Your Contractor Could Legally Drain Your Bank Account And You Signed For It
Before one blade of grass gets cut. Before one permit gets pulled. Before a single piece of equipment rolls onto your Georgia property — you need to ask the right questions.
Most landowners don't. They shake a hand. They take a low bid. They trust a stranger with their land and their money.
Then comes the violation notice. The flooded yard. The erosion fine from the Georgia EPD. The bill with no end.
Here's the truth nobody says out loud: Georgia's land-disturbance laws don't care whose fault it was. They care whose land it is. Yours.
Under the Erosion and Sedimentation Act and NPDES permit requirements, any project disturbing one acre or more demands an NOI filing, an approved erosion control plan, and certified oversight. Miss a step — your problem.
Question #1 — and it's non-negotiable: Ask your contractor: Are you licensed, bonded, and insured in Georgia?
Not "yes I think so." PROOF. A valid Georgia contractor's license. General liability coverage. Workers' comp.
Because if a crew member gets hurt on your property and there's no workers' comp? That bill is yours. Not theirs. Yours.
This is not bureaucracy. This is SURVIVAL.
Call your homeowner's insurance agent too. Ask if you need additional coverage during a grading project. Most people never do. Most people pay for that silence later.
The 11 questions exist because the wrong contractor makes your land, your budget, and your legal standing their casualty — not their concern.
Ask before you sign. Or pay after you don't.
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