GUIDE · LAND CLEARING & DEBRIS BURNING
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or call (678) 863-5620The short answer
Land clearing typically runs $500 to $2,000 an acre for lightly wooded ground and $3,600 to $5,600 for heavy forest, per HomeAdvisor's 2026 figures. Burning the debris needs a Georgia Forestry Commission permit, and from May 1 to September 30 EPD bans open burning in Putnam, Morgan, Jasper and Jones counties.
Reviewed by A Class Septic Services · Last updated
Who does the work
One crew, raw ground to a working system
Key facts
Each row links to the agency, code or publisher it comes from. Tap a source to check it yourself.
| Topic | What it says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average clearing job (national) | $3,780; normal range $1,397 to $6,176 | HomeAdvisor: Land Clearing Cost (updated Jun 17, 2026), 2026 |
| Per acre, lightly wooded | $500 to $2,000 | Same source as above |
| Per acre, heavily forested | $3,600 to $5,600 | Same source as above |
| Grading after clearing | $1,000 to $3,300 extra | Same source as above |
| 2026 summer burn ban | May 1 to September 30 in 54 counties, including Putnam, Morgan, Jasper and Jones; Baldwin, Greene and Hancock are not on the list | GA EPD press release, Apr. 29, 2026: Annual Ban on Open Burning, 2026 |
| Land-clearing burns | Still need a Georgia Forestry Commission permit, even outside the ban | Same source as above |
| Lake Oconee shoreline | No mechanical clearing or grubbing in the 25-foot buffer or on Georgia Power land without its written approval | Georgia Power: Lake Oconee Shoreline Guidelines (PDF) |
| Greene County permit trigger | Erosion plan, land disturbance permit and EPD notice when work disturbs over 1 acre or is within 200 feet of state waters | Greene County, GA: Erosion Control Permit Requirements |
Plain definitions
County by county
| County | May 1–Sept 30 burn ban (2026) | Lake shoreline | Clearing notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Putnam | Yes | Oconee and Sinclair | Georgia Power buffer rules on both lakes; tree counts required with a new Sinclair dwelling plan. | 123 |
| Greene | No | Oconee | County erosion plan and permit within 200 ft of state waters or over 1 acre; single-family LDP under 1 acre issued at no charge. | 12 |
| Morgan | Yes | Oconee (north end) | Georgia Power Lake Oconee buffer rules apply on the shoreline. | 12 |
| Baldwin | No | Sinclair | Georgia Power Sinclair dwelling rules apply on lease lots; GFC permit still needed for clearing burns. | 12 |
| Hancock | No | Sinclair (east) and Oconee (south) | Georgia Power rules apply on both shorelines. | 12 |
| Jasper | Yes | Neither lake (Jackson Lake area) | Summer ban applies; state 25-ft buffer on streams and ponds. | 12 |
| Jones | Yes | None | Summer ban applies (West Central District list). | 1 |
Last updated 2026-10-13 from EPD's April 29, 2026 release. The list is set each year; check it before you light a pile.
What it costs
Land clearing job (normal range)
$1,397–$6,176
per job
Average $3,780.
Typical market range — HomeAdvisor: Land Clearing Cost (updated Jun 17, 2026), 2026
Lightly wooded acre
$500–$2,000
per acre
Typical market range — HomeAdvisor: Land Clearing Cost (updated Jun 17, 2026), 2026
Heavily forested acre
$3,600–$5,600
per acre
Typical market range — HomeAdvisor: Land Clearing Cost (updated Jun 17, 2026), 2026
Grading and leveling after clearing
$1,000–$3,300
per job
Typical market range — HomeAdvisor: Land Clearing Cost (updated Jun 17, 2026), 2026
Single stump removal
$195–$609
per stump
Typical market range — HomeAdvisor: Tree Stump Removal Cost (updated Jun 19, 2026), 2026
Dirt removal / haul-off
$8–$25
per cubic yard
Typical market range — HomeAdvisor: Excavation Cost (updated Jun 20, 2026), 2026
Typical third-party market ranges, not our prices. Estimates from A Class Septic Services are free, and military members and first responders get 10% off.
Free estimate: (678) 863-5620How the job runs
Get a survey showing the Georgia Power project boundary and the shoreline, and mark the 25-foot state buffer from the point of wrested vegetation. Nothing mechanical happens inside that strip on Lake Oconee without Georgia Power's written approval.
Locate the likely drain field and its repair area early. Machines parked or pushing over that ground compact clay, and if later grading or cuts change the depth, Georgia requires the soil evaluation and perc tests to be redone.
GA DPH Manual for On-Site Sewage Management Systems (March 2026), Section B: General Site Provisions
Land disturbance permits come from the county; Greene, for example, wants an erosion plan, permit and EPD notice for jobs over an acre or within 200 feet of state waters, with a 14-day wait after the notice is filed.
