Dougherty County, GA Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Sec. 5-1 opens the chapter, titled the Dougherty County Stormwater Quality Management and Discharge Control Resolution, with findings that runoff from developed land overtaxes the carrying capacity of existing streams and storm sewers and that Dougherty County is required to obtain a federal permit for stormwater discharge under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The chapter applies to all water entering the separate storm drain system generated on any developed and undeveloped lands lying within Dougherty County, and must be no less restrictive than parallel state stormwater law.

Sec. 5-1(e) puts the Dougherty County Public Works Director in charge of administering, implementing and enforcing the chapter, with authority delegable to designees. Enforcement itself runs through Sec. 5-91: the director can issue written notices of violation, negotiate consent orders, call show-cause hearings, and issue compliance or cease-and-desist orders, including a stop-work order that halts construction until the county confirms stormwater practices are corrected. Sec. 00 per day of violation, plus recovery of the county's investigation and remediation costs. A property owner can appeal a notice of violation to the county administrator within five days under Sec.

5-93, and if a violation is not corrected, Sec. 5-94 lets the county enter the property and abate it, billing the owner and filing a lien if the bill goes unpaid.