Every construction project in the United States that disturbs one or more acres of land is a regulated stormwater discharger under the Clean Water Act. The federal authorization is the Construction General Permit (CGP) — an NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) general permit issued by EPA for projects in non-delegated jurisdictions, and replicated by equivalent state permits everywhere else. In the Mid-Atlantic, the state versions — PAG-02 in Pennsylvania, VAR10 in Virginia, NJRI in New Jersey, CGP in Maryland, CGP in Delaware, and DOEE's construction stormwater permit in DC — all trace their structure to the federal CGP.
The 2022 EPA CGP (effective February 17, 2022) is the current federal baseline; state programs have their own renewal schedules but generally track the federal requirements with state-specific additions.
CGP coverage is required for any construction activity that disturbs:
The "larger common plan" concept captures phased subdivisions, contiguous lot development, and sequenced tenant buildouts where each individual action is under an acre but the cumulative footprint crosses the threshold. Each operator must separately obtain coverage for the portion of the larger plan the operator controls.
Coverage is obtained by filing a Notice of Intent (NOI) with the permitting authority. The NOI identifies the operator, the project site, the disturbed acreage, the receiving waters, the SWPPP preparation, and the project schedule. In federal CGP jurisdictions, NOIs are submitted through EPA's NeT (NPDES eReporting Tool). In state CGPs, submission uses the state portal.
An NOI becomes effective 14 days after submission (or the state-specific equivalent waiting period), unless EPA or the state agency provides written authorization sooner or extends the waiting period for certain discharge conditions. Once construction is complete and the site is finally stabilized, the operator files a Notice of Termination to close coverage.
The core compliance document is the SWPPP. It must be developed and implemented before construction begins, maintained on the site or made immediately available, and updated as site conditions change. The SWPPP contains:
SWPPP preparation must be by a qualified person — in federal CGP, someone who has successfully completed training on CGP requirements, erosion-and-sediment control, and stormwater pollution prevention. State programs impose specific credential requirements (the MD Responsible Personnel Certification, the VA Responsible Land Disturber, the PA NPDES plan preparer, the NJ Certified Stormwater Inspector, etc.).
The CGP is technology-based: it imposes effluent limits achieved through implementation of specific BMPs rather than numeric discharge standards (except in specific cases). Core obligations:
The 2022 CGP tightened several of these — particularly for soil stabilization on sites with erosive soils and for projects discharging to sediment-impaired or Tier 2/Tier 3 receiving waters.
Qualified personnel must inspect the site:
Inspection reports document (a) weather and site conditions, (b) the condition and effectiveness of each BMP, (c) corrective actions taken, and (d) the inspector's signature. Reports must be retained for the life of the project and for three years after NOT.
Post-storm corrective action timelines are specific: immediate for visible discharges or imminent BMP failure; before the next rain event (not more than 7 days) for other deficiencies.
Projects discharging to waters on the state's 303(d) list as sediment-impaired, or to state-designated Tier 2 or Tier 3 (antidegradation) waters, face enhanced requirements:
Determining the receiving-water classification is a pre-application exercise — identifying the nearest receiving stream, its 303(d) status, and any antidegradation tier designation. Missing a Tier 2 designation at planning can force a mid-project switch from general to individual coverage.
EPA has delegated NPDES authority to nearly every Mid-Atlantic state. Where delegated, the state's CGP applies in lieu of EPA's:
Federal CGP coverage still applies directly in the narrow cases where EPA retains NPDES authority — tribal lands, federal facilities in certain configurations, and some territorial jurisdictions.
Failure to obtain coverage, an inadequate SWPPP, missed inspections, or unpermitted discharges can trigger enforcement under the Clean Water Act — administrative penalties up to $25,000 per day per violation at the federal tier, with state penalties set separately under state law. Citizen-suit enforcement is common: private plaintiffs and environmental organizations have standing to enforce violations, with attorney-fee recovery on successful claims.
The CGP is a no-construction-without-it obligation on any 1-acre-plus project. Three practical rules:
CGP enforcement runs in parallel with state E&S and post-construction stormwater rules. A project in Pennsylvania, for example, needs a PAG-02 (NPDES), an E&S plan approved by the County Conservation District, and a post-construction stormwater plan — three separate compliance tracks that overlap but do not substitute for each other.
Primary sources for this essay: EPA 2022 Construction General Permit (87 Fed. Reg. 8822, February 17, 2022); Clean Water Act § 402 (33 U.S.C. § 1342); 40 CFR Part 122 (NPDES regulations); EPA NeT for CGP NOI/NOT submissions; and the state CGP equivalents referenced above. The 2022 CGP is the EPA document practitioners work from.