Vermont
The stormwater permit for construction in Vermont
Vermont 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
General Permit 3-9020 for Stormwater Runoff from Construction Sites
- Issued by
- Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Watershed Management Division
- Permit number
- 3-9020
- Version determined against
- as published by the state agency
Who may prepare the plan
Conditional, depends on the siteVermont gates plan preparation conditionally. The gate is triggered by plan scope rather than acreage: Moderate risk projects only. Confirm which case applies to your plan before relying on a generated document.
Qualifying routes
- Certified engineer (required for moderate risk projects; term is not defined in the permit)
Vermont requires a certified engineer for moderate risk projects only. Effective June 20, 2025. IMPORTANT SCOPE NOTES: (1) Vermont's required document is an Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control (EPSC) Plan, not a SWPPP; the term SWPPP does not appear in the permit. (2) The credential is CONDITIONAL: Subpart 3.2 requires the EPSC Plan for MODERATE RISK construction activities to be 'prepared by a certified engineer', while low risk projects submit a Site Drawing with no stated credential. (3) The permit does not define 'certified engineer' and contains no stamp, seal, CPESC or professional engineer language, so confirm the accepted credential with Vermont DEC. The preparer requirement was found during the jurisdiction registry pass but the exact permit clause was not captured, so this is marked unverified. We still apply the gate, because under-claiming a credential requirement is the safe direction of error.
No permit section cited. Confirm this with your permitting authority.
Does a site in Vermont 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
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 General Permit 3-9020 for Stormwater Runoff from Construction Sites 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 Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Watershed Management Division.
- Vermont gates plan preparation conditionally. The gate is triggered by plan scope rather than acreage: Moderate risk projects only. Confirm which case applies to your plan before relying on a generated document.
- 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
Coverage threshold
The project disturbs 1 acres, at or above the 1 acre threshold, so it needs permit coverage.
- 2
Permitting authority
Vermont. The state runs its own programme under 3-9020.
- 3
Preparer credential
Vermont gates plan preparation conditionally. The gate is triggered by plan scope rather than acreage: Moderate risk projects only. Confirm which case applies to your plan before relying on a generated document.
What to do next
- 1. Confirm the governing permit. Read General Permit 3-9020 for Stormwater Runoff from Construction Sites directly. It is linked above, and it is the document an inspector will hold you to. Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Watershed Management Division
- 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 Vermont
- 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. Read the requirements in full. SWPPP requirements in Vermont
Screen a Vermont site now
Runs in your browser. Nothing about the site is transmitted.
What people ask about the Vermont construction stormwater permit
Do I need a stormwater permit for a construction site in Vermont?
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 Vermont?
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Watershed Management Division issues General Permit 3-9020 for Stormwater Runoff from Construction Sites.
Does Vermont require a qualified preparer for the plan?
Vermont gates plan preparation conditionally. The gate is triggered by plan scope rather than acreage: Moderate risk projects only. Confirm which case applies to your plan before relying on a generated document.
Keep the record Vermont will ask you for
The screening is free. Holding the written plan and the retained inspection log is what the permit actually demands.