Maryland

Who may prepare a stormwater plan in Maryland

Maryland requires a credentialed preparer only in some cases. Confirm which case your plan falls into.

The answer

Conditional

Maryland requires a credentialed preparer only in some cases. Confirm which case your plan falls into.

Credentials that qualify

No named 'SWPPP preparer' certification exists in the 20-CP permit text (unlike CESCL/CPESC-style regimes in other states)
Operator's on-site 'stormwater team' must include at least one person holding a valid certificate of attendance at a training program under Environment Article §4-104 (Maryland's Erosion & Sediment Control 'Responsible Personnel' certification, obtained via class and exam through MDE/local Soil Conservation Districts; valid 3 years)
The SWPPP document is signed/certified by a permit 'Signatory' — responsible corporate officer, general partner/proprietor, or public-agency official — or their duly authorized representative (Part II.A.8), an administrative signing role open to non-credentialed staff

A state specific course or exam is layered on top of the underlying credential. Holding the licence alone is not enough.

Maryland's well-known 'Responsible Personnel'/erosion-control certification is referenced in the CGP as a requirement that at least one member of the site's 'stormwater team' hold it and be present on site — the permit does not state that this person must be the one who drafts the SWPPP, nor does it name any credential specifically for SWPPP preparation. Applies uniformly (no acreage-tiered gating found for this requirement). No PE stamp is required for the SWPPP by this general permit; it is signed by a corporate officer/partner/proprietor/public official or authorized representative, not a licensed engineer. The separately-approved Erosion & Sediment Control and Stormwater Management Plans the SWPPP references are certified per COMAR 26.17.01.07 and 26.17.02.09 respectively — those COMAR provisions were not independently verified in this pass and could impose their own professional-certification requirements, separate from the NPDES SWPPP signature itself.

VerifiedMaryland General Discharge Permit No. 20CP (NPDES No. MDRC0000), Part III.E 'Staff Training Requirements' and Part II.A.8 'Signature Requirements'Source

What this means for a generated plan

Where a credential applies, or where we cannot confirm that none does, treat a generated document as a complete draft for a credentialed preparer to review, amend and sign. It is not by itself a compliant filed plan, and ours says so on its face.

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State*

Activity*

Total acres disturbed*

Total land disturbance over the whole project, including staging and access. This decides whether you need a permit at all.

Acres open at any one time

Optional. If you phase the work, the most that will be disturbed at once. Leave blank if the whole site is open together. The stabilisation deadline turns on this figure, not the total.

Part of a larger common plan of development or sale

A half acre lot inside a 40 acre subdivision is covered even though the lot alone is under the threshold. This is the most commonly missed trigger in the permit.

Receiving water and site conditions(optional, but they change the inspection frequency)

Discharges to a sediment or nutrient impaired water

Discharges to a Tier 2, 2.5 or 3 water

Arid, semi arid or drought stricken area

May allow a reduced inspection frequency during the seasonally dry period.

In Indian country

EPA keeps permitting authority in Indian country even inside a state that runs its own programme.

No account, no card, nothing transmitted.

What people ask about preparing a SWPPP in Maryland

Do I need a qualified preparer for a SWPPP in Maryland?

Maryland requires a credentialed preparer only in some cases. Confirm which case your plan falls into.

Does a professional engineer have to stamp the plan in Maryland?

Practice act citations are routinely overstated on this point. A PE stamp is not required as a general matter in most states with no preparer gate, and where we have not verified it we will not assert either answer. Confirm with the state board or the permitting authority.

Which permit governs Maryland SWPPP requirements in Maryland All jurisdictions

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