Henry County, GA Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Henry County's soil erosion, sedimentation and pollution control ordinance, adopted by Ordinance No. 17-16 effective December 5, 2017, requires a permit from the local issuing authority before any land-disturbing activity begins inside the county's jurisdictional boundaries, together with a copy of any notice of intent submitted to the state Environmental Protection Division where required. Section 3-5-555 requires the applicant to submit eight copies of an erosion, sedimentation and pollution control plan, along with a certification that the plan preparer visited the site before drafting it, and caps the state-mandated portion of the permit fee at $80 per acre of land disturbed.

Small, exempt activities include home gardens, individual landscaping, minor land-disturbing repairs and maintenance, fence installation, and single-family home construction that disturbs less than one acre and is not part of a larger development, though even exempt homes near trout streams must keep a buffer of at least 50 horizontal feet under § 3-5-553. Inspectors from the local issuing authority periodically check permitted sites under § 3-5-556 to confirm best management practices match the approved plan, and a discharge that raises turbidity in receiving waters by more than 25 nephelometric turbidity units (10 for trout waters) is a separate daily violation. Anyone aggrieved by a suspension, revocation, or permit condition can appeal to the Superior Court of Henry County within 30 days under § 3-5-559.