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California

The stormwater permit for construction in California

California runs its own NPDES programme, so a state issued construction general permit governs. Below is what our engine can say about it, and where we have not read that permit, what it will not say.

Governing permit

Construction General Permit, Order WQ 2022-0057-DWQ (NPDES No. CAS000002)

Issued by
California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board)
Permit number
CAS000002
Version determined against
as published by the state agency
Read the permitCalifornia State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board)

Who may prepare the plan

A credentialed preparer is required

California requires a credentialed preparer. Treat the generated document as a complete draft for that person to review, adopt and sign. It is not by itself a compliant filed plan.

Qualifying routes

  • California PE or PG (self-certify)
  • Landscape architect, AIH hydrologist, CPESC or CPSWQ plus CASQA training and exam

A state specific training course or exam is layered on top of the qualifying credential.

The SWPPP shall be developed by a Qualified SWPPP Developer (QSD). No PE stamp mandate.

VerifiedOrder WQ 2022-0057-DWQ Attachment D, sections II.C, V.C.1 and V.FSource

Does a site in California need coverage

Worked for a one acre site as a reference point. Change the acreage in the tool below and the answer, and its reasoning, change with it.

Coverage

Permit coverage required

Verified

The project disturbs 1 acres, at or above the 1 acre threshold, so it needs permit coverage.

Determined against dataset version 2026-07-19.

Read these before you act on the answer

  • We have identified Construction General Permit, Order WQ 2022-0057-DWQ (NPDES No. CAS000002) as the governing permit but have not loaded its requirements. The requirements below are not shown because we will not substitute the federal permit's rules for a state's. Confirm with California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board).
  • California requires a credentialed preparer. Treat the generated document as a complete draft for that person to review, adopt and sign. It is not by itself a compliant filed plan.
  • Basinwise does not perform the physical site inspections the permit requires. Those must be carried out on site by a qualified person.
How this answer was reached, step by step
  1. 1

    Coverage threshold

    The project disturbs 1 acres, at or above the 1 acre threshold, so it needs permit coverage.

    VerifiedPart 1.1.2Source
  2. 2

    Permitting authority

    California. The state runs its own programme under CAS000002.

  3. 3

    Preparer credential

    California requires a credentialed preparer. Treat the generated document as a complete draft for that person to review, adopt and sign. It is not by itself a compliant filed plan.

    VerifiedOrder WQ 2022-0057-DWQ Attachment D, sections II.C, V.C.1 and V.FSource

What to do next

  1. 1. Confirm the governing permit. Read Construction General Permit, Order WQ 2022-0057-DWQ (NPDES No. CAS000002) directly. It is linked above, and it is the document an inspector will hold you to. California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board)
  2. 2. Settle the preparer question before you draft. Getting this wrong costs a redraft at best. The detail is on the credential page for this state. Preparer credential in California
  3. 3. Screen the site. Run the real acreage and receiving water facts through the tool below. You get the inspection frequency, the stabilisation deadlines and the filing path with the permit section behind each.
  4. 4. Read the requirements in full. SWPPP requirements in California

Screen a California site now

Runs in your browser. Nothing about the site is transmitted.

Screen your site

Runs in your browser

Total land disturbance over the whole project, including staging and access. This decides whether you need a permit at all.

Optional. If you phase the work, the most that will be disturbed at once. Leave blank if the whole site is open together. The stabilisation deadline turns on this figure, not the total.

A half acre lot inside a 40 acre subdivision is covered even though the lot alone is under the threshold. This is the most commonly missed trigger in the permit.

Receiving water and site conditions(optional, but they change the inspection frequency)

May allow a reduced inspection frequency during the seasonally dry period.

EPA keeps permitting authority in Indian country even inside a state that runs its own programme.

No account, no card, nothing transmitted.

What people ask about the California construction stormwater permit

Do I need a stormwater permit for a construction site in California?

Permit coverage is triggered at one acre of land disturbance, and below one acre if the project is part of a larger common plan of development or sale that will ultimately disturb an acre or more. The project disturbs 1 acres, at or above the 1 acre threshold, so it needs permit coverage.

Who issues the construction stormwater permit in California?

California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) issues Construction General Permit, Order WQ 2022-0057-DWQ (NPDES No. CAS000002).

Does California require a qualified preparer for the plan?

California requires a credentialed preparer. Treat the generated document as a complete draft for that person to review, adopt and sign. It is not by itself a compliant filed plan.

Keep the record California will ask you for

The screening is free. Holding the written plan and the retained inspection log is what the permit actually demands.

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