Delaware SWPPP requirements (2026)
Can I write my own SWPPP in Delaware?
Delaware requires the SWPPP to be prepared by a licensed professional. This tool is not usable in Delaware. Basis: CGP WPCC 3082/20 (NPDES DE0051268, effective 2026-03-11), Part 1.B(b) and the definitions section.
Who may prepare the plan in Delaware
The construction site must operate under a Plan that has been designed by a licensed professional and reviewed and approved by the appropriate plan approval agency… Licensed Professional in the State of Delaware means a design professional licensed under 24 Del.C. Ch. 2, 24 Del.C. Ch. 27, or 24 Del.C. Ch. 28.
Our reading of CGP WPCC 3082/20 (NPDES DE0051268, effective 2026-03-11), Part 1.B(b) and the definitions section:Delaware requires the plan to be designed by a licensed professional — an architect, landscape architect or professional engineer — with no small-site exemption.
How Delaware differs from the federal baseline
States with no NPDES authorisation of their own run on the EPA 2022 Construction General Permit, whose "qualified person" definition is a knowledge and skill threshold that the operator's own staff can meet — it names no licence. Delaware goes further than that baseline: it names a credential, and the operator's own familiarity with the permit does not satisfy it.
Federal baseline: EPA 2022 CGP (no state NPDES authorisation), Appendix A definitions.
What that means for a 1–5 acre site
Below one disturbed acre, federal construction general permit coverage is usually not required at all unless the site is part of a larger common plan of development. Check whether you need a SWPPP before you pay for one.
Above five disturbed acres you are outside the 1–5 acre range this tool was built for. Several states change their preparer requirements above five acres, so re-read your state permit before relying on a self-prepared plan.
County and city rules are not covered here. This page answers the state-level question only; a local authority can require more, and that is for you to check.
Delaware SWPPP questions
- Can I write my own SWPPP in Delaware?
- Delaware requires the SWPPP to be prepared by a licensed professional. This tool is not usable in Delaware.
- Which credentials does Delaware accept on a SWPPP?
- Delaware requires the plan to be designed by a licensed professional — an architect, landscape architect or professional engineer — with no small-site exemption. The clause is CGP WPCC 3082/20 (NPDES DE0051268, effective 2026-03-11), Part 1.B(b) and the definitions section, read on 2026-08-03.
- Which acreage counts — the whole site or the disturbed part?
- Disturbed area is what these clauses measure, and it is what the questionnaire asks for — a 40-acre parcel with 1.5 disturbed acres is a 1.5-acre project for this purpose. Total site area is asked for separately and does not decide the answer.
- Does Delaware run its own permit, or the federal one?
- On its own. Delaware issues the construction general permit or implementing regulation this page was read from — CGP WPCC 3082/20 (NPDES DE0051268, effective 2026-03-11), Part 1.B(b) and the definitions section. The federal permit still sets what a SWPPP has to contain; the state document is what decides who may write it here.
- What does a SWPPP cost in Delaware?
- A consultant-prepared SWPPP for a small site is commonly quoted at around $497 — a market figure inherited from our own competitor review, which we have not re-verified. In Delaware that cost is not optional: the permit requires a credentialed preparer, so there is no self-prepared route to weigh it against, and SwpppDraft cannot serve Delaware at any price.
- Do county or city rules apply on top of this?
- They can, and this page does not cover them. The scan behind it answered the state-level question only, so a county or municipality in Delaware may require more — a stamped plan, a local permit, or a different form — even where the state permit does not. Ask the authority that will receive your paperwork before you write the plan, not after.
- Who should I go to in Delaware instead?
- Contact a professional licensed in that state (a professional engineer, or the credential the permit names) to prepare and seal the plan. We do not offer that service and we do not refer or take a commission.
Source and verification
CGP WPCC 3082/20 (NPDES DE0051268, effective 2026-03-11), Part 1.B(b) and the definitions section. Read the source document State-law information on this page was verified on 2026-08-03. County and city rules are not covered. Delaware in context:its row in the 50-state table.
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.
- When the product opens, our total liability will be capped at the amount you paid us. Today that amount is zero, because nothing is for sale.