Land Clearing Permit Requirements by State: 2026 Reference

What is the federal construction stormwater baseline for land clearing?

EPA's Construction General Permit covers stormwater discharges from construction sites that disturb one acre or more, and smaller sites that are part of a larger common plan of development or sale that will ultimately disturb one acre or more. This is the federal floor — most states run their own authorized NPDES programs and may set requirements that are broader or stricter.

Four jurisdictions in this dataset have EPA issue NPDES permits directly rather than the state: Massachusetts (EPA Region 1), New Hampshire (EPA Region 1), New Mexico (EPA Region 6), and the District of Columbia (EPA Region 3). Each still has state-level land-disturbance, erosion, wetland, and burn rules that operate separately from NPDES.

A one-acre screen is not a universal permission to clear less than one acre without a permit. State erosion and sediment control programs, local grading ordinances, wetland and waterway rules, forest-practice notification requirements, and burn authorizations can each apply independently — sometimes at disturbance areas far below one acre. Maryland and Pennsylvania, for example, both trigger an erosion and sediment control plan requirement at 5,000 square feet.

For Ocala and Marion County specifically, see the local permit guide. For land clearing scope and service comparisons, see the services overview.

What do the verification tiers mean?

Rows marked ● correctly identify the NPDES issuer and the official starting page, but do not assert a specific state threshold. Read the current state permit and local code before publishing or acting on a definitive threshold for those jurisdictions.

For the site's sourcing and correction standards, see editorial and source standards.

Land clearing permit authority by state — all 51 jurisdictions

Each row links to the official program page. The "Key overlay or routing note" column summarizes the verified state rule for ★ rows; for ● rows it confirms the routing starting point and notes that the state-specific permit threshold is pending re-verification.

What are the directly verified state-level overlays?

The 19 jurisdictions marked ★ were read directly against a primary government source. Several have disturbance thresholds well below the federal one-acre baseline. The table below summarizes the verified threshold or overlay for each, with the primary source linked.

Verified state disturbance thresholds — quick reference

These are the specific area thresholds confirmed in ★ rows. They do not describe the full permit requirement — exemptions, project types, delegated authorities, and other conditions apply.

Which permit screens apply beyond construction stormwater?

The construction stormwater permit is one layer. Land clearing can independently trigger each of the following depending on the project, parcel, and jurisdiction.

• Local grading and land-disturbance ordinances. Many municipalities and counties require a grading permit for any disturbance above a locally set threshold, often lower than any state stormwater trigger.
• Local tree-removal or canopy ordinances. Cities and counties often regulate the removal of trees above a set diameter, protected species, or trees within a designated zone. These rules apply regardless of total disturbance area.
• Federal Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Discharges of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States — including wetlands — generally require authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or from a state with an EPA-approved Section 404 program, unless an exemption applies. Certain farming and silviculture activities may be exempt subject to the recapture provision.
• State wetland and waterway permits. States often have independent programs covering activities in or near wetlands, streams, floodplains, or other regulated waters, separate from federal Section 404.
• State forest-practice notifications or permits. Alaska, California, Oregon, and Washington are all directly verified in this dataset as having separate forest-practice filing requirements for timber harvest or forestry operations on nonfederal land.
• Debris-burning authorization. Open burning of land-clearing debris is regulated separately by state or local fire authorities. In Florida, land-clearing burns require Florida Forest Service authorization before burning begins.
• Protected-resource, conservation-easement, and floodplain rules. Listed species, conservation easements, and floodplain designations can each independently require review or authorization.

None of these screens disappears because total disturbance is below one acre or because the construction stormwater permit is not triggered.

What are the specific permit layers for Florida and Marion County?

Florida's row in this dataset is directly verified (★). The verified facts:

• Florida DEP's construction-stormwater CGP is required when activity disturbs at least 1 acre (or less than 1 in a common plan) and discharges stormwater to state surface waters or an MS4.
• Florida DEP's State 404 program remains paused as of July 23, 2026; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the current Section 404 permitting authority.
• Marion County publishes a tree-removal permit application, requires right-of-way authorization for clearing in public right-of-way, and routes qualifying large land-clearing burns through Florida's forestry burn-authorization system.
• Marion County states that tree trimming and removal service providers are not required by the State of Florida or Marion County to be licensed before performing those services. That statement does not resolve permits, development approvals, environmental authorizations, or licensing for related trades.

The dedicated Ocala and Marion County guide covers these layers in more detail and includes the responsible agency contacts:

Ocala and Marion County Land-Clearing Permit Guide →

For context on Florida land-clearing costs and FDOT public bid data, see the land clearing cost per acre research page.

What are the limitations of this reference?

This dataset is a permit-routing reference. It does not determine whether a permit is required for a particular parcel.

