Macon-Bibb County, GA Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Chapter 21 of the Macon-Bibb County Code implements Georgia's Erosion and Sedimentation Act. Before any land-disturbing activity, the applicant must file an erosion, sedimentation and pollution control plan with the Macon Water Authority, the county's certified Local Issuing Authority, and attach a copy of any Notice of Intent filed with the state Environmental Protection Division. The Ocmulgee River Soil and Water Conservation District has 35 days to approve or disapprove the plan; no action within that window counts as approval. Permit fees run up to $80 per acre of disturbed land, split with the state Division, and the Authority may require a performance bond up to $3,000 per acre before issuing the permit.

Section 21-4 sets a minimum 25-foot buffer along the banks of all state waters, measured from the point vegetation has been wrested by normal stream flow, rising to 50 feet along designated trout streams (25 feet for small trout streams flowing 25 gallons per minute or less). No land-disturbing activity may occur inside a buffer until the site reaches final stabilization. Projects disturbing less than one acre and not part of a larger common plan of development are exempt, as is home gardening, individual landscaping, and most agricultural and forestry operations.

Single-family homes on less than an acre must still respect the trout-stream buffer. Permits can be suspended, revoked, or modified for noncompliance, and any holder may appeal to a committee of the Macon-Bibb County Commission within 30 days, with judicial review afterward in Superior Court of Macon-Bibb County.