Under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), Vermont is authorized to issue permits for the discharge of stormwater from construction activities. The NPDES permit program addresses water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants to waters of the United States. Created in 1972 by the Clean Water Act, the NPDES permit program is authorized to state governments by EPA to perform many permitting, administrative, and enforcement aspects of the program.
Under this authority, Vermont implemented the Construction General Permit (CGP) 3-9020 to authorize permittees to discharge stormwater runoff from construction activities. Construction activities are broken into three risk categories. Two risk categories authorized by the general permit: Low Risk and Moderate Risk. The third risk category are for projects that pose a higher risk, which file an application for an Individual Permit. These include projects that propose to exceed a 14-day stabilization schedule and projects that will concurrently disturb more than 5 acres of earth.
When is a Construction Stormwater Permit required?
Coverage under this permit must be obtained for:
- Construction activities that result in a total earth disturbance of equal or greater than one acre of land area;
- Construction activities that result in a total earth disturbance of less than one acre that are part of a larger common plan of development that will ultimately disturb equal to or greater than one acre of land area.
- You may work through this Decision Tree to determine if your project requires a permit under the definitions of Common Plan of Development and/or Independent Project.
- Please fill out the Determination form if you are unsure if your project requires a Construction Stormwater Permit.
Please see the Permitting and Outreach link above for further details.
Highlights and Updates
Public Notice of the Draft 2025 Construction General Permit (CGP) 3-9020
The Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) hereby provides public notice of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Draft 2025 Construction General Permit (CGP) for Stormwater Runoff from Construction Sites, CGP 3-9020. The Draft 2025 CGP 3-9020 authorizes discharges of stormwater runoff from construction activities involving one (1) or more acres of earth disturbance, including construction activities when the disturbance is less than one acre, but is part of a larger “common plan of development”, if the common plan will ultimately result in the disturbance of one or more acres.
Written public comments on the proposed permit will begin on May 9, 2025. All comments must be received on or before the close of the business day (4:30 pm) on June 17, 2025. Written comments on the Draft CGP shall be submitted via the Environmental Notice Bulletin (ENB; https://enb.vermont.gov/default).
A public information meeting will be held in-person with a virtual option via Microsoft Teams on: Tuesday, June 10, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, at the offices of the Vermont ANR, Department of Environmental Conservation, in the Catamount Conference room located at 1 National Life Drive, Davis 2, Montpelier, VT 05602. Please join virtually by using this link: https://tinyurl.com/CGPpublicmeeting and entering passcode: Eg9Bs3pT or by calling 802-828-7667 and entering conference ID # 350429636 followed by the pound sign (#).
If you plan to attend in person, please RSVP by Friday, June 6, 2025 to Bryce McKim (bryce.mckim@vermont.gov or 802-272-9428).
Below are links to the Draft 2025 CGP 3-9020, redline Draft 2025 CGP 3-9020**, Fact Sheet, and Notice of Public Meeting document. They are also available on the ENB. Hard copies can also be requested by contacting Bryce.
**The redline draft of the CGP 3-9020 includes proposed changes
Draft 2025 3-9020 Stormwater Construction General Permit
Draft 2025 3-9020 Stormwater Construction General Permit (Redline)
Notice of Public Meeting for Draft 2025 CGP 3-9020
*To ensure consistent application submittals and a more efficient application review, the EPSC Plan Set Reference and Requirements have been explained further and are outlined in the Plan Set Reference and Requirements form. Please begin submitting all applications with the required items in the updated form starting December 18, 2023* - 12/6/23
*Please see the References and Forms link above to view the updated forms for use on your projects!* - 3/2/23