A” for anything that does not apply, and never leave a blank.
Top of Form: Coverage Desired (Check Only One)
This box asks which of the three general permits your project falls under. You check exactly one: GAR 100001 — Stand Alone, GAR 100002 — Infrastructure, or GAR 100003 — Common Development. Read each label against your project before you mark it.
Choose Stand-Alone for a single building on a single tract, Infrastructure for linear road or utility work, and Common Development for a subdivision with many lot builders. Davis Retail LLC, building one strip center, checks GAR 100001 — Stand Alone.
A common edge case is the subdivision developer who thinks “stand-alone” means “my own project.” It does not. If other builders will pull lots inside your plan, you are Common Development under GAR100003.
The most common mistake here is checking two boxes or the wrong box. The instruction literally says “Check Only One,” and a double-check or wrong permit can make EPD treat your discharge as unpermitted, exposing you to daily penalties. A frequent misconception is that the three permits are interchangeable; they carry different monitoring and secondary-permittee rules, so the choice is not cosmetic.
Section I: Site / Owner / Operator Information
This section asks who you are and where the dirt-moving happens. You enter the Site Project Name, GPS Location of Construction Exit, Street Address, City (if applicable), County, Subdivision Name, the Owner’s Name and address, the Operator’s Name, address, and Phone, and the Facility Contact and Phone.
Type the legal owner exactly as it appears on the deed or corporate filing, and give a real street address; if the site has none, attach a written description so district staff can find it. The Facility Contact is the person handling daily on-site control, so list a real human who answers the phone. Maria Lopez, site superintendent, (770) 555-0148 is a proper facility contact entry.
A frequent edge case is a raw tract with no street address. The instructions say to “sufficiently describe the facility location so that it can be found by district personnel,” so attach a location narrative and lean on your GPS coordinate. For the GPS field, enter the construction exit point, not the center of the lot, because inspectors arrive at the exit.
The most common mistake in Section I is leaving the facility contact or operator phone blank, which EPD treats as an incomplete NOI and returns. The instructions plainly say “Please do not leave any blanks in this section.” A widespread misconception is that owner and operator are always the same; when a developer hires a separate grading contractor, both must appear, and both may need to certify in Section V.
Section II: Site Activity Information
This section asks when you build and how much soil you disturb. You enter the Start Date, the Completion Date, the Estimated Disturbed Acreage, the Type of Construction Activity, and the Number of Secondary Permittees.
Enter realistic dates in a clear format, and report disturbed acreage to the nearest 1/10 acre, counting every acre touched by you and all secondary permittees combined. Check the one activity type that fits: Commercial, Industrial, Municipal, Linear, Utility, or Residential/Subdivision Development. Davis Retail LLC enters a start date of 08/15/2026, a completion date of 06/30/2027, and 3.4 acres disturbed.
An important edge case is phased work. Your acreage is the total you will disturb under this NOI, not just phase one, because fees and attachment rules ride on the full number. If you genuinely do not yet know the completion date, give your best honest estimate rather than leaving it blank.
The most common mistake here is under-reporting acreage to dodge a higher fee or the ES&PC Plan attachment, which is false certification and can bring fines plus a stop-work order. A common misconception is that disturbed acreage means only the building footprint; it includes grading, staging, stockpiles, and access roads, so the real number is almost always larger than the building pad.
Section III: Receiving Water Information
This section asks where your runoff ends up. Part A covers direct or indirect discharge to a named water, Part B covers discharge into a municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4), and Part C covers your sampling points and outfall details.
For Part A, name the initial receiving water and check whether it is a Trout Stream or a Warm Water Fisheries Stream, then attach a map of that water’s location. For Part B, if you drain into a city or county storm sewer, enter the MS4 Owner/Operator name and the receiving water at the MS4’s discharge point. For Part C, mark whether you sample outfalls or the receiving stream and fill the Number of Outfalls, Appendix B NTU Value, and Surface Water Drainage Area.
A common edge case is not knowing the receiving water name. The instructions say “It may be necessary to contact the city or county that operates the MS4 to determine the name of the receiving waters,” so make that call before filing. The NTU value comes from Appendix B of the permit and depends on your drainage area size.
