CONSTRUCTION PLANS

The Engineering Department, in conjunction with the Community Development Department, is responsible for reviewing and approving construction plans and associated documents.  Bryan County has implemented digital plan review and by clicking on the above link, you will enter the project portal and commence the construction plan review process.  The following documents/plans may be submitted through this portal:

• Clearing and Grading  
• Subdivision Construction (road projects)
• Site Development (non-residential)
• Record Drawings
• Final Plats
• Traffic Impact Analysis

If you have not already set up an account, you will need to create your account before you may commence the submittal process.  When setting up the account, you will need to provide an email address for receiving correspondence and notifications.  Additionally, you will need to identify the person responsible for paying application fees (financial contact). 

Each application has different submittal requirements, and as you navigate through the portal, required documents will be identified.  Construction plan drawings must be uploaded as a .pdf.  Once your project is submitted, staff will review for completeness.   If the submittal is complete, you will receive a notice along with an invoice for the plan review fee(s).  Fees must be received within five business days or the review process will be placed on hold.  Community Development is now able to accept online payments.  See Credit Card Payments heading below for more details.  If you do not wish pay online, you may deliver or mail your payment to the Community Development Department office at 66 Captain Matthew Freeman Drive, Ste. 111 Richmond Hill, GA 31324 or 51 N. Courthouse Street, Pembroke, GA 31321.  When mailing in your check, please include the project number either on the check or in your correspondence.

If staff determines during the initial review for completeness required documents are missing, staff will notify you and your project will be placed on hold until documents are uploaded. 

During the review of the project, you will not be able to upload any additional documents.  Once the review is complete, you will receive one set of comments from all reviewers.  All comments, including marked up plans, will be sent via email or through the portal.  Review times vary depending on the type of application.  

Once the drawings/plans are approved, you will receive a notice of approval.  For construction projects, you may not commence construction until the pre-construction conference is held.  

If you have any questions or need assistance with the portal, you may contact Samantha Frantz - sfrantz@bryancountyga.gov or Dawn Monaco - dmonaco@bryancountyga.gov.  If you have technical questions about engineering standards, you need to contact the Engineering Department staff.

Bryan County has adopted an Engineering Design Manual ("EDM"), including standard details.  The EDM should be consulted in conjunction with the UDO requirements when preparing any type of plat or construction drawings for County review and approval.  

Engineering Design Manual

Standard Details

September 2024 Standard Details - Sanitary Gravity Sewer Line Testing and Acceptance

Updates

Coastal Soil and Water Conservation District

The Coastal Soil and Water Conservation District has updated their procedures as of September 3, 2020.  They have issued a new form for erosion and sediment review applications and identified a new mailing address for Erosion and Sediment Review Contributions.  See attached information and new form.

NPDES Construction Permit

The Georgia EPD has reissued General NPDES Permits Nos. GAR100001, GAR100002, and GAR100003 authorizing stormwater discharges from construction activities to waters of the State.  The reissued permits are now in effect and address discharges through July 31, 2028.  There are updated rules/requirements for transferring permits and for Secondary Permittees.  If you have an existing NOI, which was filed during the 2018 permit extension period, you should review EPD's Announcement and file the appropriate Secondary Permittee form  as required.  

Industrial Pre-Treatment

Bryan County and the City of Savannah entered into a Sewer Service Agreement on December 8, 2020.  This Agreement identifies the pre-treatment requirements for wastewater being sent to Savannah’s wastewater treatment facility by projects located in unincorporated North Bryan County.  For proposed industrial and commercial projects located in North Bryan County, applicants for site development permits and commercial building permits must obtain approval(s) from the City of Savannah prior to discharging wastewater to the Bryan County/City of Savannah wastewater system. 

 Prior to applying for a Bryan County site development permit, applicants must submit the “City of Savannah Industrial Pretreatment Program Industrial Discharge Survey” Form to Savannah.  DO NOT submit the Discharge Survey to Bryan County.  Savannah’s response to the Discharge Survey (no pretreatment required or permit required) MUST be included in the site development application packet submitted to Bryan County.  Failure to include Savannah’s response with your application packet will delay the review of your site development permit application. 

