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Who can write a SWPPP? QSDs, preparers and inspectors by state
In most places, anyone can write a SWPPP: EPA's permit and most state permits say who must sign it and who may inspect, not who writes it. Three exceptions: California (a Qualified SWPPP Developer), Georgia (a certified design professional) and New Mexico (a qualified erosion control specialist, under EPA's permit). Inspectors more often need a certificate.
Three jobs, three sets of rules
- Writing it. Usually unregulated. Where a state regulates it, the rule is about training or a license, not about who employs the writer.
- Signing it. Always regulated. Under EPA's Appendix G.11, the SWPPP is signed by a responsible corporate officer, a general partner or proprietor, or a public agency's principal executive officer, or by a representative they authorize in writing; that authorization goes in the SWPPP. The signer certifies, under penalty of law, that qualified people gathered and evaluated the information.
- Inspecting. Increasingly regulated. Under EPA's permit, for projects covered since February 17, 2023, the inspector must pass EPA's free construction inspection course and exam, or hold a current certification from a program covering the same topics (Part 6.3).
So the person who signs carries the liability whoever drafted it. A consultant, a superintendent, a template or a software draft can all produce the words; the signer has to check them.
Preparer and inspector rules, by permit
| Permit | Who may write the plan | Who inspects | Base inspection schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| EPA 2022 CGP (most EPA areas) | None named; "good engineering practices" | Passed EPA's course and exam, or an equivalent current certification | Every 7 days, or 14 days plus within 24 hours of 0.25 in of rain |
| EPA CGP in New Mexico | Qualified erosion control specialists (for example a CPESC or a suitably trained engineer); qualifications documented in the SWPPP | As EPA | As EPA |
| California | Qualified SWPPP Developer (QSD) | QSD, QSP, or someone the QSP trained | Weekly, plus before, during and after qualifying storms |
| Georgia | Design professional (Georgia-licensed engineer, architect, landscape architect, forester, geologist or surveyor, or a CPESC) with GSWCC Level II certification | GSWCC-certified personnel (Level IA) | Every 7 days and within 24 hours of 0.5 in, plus daily checks of fuel areas and exits |
| Texas | None named; each operator signs | Someone "knowledgeable of this general permit," the site and the SWP3 | Every 14 days plus within 24 hours of 0.5 in, or every 7 days |
| Florida | None named | A qualified inspector: DEP's training, an equivalent course, or relevant experience | Every 7 days and within 24 hours of 0.5 in |
| Washington | None named | A Certified Erosion and Sediment Control Lead (CESCL) | Weekly and within 24 hours of any discharge |
| Virginia | None named beyond "good engineering practices"; a certified Responsible Land Disturber is named to the local authority | DEQ-certified personnel or EPA's course (since July 1, 2025) | Every 5 business days, or 10 plus within 24 hours of 0.25 in |
| North Carolina | None named in the permit; the SWPPP builds on an approved erosion and sedimentation control plan | No certification required, DEQ says | Every 7 days and within 24 hours of 1.0 in |
| Colorado | None named; the plan names a Qualified Stormwater Manager | A Qualified Stormwater Manager (knowledge, no state certificate) | Every 7 days, or 14 days plus after storms that cause erosion |
Stricter schedules apply near impaired or high-quality waters in most of these permits. Permits: Texas TXR150000, California 2022-0057-DWQ, Georgia GAR100001-3, Florida's generic permit, Washington CSWGP, Virginia VAR10, North Carolina NCG01, Colorado COR400000.
The certifications, briefly
- EPA construction inspection course. Free, online, in English and Spanish, with an exam; passing it makes you a qualified inspector under EPA's permit and in Virginia.
- CPESC, CPSWQ, CESSWI and CISEC. National certifications; the first three come from EnviroCert International, and CISEC is a separate inspector certification. In California they're among the prerequisites for QSD (CPESC, CPSWQ) or QSP (CESSWI, CISEC); in Georgia a CPESC can be a design professional.
- QSD and QSP. California only. To become a QSD: hold a prerequisite (such as CPESC, CPSWQ or a California landscape architect registration), take CASQA's QSD course, pass the exam, and register on CASQA's site; then 6 hours of continuing education a year and renewal every two years. California-licensed professional engineers and geologists can self-certify on the State Water Board's site instead. Details in the California guide.
- GSWCC Level IA and Level II. Georgia's: Level IA for site inspectors, Level II (a two-day design course with an exam, pass mark 70%) for plan designers.
- CESCL. Washington's site lead certification, from Ecology-approved trainers.
Writing your own: when it makes sense
Where the permit allows it, writing your own SWPPP works for a simple site: one phase, no sediment basin, no dewatering, no impaired or high-quality receiving water. Use the template your permit names, read each instruction, and look up the facts (receiving water, impairments, species, historic properties, soils) rather than guessing. It gets harder fast: a basin, a TMDL, a steep site or several operators are when a consultant earns their fee.
A middle route is a filled-in draft you check and sign. ePlan drafts one from four questions and public data, marked where you must check, pick or fill in; it's free to read and $49 to download, and it isn't stamped, so in California or Georgia it's a starting point for the required professional (ePlan's SWPPP page). What each route costs is in the cost guide; California's QSD rules are in detail in the California SWPPP guide.
Questions
Does a SWPPP have to be prepared by an engineer?
Not under EPA's general terms or in Texas, Florida, Washington, North Carolina or Colorado's permits. Georgia requires a design professional, which can be a licensed engineer or a CPESC; California requires a QSD; New Mexico, under EPA's permit, requires a qualified erosion control specialist.
Who signs the SWPPP?
The operator's signatory: a responsible corporate officer, general partner, proprietor or public agency executive, or a representative they authorize in writing. Each operator signs, or all sign a shared plan.
Can my superintendent do the inspections?
Yes, if they meet the permit's inspector rule: EPA's course or an equivalent certificate under EPA's permit, a CESCL in Washington, Level IA in Georgia, and DEQ certification or EPA's course in Virginia.
Related guides
- SWPPP template: which one your permit wants, and how to fill it in
- California SWPPP: risk levels, QSDs and what the 2022 permit requires
- SWPPP cost: what a plan, the permit and the inspections cost
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.