The most common mistake is calling a trout stream a warm water stream, which sets the wrong turbidity limit and can void your monitoring; trout streams carry far tighter standards. A frequent misconception is that an indirect discharge “doesn’t count”; runoff that reaches a state water through a ditch or another property still counts as a discharge you must report.
Section IV: Attachments (Check Those That Apply)
This section asks which supporting documents ride along with your NOI. You check each item you attach: a location map showing the receiving stream and outfalls; the Erosion, Sedimentation and Pollution Control Plan; a list of known secondary permittees; and a schedule for the timing of major construction activities.
Attach the ES&PC Plan if your project is greater than 50 acres, or if it sits in an area without a Local Issuing Authority regardless of acreage. Always attach the location map. Northgate Developers, building a 62-acre subdivision, checks and attaches the location map, the ES&PC Plan, the secondary-permittee list, and the construction schedule.
A key edge case is the project under 50 acres inside a city or county that is a Local Issuing Authority; that local government reviews your plan, so you may not mail the full ES&PC Plan to EPD, but you still keep it on site. Confirm your Local Issuing Authority status before deciding what to attach.
The most common mistake is checking an attachment box but forgetting to actually include the document, which gets the NOI returned as incomplete. A common misconception is that the SWPPP and the ES&PC Plan are different documents; in Georgia practice the ES&PC Plan is the heart of the SWPPP, prepared by a certified design professional.
Section V: Certifications
This final section is the legal promise. The Owner, Operator, or both must initial next to each applicable certification statement, then print a name, title, signature, and date. The three statements certify that you will monitor as the plan requires, that the ES&PC Plan was prepared under Part IV of the chosen permit and will be implemented, and that the whole document is true to the best of your knowledge.
Initial only the statements that apply to your role, then sign in the correct block. David Davis, Manager, Davis Retail LLC prints his name, signs, and dates 07/30/2026 in the Owner’s block. The right person must sign: for a corporation, a responsible corporate officer; for a partnership or sole proprietorship, a general partner or the proprietor; for a public body, a principal executive officer or ranking elected official.
A common edge case is a hired consultant or office manager signing for convenience. The instructions warn that “Signing of a Notice of Intent by others is not a valid submittal,” so an unauthorized signature voids the entire filing. When owner and operator differ, both may need to sign and initial their own statements.
The most common mistake is signing without reading the permit you are certifying you will follow, which leaves you bound to terms you never saw. A serious misconception is that the certification is a formality; it carries “the possibility of fine and imprisonment for knowing violations,” so false acreage or a fake signature is a crime, not a paperwork slip.
Three Filled-Out Examples Using Real Scenarios
Below are three named filers walking the NOI from top to bottom. Each table shows what that filer enters in the main sections.
Scenario 1: Davis Retail LLC — single strip center (Stand-Alone)
| Form Section | What Davis Retail Enters |
|---|---|
| Coverage Desired | GAR 100001 — Stand Alone |
| Site Project Name | Davis Crossing Retail Center |
| County | Fulton |
| Owner’s Name | Davis Retail LLC |
| Operator / Facility Contact | Maria Lopez, (770) 555-0148 |
| Estimated Disturbed Acreage | 3.4 |
| Type of Construction Activity | Commercial |
| Receiving Water | Nancy Creek — Warm Water Fisheries Stream |
| Certification Signer | David Davis, Manager |
Scenario 2: Northgate Developers — 62-acre subdivision (Common Development)
| Form Section | What Northgate Developers Enters |
|---|---|
| Coverage Desired | GAR 100003 — Common Development |
| Site Project Name | Northgate Estates Phase I |
| County | Cherokee |
| Owner’s Name | Northgate Developers Inc. |
| Number of Secondary Permittees | 18 |
| Estimated Disturbed Acreage | 62.0 |
| Type of Construction Activity | Residential/Subdivision Development |
| Attachments Checked | Location map, ES&PC Plan, secondary list, schedule |
| Certification Signer | Janet Brooks, President |
Scenario 3: County DOT — road widening (Infrastructure)
| Form Section | What the County DOT Enters |
|---|---|
| Coverage Desired | GAR 100002 — Infrastructure |
| Site Project Name | Old Mill Road Widening Project |
| County | Hall |
| Owner’s Name | Hall County Department of Transportation |
| Operator / Facility Contact | Marcus Reed, P.E., (770) 555-0192 |
| Estimated Disturbed Acreage | 9.7 |
| Type of Construction Activity | Linear |
| Receiving Water | Flat Creek — Trout Stream |
| Certification Signer | Marcus Reed, County Engineer |
How to File the Completed Form
Georgia gives you two filing channels, and you should keep proof of filing no matter which you use.