 If the City of Savannah determines industrial pretreatment is required, the applicant shall obtain a preliminary industrial pretreatment permit (City of Savannah - Industrial Discharge Application) from Savannah and submit the preliminary permit with the vertical building permit application.  Failure to include this preliminary permit in the vertical building permit application packet will slow down the review of your project.  Prior to the Final Building Inspection and Certificate of Occupancy, the applicant shall schedule the applicable pre-treatment inspection with Savannah and notify Matt Gilmore (mgilmore@bryancountyga.gov) of the inspection date and time.  A certificate of occupancy will not be issued until the City of Savannah approves the applicable pre-treatment inspection(s).

If you have questions about Savannah’s procedures or requirements, contact the Water Reclamation Department at 912-651-6620.  If you have questions about Bryan County’s wastewater program, contact Matt Gilmore at 912-944-5695.

Unified Development Ordinance Implementation

The County adopted its Unified Development Ordinance on December 8, 2020, with an effective date of January 12, 2021.  With the adoption of the UDO, Engineering and Community Development are updating processes, forms, checklists, etc.  Keep checking our web pages for updates. 

Construction Plan Checklist - Subdivision and Non-Subdivision

The Engineering Department and Community Development Department have updated the Construction Plan (Major Subdivision) Checklist to reference the new UDO and Engineering Design Manual Requirements.  You may access the February 2021 checklist here.  The site development plan (non-subdivision) checklist has been updated too.  You may access the February 2021 checklist here.

Will Serves

The County will now require will serve letters from the applicable utility providers.  Will serves need to be submitted with sketch plat (formerly preliminary plat), site plan, and construction drawings.  Contact the Utility Providers directly to start the will serve process.  You will need to provide a copy of the sketch plat/preliminary plat and/or site plan to the provider.  If you are unsure which utility will be providing service to your project, contact the provider directly to verify.  The County does not verify service areas.

Plat Checklists

The Engineering Department and Community Development Department have updated the plat checklist.  This checklist should be used in preparing sketch, preliminary, final, and minor plats.  You may access the February 2021 checklist here.

Right-of-Way Dedication

For all subdivisions that include new roads to be dedicated to the County, a formal warranty deed will be required as part of the final plat process.  A Template Warranty Deed is available for review.  After an applicant submits a final plat and Engineering and Community Development have reviewed, the final warranty deed will be provided for execution.  Final Plats will not be signed by the County until the signed warranty deed is returned to Community Development.  Once the final plat is recorded, Engineering and Community Development will present the formal dedication documents to the Board of Commissioners for adoption. 

Public Utility Easements

For any project with public utilities outside of public right-of-ways, a public utility easement will be required prior to final plat approval or final site development approval.  A Template Water and Sewer Easement document is available for review. After the final plat or final site plan has been submitted for review and approval, the Engineering Department will provide the final water and sewer easement document for execution.  Final plats and final site plans will not be signed until the executed easement is returned to the Community Development Department.  After the final plat is recorded or final site development plan is approved, Engineering and Community Development will present the water and sewer easement to the Board of Commissioners for adoption.

Utility Encroachment Agreement

For any project with utilities needing to encroach within an existing County Utility Easement, a Utility Encroachment Agreement will be required.  A Template Utility Encroachment Agreement document is available for review.  After the draft Utility Encroachment Agreement is accepted by the Engineering Department, it will be presented to the Board of Commissioners for final execution.  This agreement is part of the encroachment permit application process, and to start that process, click on the link above and select the permit portal on the left-hand side of the screen.

Credit Card Payments

Bryan County is now able to accept online credit card payments for certain fees.  Once plan submittals have been deemed complete, an invoice will be sent to the applicant.  Payment may be made through the online portal by clicking on the payment tab on the left hand side of the main page and entering the invoice number.  The online payment portal may be used by anyone and is not limited to the applicant.  We are unable to accept credit card payments for Impact, NPDES, and Water/Sewer Tap fees.  These fees will need to be cash or check payments.  Cash and check payments are still  accepted in person.  Additionally, checks may be mailed to either the Pembroke or Richmond Hill Community Development Department.