SWPPP requirements in Rutherford County (Murfreesboro)

State coverage plus separate county and City of Murfreesboro land-disturbance permits, with the real fees and pre-construction steps for the region's fastest-growing market.

Rutherford County is the fastest-growing county in the region, and Murfreesboro is at the center of it. Building here means the statewide Construction General Permit plus a local land-disturbance program, and, as in most of Middle Tennessee, the local program depends on whether your site sits in the unincorporated county or inside the City of Murfreesboro. The two have separate offices, fees, and forms.

The state permit is your baseline

Disturb one acre or more (or a lot within a larger common plan) and you need Construction General Permit coverage: a SWPPP, a Notice of Intent (CN-0940), twice-weekly inspections on CN-1173, and a Notice of Termination at the end. If that is new to you, start with Do I need a SWPPP in Tennessee?

Rutherford County's Land Disturbance Permit

For unincorporated county sites, the Rutherford County Planning and Engineering Department issues a Land Disturbance Permit for any clearing, grading, or excavation over one acre. You submit plans and SWPPP copies to Engineering (the office asks for four full-size and two half-size plan sets plus two SWPPP copies) and attend a pre-construction meeting, where your EPSC specialist must be present. Fees are due at that meeting:

On the water-quality side, development and redevelopment with over 15,000 square feet of impervious surface must remove 80 percent of total suspended solids, often through a treatment train of post-construction BMPs. The county Engineering Department is in the Goldstein Building at 1 South Public Square, Room 200, Murfreesboro; the published contact is 615-898-7732.

If you are building inside the City of Murfreesboro

The city runs its own program. A City of Murfreesboro Land Disturbance Permit is required for disturbing one or more acres, and before the pre-construction meeting you submit a signed application, evidence of Planning Commission approval, and a notarized stormwater maintenance agreement to the City Engineering Department (615-893-6441, 111 W. Vine St.), at least five working days ahead. The application fee is $150 plus $50 per acre of disturbed ground or portion thereof; a 5.25-acre site, for example, rounds to $150 plus six times $50, or $450. Your EPSC specialist and general contractor both attend the Pre-Con. The city permit expires if work does not start within 180 days of issuance or is not complete within 18 months of commencement. One helpful exception: for single-family homebuilding, a separate LDP is not required, the EPSC conditions are folded into the homebuilding permit.

What this means for your SWPPP

Confirm your jurisdiction first, county versus City of Murfreesboro, because the office, forms, and fees differ. Then make sure your SWPPP supports the local review: the plan sets Engineering wants to see, the pre-construction meeting with your EPSC specialist, and the post-construction water-quality treatment if you cross the impervious threshold. Verify the current fees and submittals with the office that governs your parcel.

Getting your Rutherford County SWPPP

SWPPP Builder generates a field-ready Tennessee SWPPP built to the state Construction General Permit in about an hour. Pricing is flat and posted up front: $349 for a standard non-engineered contractor SWPPP, $99 for a single-family homebuilder plan (built on TDEC form CN-1249), and $499 when your site needs engineered or pre-approved plans. That is a fraction of the $1,500 to $5,000 a consultant typically charges, and you keep the file in your account to reuse and update as the job changes.