Online through GEOS. Log in to the Georgia EPD Online System (GEOS), start a construction storm water NOI, enter the same five sections, upload your attachments, and pay the fee. Fees run $40 to $80 per disturbed acre, depending on whether EPD or a local municipality is the Local Issuing Authority. GEOS accepts electronic payment, processing typically takes 7 to 14 business days, and your proof of filing is the digital confirmation and coverage letter the portal issues.
By mail to the District Office. Type the form, then mail the first two pages plus attachments to the EPD District Office for your county. For example, a Bibb County site goes to the West Central District Office at 2640 Shurling Drive, Macon, GA 31211-3576, while a Chatham County site goes to the Coastal District Office at One Conservation Way, Brunswick, GA 31520-8687. Send it certified mail so you have a dated receipt, and keep a full copy of everything you mailed as your proof of filing.
Either way, file the NOI before construction begins. Georgia practice expects the NOI on file roughly 14 days before you disturb soil, so build that lead time into your schedule.
What Happens After You File
After EPD receives a clean NOI, staff review it for completeness and confirm your permit fit and fee. If everything checks out, EPD issues a confirmation of coverage under your chosen general permit, usually within 7 to 14 business days. That confirmation is what lets your discharge be lawful.
Once covered, your obligations begin in earnest. You must implement the ES&PC Plan on site and inspect at least once every seven calendar days, and again within 24 hours after any rainfall of 0.5 inches or more. Those inspections must be performed by a GSWCC Level 1B certified inspector, and you keep written records of every inspection and corrective action.
If your NOI is incomplete or illegible, EPD returns it and grants no coverage, leaving any discharge unpermitted and exposed to enforcement. When construction ends and the site reaches final stabilization, you close out by filing a Notice of Termination (NOT); skipping the NOT keeps you on the hook for ongoing permit duties and fees.
Mistakes to Avoid When Filling Out the Form
- Handwriting the form. Illegible NOIs are returned and coverage is denied, stalling your start date.
- Leaving blanks in Section I. EPD treats blanks as incomplete and returns the whole NOI.
- Checking two permit boxes. Only one permit may apply, and a double-check voids your coverage choice.
- Under-reporting disturbed acreage. This is false certification and can bring fines plus a stop-work order.
- Counting only the building footprint. Forgetting grading, staging, and access roads understates acreage and your fee.
- Mislabeling a trout stream. The wrong stream type sets the wrong turbidity limit and can void monitoring.
- Skipping the receiving water for an indirect discharge. Indirect runoff to a state water still counts and must be named.
- Checking an attachment box without attaching it. A missing document gets the NOI returned as incomplete.
- Letting an unauthorized person sign. A signature by anyone but the proper officer makes the submittal invalid.
- Filing after construction starts. A late NOI means you discharged without a permit, which is a violation from day one.
- Reusing an outdated county copy of the form. Old revisions cite the wrong permit terms and may be rejected.
- Forgetting to keep proof of filing. Without a receipt or GEOS confirmation, you cannot prove timely coverage.
Do’s and Don’ts
Do:
- Do type every field, because illegible entries get the NOI returned with no coverage.
- Do read the permit before signing, because you certify you will follow every term in it.
- Do report acreage to the nearest 1/10 acre, because the figure sets your fee and attachment duties.
- Do call your city or county for the receiving water name, because the MS4 operator often holds that detail.
- Do file 14 days before you dig, because coverage must exist before any discharge.
