Brookhaven, GA Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Section 14-29 of the Code of the City of Brookhaven, Georgia governs soil erosion and sedimentation control for land-disturbing activity. Under subsection (b)(1), any permitted activity must follow the Georgia Erosion and Sedimentation Act of 1975, the chapter, and the permit conditions set by the community development director. Nobody can start land disturbance without a permit from the community development department and, where applicable, a copy of the notice of intent to the EPD. The application needs an erosion and sedimentation control plan and a certification that the plan preparer visited the site first.

The permit fee is set by the city council for each acre or fraction thereof, and state fees cannot exceed $80.00 per acre. The district reviews the plan within 35 days, and permits are issued or denied not later than 45 days after a completed application. The department can require a bond up to $3,000.00 per acre or fraction thereof and can deny an applicant with two or more violations in the prior three years. A development permit is valid for two years and expires if work has not begun within 90 days.

Exemptions include surface mining, home gardens and minor landscaping, agricultural operations, forestry practices, and single-family homes disturbing less than one acre outside a larger common plan. A project under one acre is still covered when it sits within a larger common plan of development of one acre or more or within 200 feet of the bank of state waters. Subsection (b)(4)c establishes a 25-foot state buffer along the banks of state waters and a 50-foot buffer along trout streams. A discharge that raises the turbidity of receiving waters by more than 25 nephelometric turbidity units for warm water fisheries, or by more than ten for trout waters, is a separate violation for each day.