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SWPPP notice of intent: how to file the NOI, in order

File the Notice of Intent after the SWPPP is written and before any soil moves. Under EPA's permit you file it in NeT at least 14 days before work starts, and coverage begins 14 days after EPA confirms it's complete. Then post a sign with your permit number, add the NOI to the SWPPP, and file a Notice of Termination within 30 days of finishing.

Updated November 13, 2026. Read against EPA's 2022 Construction General Permit Parts 1 and 8, its NOI form instructions (Appendix H), EPA's NeT page and the state agencies' own pages.

The order, step by step (EPA permit areas)

Confirm EPA is your permitting authority. Appendix B lists the areas: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Mexico, DC, Puerto Rico, the Pacific territories, most Indian country, Lands of Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction, federal facilities in a few states, and Oklahoma discharges outside the state agency's authority, mainly oil and gas. Everywhere else, your state's permit and system apply (table below).
Work out who files. Every "operator" files its own NOI: the party that controls the plans and specifications, and the party with day-to-day control of the work. On many jobs that's both the owner or developer and the general contractor. Subcontractors usually aren't operators.
Check for a waiver. A site disturbing 1 to 5 acres whose rainfall erosivity factor (R in the soil loss equation) is under 5 for the construction period can file a Low Erosivity Waiver instead of an NOI (Appendix C). Recalculate if the schedule slips.
Finish the SWPPP first. Part 1.4.1 makes it a prerequisite, and the NOI asks you to confirm it's done and say where it's kept and who wrote it.
Gather the NOI's facts. The form has ten sections. The ones that take research: the site's latitude and longitude, area disturbed to the nearest quarter acre, start and end dates, demolition of any pre-1980 building of 10,000+ square feet, dewatering and whether the site is a cleanup site, every receiving water and whether it's impaired or Tier 2, 2.5 or 3 (EPA's discharge mapping tool helps), treatment chemicals, the Appendix D endangered species worksheet (start with IPaC), and the Appendix E historic property screening.
Submit in NeT. Create a CDX account and file in EPA's NPDES eReporting Tool. A paper form is allowed only with a waiver from your EPA Regional Office. The signer must be the person Appendix G.11 names: for a corporation, a responsible corporate officer, or a duly authorized representative.
Wait out the 14 days. New sites file at least 14 calendar days before starting, and are covered 14 days after EPA notifies you it received a complete NOI, unless EPA delays or denies it. Emergency-related projects can start at once and file within 30 days.
Post the sign. Near the site, readable from the nearest public road: your NPDES ID and where to look it up, a contact name and phone, the SWPPP's URL or the EPA Regional Office statement, and the line on reporting pollution to EPA (Part 1.5).
Put the paperwork in the SWPPP. The NOI, the acknowledgment with your NPDES ID, any EPA correspondence and a copy of the permit (Part 7.2.11).
Change it when the job changes. File a Change NOI in NeT. A new operator name or project name, any change to the estimated area disturbed, new receiving waters, or new species, historic, chemical or demolition answers restart a 14-day review for the affected area.
Terminate within 30 days. File a Notice of Termination once final stabilization is met and photographed and temporary controls and materials are gone, or once another operator or permit has taken over (Part 8).

State systems and fees

Read from each agency's permit, rule or fee page on November 13, 2026.
Where	Where you file	Timing and what comes first	Fee
EPA areas	NeT, through a CDX account	14 days before work; covered 14 days after EPA confirms it's complete	None in the permit or on the NOI form
Texas	STEERS (sites of 5+ acres; smaller sites post a site notice)	Before work; covered on submission online	$225 online, $325 on paper; no annual fee; small sites $0
California	SMARTS, with the SWPPP and drawings	WDID number before any work	$511 plus $54 per acre a year, up to $11,311
Florida	DEP Business Portal, or mail	At least 2 days before work; coverage lasts 5 years	$250 for 1 to under 5 acres, $400 for 5+
Georgia	GEOS	14 days before work; the plan must be finished first	$80 per disturbed acre ($40 state and $40 local where there's a local issuing authority)
Washington	WQWebPortal	60 days before discharging; two weekly newspaper notices; covered on day 31	$850 a year for 1 to under 5 acres (fiscal 2027)
North Carolina	AccessDEQ	Erosion and sedimentation control plan approved first	$127 a year, plus the plan review fee ($119 per acre where DEQ reviews it)
Colorado	CEOS	10 days before work	$350 a year for 1 to under 30 acres (Regulation 102), plus a $175 application fee
Virginia	The local VESMP authority (usually the locality)	Local land-disturbance approval before any work	$4,100 for 1 to under 5 acres, plus $650 a year

Agency sources: TCEQ, California fee schedule, Florida DEP, Georgia rule 391-3-6-.22, WAC 173-224-040, NC DEQ fees, CDPHE fees, 9VAC25-875-1400.

Mistakes that delay coverage

Filing before the SWPPP exists. The NOI certifies that it does; an inspector can ask for it on day one.
Naming the storm drain, not the water. The NOI wants the first water of the U.S. that the discharge or the storm sewer reaches.
Skipping the species worksheet. The NOI must come with the completed Appendix D worksheet and its supporting documents.
Wrong signer. A project manager without a written delegation under Appendix G.11 can't sign for a corporation.
Assuming the 2022 coverage carries on. It expires at 11:59 p.m. on February 16, 2027; existing sites will need a new NOI under the 2027 permit (see what changes in 2027).

ePlan drafts the NOI's answers alongside the SWPPP, from the site address and four questions, so the receiving water, permit area and dates match in both documents; drafts are free to read and each document is $49 to download (ePlan's SWPPP page). You still file the NOI yourself in NeT or your state's system.

Questions

Is the SWPPP submitted with the NOI?

Not under the 2022 EPA permit: you certify it's done and keep it on site. EPA's proposed 2027 permit would require the full SWPPP, a link to it, or its site map and signed certification with the NOI.

How long does NOI approval take?

Under EPA's permit, coverage starts 14 calendar days after EPA notifies you that it received a complete NOI, unless EPA tells you it's delayed or denied. State timing differs; see the table above.

Do small sites need an NOI?

Under EPA's permit, yes, from 1 acre up, unless a Low Erosivity Waiver applies. Some states treat small sites differently; Texas, for example, lets sites under 5 acres post a site notice instead of filing an NOI. See when a SWPPP is required.

About this page

This guide is published by Winding AI, Inc., the company that makes ePlan, one of the ways to get a SWPPP drafted that this site compares. We make money when someone pays ePlan to download a document or subscribes; we earn nothing from links to agencies or other products, and links to ePlan carry a tag so ePlan can count visits from here. Every fact on this page was read from the source it links to on the date shown above.