- Do keep a full copy and proof of filing, because you may need to prove timely submission in an audit.
Don’t:
- Don’t guess on the certification, because false information can bring fine and imprisonment.
- Don’t let staff sign for the owner, because an unauthorized signature voids the NOI.
- Don’t check more than one permit, because the form allows only one selection.
- Don’t leave fields blank, because EPD reads blanks as incomplete and returns the form.
- Don’t skip the location map, because it is a near-universal required attachment.
- Don’t start grading before coverage, because early dirt-moving is an unpermitted discharge.
Pros and Cons of Filing on Your Own vs. With Help
| Filing on Your Own | Filing With a Certified Professional |
|---|---|
| Pro: Saves consultant fees on simple, small sites. | Pro: A GSWCC-certified pro prepares a defensible ES&PC Plan. |
| Pro: You learn the permit you must live under. | Pro: Fewer returns, so coverage comes faster. |
| Pro: Full control over your own filing timeline. | Pro: Expert handles trout-stream and NTU details correctly. |
| Con: Easy to misjudge acreage, stream type, or permit choice. | Con: Adds cost on top of the per-acre EPD fee. |
| Con: A rejected NOI delays your whole project. | Con: You still sign the certification and own the legal risk. |
| Con: You may miss the 50-acre ES&PC Plan trigger. | Con: Scheduling a consultant can add lead time. |
Stand-Alone vs. Infrastructure vs. Common Development at a Glance
| Permit | Best Fit Project |
|---|---|
| GAR100001 — Stand-Alone | One building or project on a single tract, like a store or warehouse. |
| GAR100002 — Infrastructure | Linear work such as roads, pipelines, and utility corridors. |
| GAR100003 — Common Development | Subdivisions where many builders work lots in one master plan. |
FAQs
Do I need this permit if my lot is under one acre?
No. Projects disturbing less than one acre usually need no NOI, unless your lot is part of a larger common plan of development that totals an acre or more.
Do I fill out the permit document itself?
No. You fill out the Notice of Intent, which is the application that places your project under one of the three general construction permits.
Do I check more than one box in the Coverage Desired section?
No. The form says “Check Only One,” so you select a single permit; checking two can void your coverage choice and delay processing.
Do I count only the building footprint in Estimated Disturbed Acreage?
No. You count all disturbed soil, including grading, staging, stockpiles, and access roads, reported to the nearest 1/10 acre.
Do I enter the center of the lot for the GPS field?
No. You enter the GPS location of the construction exit, because inspectors use that point to reach your site.
Do I list both owner and operator if they are different companies?
Yes. When a developer hires a separate grading contractor, both appear in Section I, and both may need to certify in Section V.
Do I have to attach the ES&PC Plan to every NOI?
No. You attach it if the project exceeds 50 acres or sits in an area without a Local Issuing Authority; otherwise the local government reviews it.
Do I write “N/A” when a field does not apply?
Yes. EPD instructions require you to mark non-applicable fields “N/A” rather than leaving them blank, or the NOI is returned.
Do I file online or by mail?
Yes. Both work; you can file electronically through the GEOS portal or mail the typed first two pages plus attachments to your EPD District Office.
Do I pay a fee with the NOI?
Yes. Fees run $40 to $80 per disturbed acre, depending on whether EPD or your local municipality is the Local Issuing Authority.
Do I have to file before construction starts?
Yes. You must have coverage before any discharge, and Georgia practice expects the NOI on file about 14 days before you disturb soil.
Do I treat a trout stream the same as a warm water stream in Section III?
No. Trout streams carry tighter turbidity limits, so mislabeling one sets the wrong monitoring standard and can void your plan.
Do I have to use a certified inspector after I get coverage?
Yes. Site inspections must be performed by a GSWCC Level 1B certified inspector, at least every seven days and within 24 hours of a half-inch rain.
Do I close out the permit when construction ends?
Yes. You file a Notice of Termination once final stabilization is reached; skipping it keeps you bound to ongoing permit duties and fees.
Do I need to read the permit before signing Section V?
Yes. The certification binds you to every term in the permit, and signing without reading leaves you legally responsible for rules you never saw.
Related reading
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