Activities that disturb greater than one acre of land or are part of a common plan of development that disturbs greater than one acre of land are required to have a Stormwater Permit. Agricultural activities are exempt from a permit.
A common plan of development or sale comes into being upon the time when there is documentation showing plans to disturb earth regardless of how many phases or how long it will take. Documents used to show such plans include plats, blue prints, marketing plans, and contracts. If you have a long-range master plan of development where some portions of the master plan are a conceptual rather than a specific plan of future development and the future construction activities would, if they occur at all, happen over an extended time period, you may consider the “conceptual” phases of development to be separate “common plans” provided the periods of construction for the physically interconnected phases will not overlap. If construction sites within a larger common plan of development are located 1/4th mile or more apart, then each individual project can be treated as a separate plan of development. For more details and examples, click here .
A stormwater permit can be obtained from Development Services at the same time the building permit is obtained. In order to receive a permit, a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan must be submitted for approval along with the permit application form. For more resources on how to prepare a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, click here . Approval will be granted or denied within one week for residential permits or two weeks for commercial permits.
Do small (less than one acre) sites have to have the same kind of SWPPP (Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan) as large sites (greater than one acre)?
No. Sites which are less than one acre don’t need a stormwater permit unless they are part of a larger common plan of development (i.e. a lot purchased in a new subdivision). If they are a part of a larger common plan of development, they will need a stormwater permit and a SWPPP, but the City of Scottsbluff has different, simpler requirements for small sites than our large site requirements. There are separate requirements for the small site SWPPP.
e-construction meeting with the contractor and the Stormwater Program Specialist will be conducted on-site. In addition to this, inspections will be conducted at the following stages:
- Upon completion of installation of perimeter erosion and sediment controls, prior to proceeding with any other land disturbance or grading
- Upon completion of stripping, the stockpile of topsoil, the construction of temporary erosion and sediment control facilities, disposal of all waste material, and preparation of the ground and completion of rough grading but prior to placing top soil, permanent drainage or other site development improvements and ground cover
- Upon completion of final grading, permanent drainage and erosion control facilities including established ground covers and planting, and all other work of the permit.
Work shall not proceed beyond the stages outlined above until the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan Inspector inspects the site and approves the work previously completed. Requests for inspections shall be made at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance (exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) of the time the inspection is desired. Upon request for inspections, the inspection will be performed within 48 hours of the request.
$100 for residential projects, and $400 for commercial projects.
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