Florida runs two separate permit programs that both touch stormwater on a construction site, and conflating them is one of the most common mistakes engineers new to Florida make: the Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) and the FDEP Construction Generic Permit (CGP). They are not the same permit, they are not issued for the same reason, and having one does not substitute for the other. This guide covers the CGP specifically — Florida's NPDES-delegated construction stormwater permit — and draws a clean line between it and the ERP.
What Is the FDEP Construction Generic Permit (CGP)?
The Construction Generic Permit is Florida's version of the federal NPDES Construction General Permit under the Clean Water Act — the permit that authorizes the discharge of stormwater associated with construction activity. Florida is an NPDES-delegated state, so FDEP runs its own CGP program rather than applicants dealing directly with EPA. The CGP requires a site-specific Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) and a Notice of Intent (NOI) before land disturbance begins, and a Notice of Termination (NOT) once the site reaches final stabilization.
Unlike the ERP, the CGP is not about the long-term design of the site's stormwater management system — it is about controlling erosion and sediment discharge during the construction process itself, through BMPs like silt fence, inlet protection, stabilized construction entrances, and sediment basins.
Do I Need CGP Coverage for My Project?
Yes, if your project disturbs one acre or more of land — or is part of a larger common plan of development that will collectively disturb an acre or more, even if your individual phase is smaller. This is the same federal ≥1-acre threshold that applies nationally under the Clean Water Act's construction stormwater program; Florida did not raise or lower it in its delegated version. Nearly every subdivision, commercial pad, or multifamily site that also needs an ERP will need CGP coverage as well — they typically travel together, but they are separate applications with separate purposes.
What's the Difference Between the FDEP CGP and Florida's ERP?
This is the single most common point of confusion in Florida site-civil permitting, so it's worth stating plainly:
| Factor | FDEP CGP | ERP |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Federal Clean Water Act NPDES program, delegated to FDEP | Florida state statute/rule (state water-resource permitting) |
| What it regulates | Erosion and sediment discharge during construction | Permanent stormwater quantity/quality system design, plus wetlands |
| Core deliverable | SWPPP + NOI | Engineered stormwater management system design + wetland impact analysis |
| Issuing agency | FDEP (statewide, one program) | FDEP or one of five Water Management Districts, depending on project |
| Duration of relevance | Active only during construction, through final stabilization | Governs the site's permanent water management system for its operational life |
| Triggers at | ≥1 acre of land disturbance | Any new/altered stormwater system or wetland impact, regardless of a fixed acreage cutoff |
In short: the ERP designs and authorizes the permanent stormwater and wetlands solution; the CGP keeps sediment out of receiving waters while you build it. You will typically need both, obtained through two different processes, from what may or may not be the same reviewing office.
What Does a Florida SWPPP Need to Include?
A Florida SWPPP under the CGP follows the same core structure required nationally under NPDES construction stormwater programs:
- A site map showing disturbed areas, discharge points, drainage patterns, and receiving waters.
- Erosion and sediment control BMPs matched to each pollutant source and phase of construction.
- Good-housekeeping measures — concrete washout, fuel/material storage, spill response, construction waste management.
- An inspection and maintenance schedule, with records kept on site and available on request.
- Final stabilization criteria defining when the site qualifies for a Notice of Termination.
If you also work in other states, note that Florida uses "SWPPP" the same way Texas does under TXR150000 — it's Colorado's CDPS program that instead calls this document a SWMP; see SWPPP vs. SWMP: what's the difference for the full comparison.
What BMPs Are Typically Specified on a Florida Construction Site?
The BMP toolkit itself isn't Florida-specific — it's the same erosion and sediment control vocabulary used under any NPDES-delegated construction stormwater program — but Florida's sandy soils, high water tables, and intense wet-season rainfall shape which BMPs actually perform. Common measures on a Florida SWPPP include:
- Perimeter controls — silt fence and/or floating turbidity barriers where work is adjacent to a wetland, pond, or other surface water.
- Sediment basins/traps — sized to the site's drainage area, often doing double duty with the ERP-permitted stormwater pond during construction before it's converted to its permanent function.
- Stabilized construction entrances — to control track-out onto public roads.
- Inlet protection — on any storm structure that's constructed and operational before the site is fully stabilized.
- Temporary and permanent stabilization — seed/mulch or sod on a schedule tight enough to address Florida's rapid regrowth of nuisance vegetation and its intense, short-duration wet-season storms.
Because many Florida sites are also permitting a stormwater pond under the ERP at the same time, it's common and efficient to use the future permanent pond as a temporary sediment basin during construction — but only if the SWPPP explicitly accounts for that dual use and the design won't be compromised by construction-phase sediment loading.
How Do I Obtain NOI Coverage in Florida?
Coverage under the CGP is obtained by submitting a Notice of Intent to FDEP before disturbing soil, identifying the site, the operator, and confirming the SWPPP has been prepared. As with any NPDES-delegated state program, exact portal names, forms, and processing steps are updated periodically — confirm the current NOI submission process and any applicable fee with FDEP's current program guidance rather than relying on a prior project's paperwork.
What Inspections Are Required During Construction?
The CGP requires regular site inspections — checking that BMPs are installed correctly, functioning, and maintained, and documenting any deficiencies and corrective actions. Inspection frequency requirements and documentation format should be confirmed against the current CGP text, since these details are the kind of specifics that get updated between permit reissuances. What doesn't change is the underlying obligation: inspection records need to be kept on site and produced on request by FDEP or, in delegated MS4 areas, the local program.
Rainfall-triggered inspections are worth planning for operationally even before you confirm the exact current frequency requirement: Florida's wet season produces frequent, intense convective storms, and a site that only inspects on a fixed calendar schedule can miss BMP failures that happen between visits. Building a rain-gauge-triggered inspection habit into the contractor's routine tends to catch problems before they become discharge violations, regardless of what the strict minimum requirement is.
How Do I Terminate CGP Coverage?
Once the site reaches final stabilization — as defined in the CGP, generally meaning disturbed soils are permanently stabilized against erosion — the permittee files a Notice of Termination (NOT), ending CGP obligations for that site. The NOT is the formal bookend to the NOI; don't let it fall through the cracks at project closeout, since an un-terminated permit can leave an operator on the hook for ongoing SWPPP/inspection obligations on a site that's actually finished.
Can a Local Government Add Its Own Requirements?
Yes. Many Florida counties and cities operate their own MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) programs, which can layer additional local erosion-and-sediment-control or inspection requirements on top of the FDEP CGP. A site inside an MS4 jurisdiction may need to satisfy both the state CGP and the local MS4 program's construction-site runoff control ordinance — check the local public works or environmental department's requirements in addition to the state permit. See erosion and sediment control permit basics for how local E&SC requirements typically layer onto the base NPDES obligation.
For the full Florida permitting sequence — where the CGP, the ERP, and local site plan approval fit together — see the Florida site-civil permitting guide.