Tennessee

Who may prepare a stormwater plan in Tennessee

Tennessee requires a credentialed preparer only in some cases. Sites above 5 acres.

The answer

Conditional

Tennessee requires a credentialed preparer only in some cases. Sites above 5 acres.

What triggers it: Sites above 5 acres.

Credentials that qualify

Registered professional engineer (TN)
Registered landscape architect (TN)
Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC)
Completion of TDEC's "Level II Design Principles for Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control for Construction Sites" course

Gate is acreage-based, not a single mandatory credential: sites 5 acres or less of disturbance have no SWPPP-preparer qualification requirement (optional TDEC templates available); sites over 5 acres require the narrative be prepared by someone meeting one of the routes above, and the permit's own list is open ("such as, but not limited to"). The separately-triggered PE/landscape-architect stamp requirement applies only to engineering design of sediment basins/structural controls at 10+ acre (or 5+ acre for sensitive waters) drainage areas — commonly conflated with a full-SWPPP PE requirement, which this permit does not impose. Reconfirms and supersedes the prior entry, which was sourced to the 2011 permit and flagged for reconfirmation against the 2021 version.

Verified2021 Tennessee CGP (TNR100000), Part 5.2 "Qualification 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 Tennessee

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

Tennessee requires a credentialed preparer only in some cases. Sites above 5 acres.

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

A PE stamp is required in Tennessee. Trigger: Engineering design of sediment basins or equivalent structural sediment controls must be prepared by a TN-registered PE or landscape architect and signed/sealed per T.C.A. Title 62, Ch. 2, required for construction sites with 10 or more acres draining to a single outfall, or 5 or more acres if draining to waters with unavailable parameters or Exceptional Tennessee Waters..

Which permit governs Tennessee SWPPP requirements in Tennessee All jurisdictions

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