Environmental Rules in Indianapolis, IN (2026)
5 verified environmental rules for Indianapolis, Indiana, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Stormwater Management
Marion County's Stormwater Management District regulates drainage and collection across the consolidated city, funded by a per-parcel user fee based on measured impervious area.
Indianapolis Marion County Stormwater District
Some RestrictionsRevised Code of the Consolidated City and County (Indianapolis - Marion County), Sec. 676-101(a)
The Marion County Stormwater Management District is created to provide for the collection and disposal of stormwater in a manner that protects the public health, safety and welfare.(b)The function of the District, through the department of public works and the department of business and neighborhood services, is to provide for the safe and efficient capture and conveyance of stormwater runoff, ...
Erosion Control
Construction sites in the Consolidated City must minimize erosion, stabilize exposed soil within set deadlines, and trap sediment with basins, silt fences or similar controls until the site is stabilized.
Consolidated Indianapolis Erosion and Sediment Rules
Some RestrictionsCode of Indianapolis & Marion County, Sec. 561-382, 561-386 (Minimum Standards for Land Alteration to Control Erosion and Sediment)
Land alteration which strips the land of vegetation and other land stabilizing materials, including regrading, shall be done in a way that will minimize erosion. Whenever feasible, natural vegetation shall be retained, protected and supplemented. Cut and fill operations shall be kept to a minimum to ensure conformity with existing topography so as to create the least potential erosion. Sediment...
Flood Zones
Before any development activity begins in a mapped special flood hazard area (SFHA) in Marion County, the property owner must obtain a Floodplain Development Permit under Sec. 565-303. Sec. 565-304 extends that requirement to any structure that is located, extended, converted or structurally altered, and to any land or stream alteration, within the SFHA, with violations treated as a common nuisance under Sec. 565-309.
Indianapolis Requires a Floodplain Development Permit
Significant RestrictionsRevised Code of the Consolidated City and County (Indianapolis - Marion County), Sec. 565-303, 565-304(a),(c), 565-309 (Floodplain development permit)
Sec. 565-303. A floodplain development permit shall be required in conformance with the provisions of this chapter prior to the commencement of any development activities in areas of special flood hazard. Sec. 565-304. (a)No structure shall hereafter be located, extended, converted, or structurally altered within the SFHA without full compliance with the terms of this chapter and other applicab...
Boat Dock Permits
A boat dock on Eagle Creek Reservoir, the city-owned reservoir inside Indianapolis, needs city sign-off before it goes in the water. Sec. 631-222 requires a 'permission to encroach' from the Board of Public Works, a drainage permit under Chapter 561, and a dock permit from the Department of Parks and Recreation for any dock reaching below the reservoir's 815-foot mean-sea-level contour line.
Indianapolis: Eagle Creek Reservoir Dock Permit Required
Some RestrictionsRevised Code of the Consolidated City and County (Indianapolis - Marion County), Sec. 631-222(a) (Permits required for improvements and docks, Eagle Creek Reservoir)
(a)Any person who constructs a new dock or improvement, modifies a dock or improvement, or owns an existing dock or improvement any part of which is or will be located below the eight hundred fifteen (815) feet mean sea level (M.S.L.) contour line on Eagle Creek Reservoir must secure the following:(1)Permission to encroach issued by the board of public works pursuant to its interest as the hold...
Flood Elevation Requirements
New construction and substantially improved buildings in Indianapolis and Marion County's mapped flood hazard areas must set their lowest floor, including any basement, at least two feet above the base flood elevation. That two-foot buffer is called the flood protection grade. Nonresidential buildings can floodproof to that elevation instead of raising the structure, but only with an engineer's or architect's certification.
Indianapolis Requires 2-Ft Freeboard Above Base Flood
Some RestrictionsRevised Code of the Consolidated City and County (Indianapolis - Marion County), Sec. 565-501(b)(2)a-b (Flood protection grade required); see also Sec. 565-201 (definition of 'Flood protection grade')
Flood protection grade (FPG) is the BFE plus two (2) feet at any given location in the SFHA. (See "freeboard".) ... Flood protection grade required. Except as specifically provided in this section, no building shall be erected, reconstructed, expanded, structurally altered, converted, used, relocated, restored, or improved unless the lowest floor elevation including any basement is provided and...