Michigan

Who may prepare a stormwater plan in Michigan

We found no state level preparer credential for Michigan. On what we verified, an operator may adopt the plan without a credentialed signature. Local ordinances can still be stricter.

The answer

None found

We found no state level preparer credential for Michigan. On what we verified, an operator may adopt the plan without a credentialed signature. Local ordinances can still be stricter.

Credentials that qualify

Any person may prepare/design the Part 91 Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control (SESC) Plan, Michigan's SWPPP-equivalent (Mich. Admin. Code R 323.1703). No state-mandated license, certification or exam is imposed on the preparer.
The plan must be reviewed/approved by a person designated by the county or municipal Part 91 enforcing agency who is trained in soil erosion and sedimentation control (R 323.1707(1)) — a requirement on the agency reviewer, not on a private applicant's preparer.
Separately, under Permit-by-Rule (R 323.2190(2)(d)-(e)), erosion control measures must be under the supervision of, and inspected weekly plus within 24 hours of any discharge-producing rain event by, a Certified Storm Water Operator (CSWO) — an inspection/supervision credential, not a plan-preparation credential, applying to all sites 1+ acre regardless of size.

Michigan's gating structure does not map cleanly onto a typical SWPPP-preparer-credential model. State rule places no credential requirement on whoever drafts the SESC plan itself. Credentialing instead attaches to two adjacent roles: the local Part 91 enforcing agency's plan reviewer (who must hold EGLE's Comprehensive SESC Plan Review & Design certification), and the construction-phase site inspector (who must be a CSWO, required for every site 1+ acre, unrelated to the separate 5-acre NOC-filing threshold). No PE stamp requirement was found anywhere in Part 17, Part 21, or the EGLE Permit-by-Rule FAQ. Individual county/municipal enforcing agencies may impose additional local requirements beyond this state floor; that county-level variation was not verified.

VerifiedMich. Admin. Code R 323.1703 (SESC plan preparation, Part 17) and R 323.2190(1)-(2) (Permit-by-Rule, Part 21)Source

What this means for a generated plan

On what we verified, an operator may adopt a generated plan here without a credentialed signature. Local ordinances can still impose a stricter gate than state law, so check the county or municipality as well.

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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 Michigan

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

We found no state level preparer credential for Michigan. On what we verified, an operator may adopt the plan without a credentialed signature. Local ordinances can still be stricter.

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

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 Michigan SWPPP requirements in Michigan All jurisdictions

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