Grubbing stumps is digging. Contact 811 at least three business days ahead so buried power, water and communication lines are marked.
Georgia 811: Contact Georgia 811 Before You Dig, How it Works (2025)
Erosion controls go in on the downhill side before clearing starts, so the first rain carries no red clay into the cove.
Logs, brush and stumps get separated. Stumps cannot go back into the ground near a septic tank: Georgia requires tank backfill free of stumps and similar debris.
Burn only outside the ban and only with a GFC permit for clearing debris, or chip, compost, or haul to a grinding operation or inert landfill, which EPD lists as alternatives.
GA EPD press release, Apr. 29, 2026: Annual Ban on Open Burning
Seed, straw or mulch bare slopes promptly. Cleared clay on a lake lot erodes with the first summer storm.
Your options
OPTION 01
When it fits: Greene, Baldwin or Hancock any time conditions allow, or the ban counties from October through April, always with the GFC land-clearing permit.
OPTION 02
When it fits: Lots where the chips can be spread on paths or slopes outside the septic area.
OPTION 03
When it fits: Tight lots, gated communities and anywhere burning is banned or impractical.
The whole story
Inland in Morgan or Jasper, clearing a pasture edge is mostly a question of price. On a Lake Oconee lot, Georgia Power's shoreline guidelines decide the first 25 feet for you: no grubbing or reshaping the contour in that buffer or on project land without written approval. Clear it anyway and Georgia Power can require a revegetation plan, pull docks at the owner's expense and stop issuing lake-use permits.
Georgia Power does consider tree removal to make room for a house, seawall or septic installation, but it asks for 1:1 replanting with native species. On Lake Sinclair the paperwork for a new dwelling includes a landscaping plan that counts trees 4 inches in diameter or larger coming out within the building perimeter and the driveway.
The septic system shapes the clearing too. On the clay ridges between the coves, the one patch of deep, well-drained soil is often where everybody wants to park the equipment. Keep machines off it.
FAQ
Straight answers, with the rule or record behind them. Still unsure? Call and ask the crew that digs.
(678) 863-5620HomeAdvisor's June 2026 figures put one acre at $500 to $2,000 if it is lightly wooded and $3,600 to $5,600 if it is heavily forested, with grading and leveling adding $1,000 to $3,300. Lake lots often cost more per acre because of slope, buffers, erosion controls and the time it takes to haul debris out on narrow roads.
Source: HomeAdvisor: Land Clearing Cost (updated Jun 17, 2026)
No. Putnam is one of 54 counties under EPD's annual open-burning ban from May 1 through September 30, 2026, and the ban covers land-clearing debris. Morgan, Jasper and Jones are also on the list. From October through April you still need a Georgia Forestry Commission permit for a land-clearing burn.
Source: GA EPD press release, Apr. 29, 2026: Annual Ban on Open Burning
Greene, Baldwin and Hancock were not on EPD's 2026 summer ban list. That does not make clearing burns permit-free: the Georgia Forestry Commission still requires a permit for land-clearing, agricultural and forestry burns, obtained through the county GFC office. The list is set each year, so check the current release before burning.
Source: GA EPD press release, Apr. 29, 2026: Annual Ban on Open Burning
Outside the ban, GFC no longer requires a permit for hand-piled natural yard debris, but the burn must be at least 25 feet from woods or brush and 50 feet from structures, between sunrise and sunset, and attended the whole time. Machine-pushed clearing piles are a different category and still need a permit.
Source: GA EPD press release, Apr. 29, 2026: Annual Ban on Open Burning
Through the Georgia Forestry Commission, online at GaTrees.org, by calling 1-877-OK2-BURN, or from a local GFC office. The GFC warns that genuine permits are free and that third-party websites charging for them are a scam. Your city or county may add local rules on top of the state permit.
Not without permission. Georgia Power prohibits mechanical clearing, such as grubbing or changing the land contour, in the 25-foot vegetative buffer or on its project land without prior written approval, and you need the county's buffer permits first. Unauthorized clearing can lead to a revegetation order, dock removal at your expense and loss of lake permits.
Source: Georgia Power: Lake Oconee Shoreline Guidelines (PDF)
It can. Compaction from heavy equipment damages clay soils, and Georgia's septic manual says that if grading or cuts will change the depth of a proposed absorption field, the soil evaluation and percolation tests must be done again. Mark the drain field and repair area before clearing and keep traffic off them.
Source: GA DPH Manual for On-Site Sewage Management Systems (March 2026), Section B: General Site Provisions
Keep going
Sources
Rules, costs and local facts on this page link to the agency, code or publisher that states them. Cost figures are third-party market ranges, not our prices — estimates are free.
Reviewed by A Class Septic Services · Last updated
Ready when you are
Per-acre prices are the easy part. On a lake lot the real questions are what you may cut, how close to the water, and whether the brush pile can be burned in your county this month.
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