Asbestos Program

The Asbestos Program of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) administers the Georgia Asbestos Removal and Encapsulation Rule by regulating activities that disturb asbestos. EPD works with U.S. EPA Region 4 to administer that rule, the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) and the federal National Emissions Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP). EPD licenses asbestos abatement contractor firms and collects asbestos abatement and demolition project notifications.

In a Phase I ESA

ASTM E1527-21 lists asbestos-containing building materials, where no release to the environment is involved, among its non-scope considerations (section 13.1.5), which a user may choose to have assessed but which all appropriate inquiry does not require (13.1.2). A lender or program may ask for an asbestos survey; HUD's requirements for an FHA multifamily loan are on the Asbestos on an FHA multifamily loan page. The notifications also bear on the history of a property, because a demolition is notified.

• Demolition is notified with or without asbestos. EPD says all demolition projects are subject to the project notification regulations whether or not asbestos-containing material is present. Its FAQs say residences where four or fewer dwelling units are involved are exempt from demolition project notification unless they are part of a larger project, such as a department of transportation road project, a commercial or industrial development or an urban renewal project. A demolition notification is a record that a demolition was planned on the property.
• Notice comes before the work. EPD says a project notification must be submitted through GEOS, the Georgia EPD Online System, 10 business days before any demolition, renovation or asbestos abatement activity. EPD says it accepts project notifications and completion notifications only through GEOS.
• Renovation and abatement have a size threshold. EPD says any project involving 10 or more continuous linear feet or 10 or more square feet of friable asbestos-containing material requires a project notification and fees, and that friable removal projects of more than 10 square feet or 10 linear feet must be done by a Georgia licensed asbestos contractor.
• An inspection comes first. EPD says an asbestos inspection is needed for demolition projects, and for a renovation or abatement unless all material is presumed to be asbestos-containing and handled as such. Ask the owner for the inspection report on any building renovated or demolished.
• The U.S. EPA enforces the federal rules. EPD says the U.S. EPA Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division oversees AHERA and NESHAP compliance and regulatory enforcement through inspections and complaint response, and gives (404) 562-9300 for compliance questions. EPD also posts a memo on a partial transfer of asbestos regulatory responsibilities from EPD to the U.S. EPA, effective March 1, 2009.

EPD does not license asbestos inspectors, who it says must have current training from an EPA-accredited training provider. EPD's Lead-Based Paint Program regulates activities that disturb lead-based paint in target housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1978; lead-based paint is another non-scope consideration.

What the record shows

EPD tells contractors who abate friable asbestos-containing material to submit a project notification for each project. EPD says demolition waste that contains asbestos-containing material must be handled as asbestos-containing material and disposed of at a permitted landfill, and it posts a Georgia Asbestos Waste Shipment Record form, revised August 2005. The pages read do not say whether notifications can be viewed in the GEOS Public Inquiry Portal.

Where to look a site up

• The pages read link no public search or list of asbestos project notifications.
• EPD's Asbestos and Asbestos Licensing and Notifications pages describe the notifications, and its Asbestos FAQs give the thresholds above.
• The Asbestos Technical Assistance Duty Officer is at (404) 363-7026, the number on EPD's asbestos pages. EPD's LPB Program and Units page gives 404.362.7026 for the Lead-based Paint and Asbestos Unit.

Getting the file

EPD's Tradeport office holds the files for lead and asbestos. If you know which files you want to review, EPD asks that you make an appointment, by email to the Tradeport office's address on its Land Branch Open Records Requests page. Requests under the Georgia Open Records Act go through EPD's Open Records Request Portal. Give the address and the approximate date of the demolition or renovation. For inspection and enforcement records, ask the U.S. EPA as well.

Sources

Georgia Environmental Protection Division pages, read October 15, 2026:

• Asbestos, last modified December 19, 2025.
• Asbestos Licensing and Notifications, last modified September 30, 2026.
• Asbestos FAQs, no modified date in the saved page.
• Asbestos Technical Guidance, last modified September 26, 2024.
• Recovered Materials and Abatement, last modified May 12, 2025.

Georgia Environmental Protection Division pages, read October 7, 2026:

• LPB Program and Units, last modified June 30, 2026.
• Land Branch Open Records Requests, last modified July 29, 2026.