Is an erosion control plan the same as a SWPPP?

Sometimes it is the same document under a different name, and sometimes it is a second, separate plan required by a state erosion-control law on top of the permit. Read your state page and then your permit before assuming one covers the other.

Does the generated document use my state's name for it?

The plan is titled as a SWPPP and carries your state's permit citation inside it. If your permit uses another name, put that name on the cover before you submit it — the file is a .docx precisely so you can.

Why does my state call it something other than a SWPPP?

The document is the same but the name is not: Texas and Ohio call it an SWP3, Kansas an SWP2, Alabama a CBMPP, Rhode Island an SESC plan, Vermont an EPSC plan, South Carolina a C-SWPPP and Pennsylvania splits it into an E&S plan and a PCSM plan.

Source: SwpppDraft 50-state preparer-requirement table, from a scan of all 50 construction general permitsVerified 2026-08-03

Why the name matters

Searching for the wrong noun is how people conclude their state has no requirement. The federal permit calls it a stormwater pollution prevention plan; state permits rename it, and a few split it into two documents with different rules for each half.

Pennsylvania is the case worth knowing: its erosion and sediment control plan and its post-construction stormwater management plan are separate, and its licensed-professional requirement attaches to site implementation rather than to writing either one.

One document, one federal contents list

Whatever it is called, the contents list a permit works from is recognisably the federal one (Part 7.2): who the operators are, what the activity is, a site map, the controls, the inspection procedure, the records. The state clause sits on top of that.

Questions people ask

Is an erosion control plan the same as a SWPPP?: Sometimes it is the same document under a different name, and sometimes it is a second, separate plan required by a state erosion-control law on top of the permit. Read your state page and then your permit before assuming one covers the other.
Does the generated document use my state's name for it?: The plan is titled as a SWPPP and carries your state's permit citation inside it. If your permit uses another name, put that name on the cover before you submit it — the file is a .docx precisely so you can.

The states this question turns on

Texas SWPPP requirements — Texas requires the SWP3 to be developed and implemented by the primary operator; the permit contains no PE, CPESC or licensing language for preparation.
Ohio SWPPP requirements — Ohio asks for a "professional experienced in the design and implementation" of erosion and sediment controls but names no licence, exam or issuing body, and applies the same clause to 1–5 acre sites. The gate scan's summary table counts Ohio as C; the "experienced professional" wording reads as B2 in its per-state row — self-preparation is allowed either way.
Pennsylvania SWPPP requirements — Pennsylvania requires both plans to be prepared by a person "trained and experienced" in the relevant methods; the licensed professional requirement attaches to site implementation, not preparation.
South Carolina SWPPP requirements — South Carolina requires a licensed engineer, landscape architect or Tier B land surveyor to stamp the plan only above 2 disturbed acres; at or below 2 acres a sketched plan with no seal is accepted.
Alabama SWPPP requirements — Alabama requires the construction best-management-practice plan to be certified by a Qualified Credentialed Professional, and every route to that credential starts from a professional licence or certification.

All 50 states, in one table

The documents this affects

Texas SWPPP (the plan itself)

What we are, and what stays your responsibility

SwpppDraft is a document generation tool. It does not provide engineering services, legal services, or compliance consulting, and no engineer or attorney reviews what it produces.
Everything in the document is built from the site facts you enter. Checking that those facts are right, and that the resulting plan fits your project, is yours to do.
We do not file anything on your behalf, we do not certify or endorse your compliance, and we accept no liability for what happens when you use the document.
State-level requirements carry the date we verified them. County and city rules are not covered — some local jurisdictions require a licensed preparer even where the state does not, and you have to check that yourself.
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