Acworth, GA Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Sec. 76-4(b)(1) makes it unlawful to conduct any land-disturbing activity within city limits without first obtaining a permit from the public works director or their designee, and a pre-construction meeting with city staff is required before the permit application, which must include an erosion, sedimentation and pollution control plan. Cobb Soil and Water Conservation District review of that plan takes up to 35 days, and a permit cannot issue until the plan is approved, any needed buffer variance is granted, fees are paid, and a performance bond is posted.

Sec. 76-2 exempts limited activities: home gardening and ordinary landscaping, single-family construction disturbing less than one acre outside a larger development plan, agricultural operations, forestry management, and any project under one acre outside a common plan of development. Sec. 76-3(c) sets a 25-foot buffer along the banks of state waters and extends it to 50 feet along waters classified as trout streams, both measured from the point vegetation has been wrested by normal stream flow, with variances available only through the public works director. Sec.

76-6(b) requires a performance bond equal to 110 percent of the construction cost of the required improvements before the permit issues. Enforcement escalates under Sec. 76-8(b): the first two violations draw a written warning with five days to correct, and a third violation, or any violation involving work without a permit or discharge into state waters, triggers an immediate stop-work order. Sec. 76-8(d) then allows a civil penalty of up to $2,500 per day, with each day of continued noncompliance treated as a separate violation, and Sec.

76-10 lets a permit holder appeal to the city manager within two days before taking a de novo appeal to the Superior Court of Cobb County.