Please read Delaware's Sediment & Stormwater Regulations – you may also want to print them, especially if you're new to the process. You'll also want to pay particular attention to the following sections found within the regulations. For each link below, you'll also note that there are corresponding section numbers for Sediment & Stormwater regulations.
Project Planning
- A project is required to obtain a Sediment and Stormwater Plan (Section 8) if it exceeds 5,000 square feet of land disturbance.
- The plan must be sealed by a professional engineer, registered landscape architect, or professional land surveyor (Section 10).
- Plans must be approved by the appropriate Delegated Agency (Section 5), based on location of the project. Note that review fees vary by agency (Section 6).
- For single residential homes, a Standard Plan application can be substituted (Section 11).
- No more than 20 acres of soil can be left disturbed at one time (Section 10). This can be resolved through good sequencing and following up with stabilization practices (mulching and seeding).
- All stormwater management practices must be done according to the Delaware Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook (Section 10).
- Some sites will be required to have Certified Construction Reviewer inspectors on site (Section 12); requirements vary by Delegated Agency. Also, it is required that every construction site have at least one person onsite who has taken the Contractors Certification Course, also known as the Blue Card Course (Section 13).
- Read instructions for Notice of Intent (NOI) to Begin Construction, and submit completed form to DNREC (there is a fee involved).
- Plan a preconstruction meeting.
Project Termination
- Upon completing a project, you must fulfill the termination process as required by the appropriate delegated agency.
- At the project's completion, read instructions for Notice of Termination (NOT) directions and submit a completed form to DNREC. If this form is not submitted, you will be billed, annually, to keep your NPDES permit coverage current.
- If this is an industrial facility, a NOI must also be submitted for industrial stormwater. For more information about it, click here.