• Rules can change. Permit renewal, legislation, agency reorganization, local ordinance, and litigation can all change requirements between verifications. The last-verified date applies only to the specific sources checked on July 23, 2026.
• ● rows do not assert a state threshold. Thirty-two rows correctly identify the NPDES issuer and official starting page but should not be read as confirming a specific disturbance threshold for that state.
• Parcel conditions control. Wetlands, streams, floodplains, protected species, conservation easements, timber classification, and common-plan status can change the result on a given property regardless of total cleared area.
• Local rules are listed only as a check category, not verified at the municipal level except where the source directly states a local threshold.
• Stated thresholds contain conditions. Exemptions, delegated programs, project-type pathways, and site-specific conditions all apply within each threshold statement. The threshold is a starting point, not a yes/no answer.
• This is not a property-specific legal determination or environmental assessment. Consult the responsible issuing agencies and, where warranted, a qualified environmental professional before undertaking land disturbance.

How should this page be cited?

Where can the permit requirements dataset be downloaded?

Version 1.0.0 contains 51 jurisdiction rows and a separate 27-source ledger. Files are served without registration, email capture, redirect tracking, or a JavaScript requirement. Dated filenames are fixed to this version; stable aliases resolve to the most recently verified release.

Dataset fields

jurisdiction, postal_code, verification_tier, npdes_authority_type, npdes_or_program_authority, official_program_page_url, national_baseline_to_check, verified_state_rule_or_overlay, other_permit_screens, local_detail, verified_on, primary_source_title, primary_source_url, secondary_source_title, secondary_source_url, local_source_urls, publication_status, method_note.

What else do readers ask about land clearing permits by state?

What are the source documents?

All sources were read directly on July 23, 2026.

Federal baseline sources (all jurisdictions)

1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NPDES State Program Authority. epa.gov/npdes/npdes-state-program-authority
2. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NPDES Permits around the Nation. epa.gov/npdes-permits
3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Construction General Permit (CGP) Frequent Questions. epa.gov/npdes/construction-general-permit-cgp-frequent-questions

State-specific primary sources (★ rows)

4. Alabama Department of Environmental Management, Do I Need Permit Coverage? adem.alabama.gov — Do I Need Permit Coverage?
5. Alaska Division of Mining, Land and Water, Alaska Forest Resources and Practices Regulations (11 AAC 95.030). dnr.alaska.gov — 11 AAC 95.030
6. Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality, General Stormwater Permits. adeq.state.ar.us — General Stormwater Permits
7. CAL FIRE, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, CalTREES. fire.ca.gov — CalTREES
8. Delaware General Assembly, Delaware Code, Title 7, Chapter 40 — Erosion and Sedimentation Control. delcode.delaware.gov/title7/c040/
9. Delaware DNREC, FY2026 CWA Section 319 Grant Guidance. FY26-CWA-Section-319-Grant-RFP.pdf
10. District of Columbia Office of Documents and Administrative Issuances, 21 DCMR Chapter 5 — Stormwater Management. 21 DCMR Chapter 5 (November 14, 2025)
11. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Construction Activity. floridadep.gov — Construction Activity
12. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Atlantic Division, Florida Regulatory Program. sad.usace.army.mil — Florida Regulatory
13. Marion County, Florida, Planning and Zoning Fees and Forms. marionfl.org — P&Z Fees and Forms
14. Marion County, Florida, Right-of-Way Permitting. marionfl.org — Right-of-Way Permitting
15. Marion County Fire Rescue, Florida, Burn Permits. marionfl.org — Burn Permits
16. Kentucky Division of Water, KYR10 Permit Page. KYR10PermitPage.pdf
17. Maryland Department of the Environment, Soil Erosion and Sediment Control. mde.maryland.gov — Erosion and Sediment Control
18. Michigan EGLE, SESC Training Manual, Units 1 through 5. michigan.gov — SESC Training Manual
19. New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, Alteration of Terrain. des.nh.gov — Alteration of Terrain
20. New Jersey Department of Agriculture, Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Program. nj.gov/agriculture — Soil Erosion Program
21. New Jersey Legislature, Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act (Chapter 251). nj.gov/agriculture — Chapter 251
22. North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Erosion and Sediment Control FAQs. deq.nc.gov — E&SC FAQs
23. Oregon Department of Forestry, E-Notification. oregon.gov/odf — E-Notification
24. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Code, 25 Pa. Code §102.4 — Erosion and Sediment Control Requirements. 025_0102.pdf
25. Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Stormwater Construction Permitting. dem.ri.gov — Stormwater Construction Permitting
26. South Carolina Department of Environmental Services, Less Than 1 Acre of Land Disturbance. des.sc.gov — Less Than 1 Acre
27. South Carolina Department of Environmental Services, 2026 CGP Formal Response to Comments. FormalResponsetoComments_2026NPDESCGP.pdf
28. Virginia General Assembly, Code of Virginia — Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Act. law.lis.virginia.gov — VESMA Act
29. Washington Department of Natural Resources, Forest Practices Application. dnr.wa.gov — Forest Practices Application