Environmental Rules in Taunton, MA (2026)
4 verified environmental rules for Taunton, Massachusetts, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Stormwater Management
Chapter 381 of the Taunton Code bans dumping or discharging anything but stormwater into the City's storm drain system, a watercourse, or the waters of the Commonwealth. The Department of Public Works administers the ban, issues written enforcement orders, and can fine a violator up to $300 for each day the violation continues.
Taunton Stormwater Discharge & Drainage Rules
Significant RestrictionsTaunton City Code §§ 381-1(A), 381-6(A), 381-10(D)
The purpose of this chapter is to protect the health, safety, general welfare, and environment by regulating illicit connections and discharges to the storm drain system and controlling the adverse effects of construction site stormwater runoff and post-construction stormwater runoff which is necessary for the protection of the City of Taunton's water bodies and groundwater. ... Prohibition of ...
Erosion Control
Taunton requires a stormwater management permit before any construction activity disturbs an acre of land or more, or a smaller phase of a larger project that will eventually reach an acre. The permit must come with an erosion and sedimentation control plan, and skipping the plan's requirements is itself a violation of the City ordinances.
Taunton Construction Erosion & Sediment Control
Some RestrictionsTaunton City Code §§ 381-12(A)-(B), 381-17
No person may undertake a construction activity, including clearing, grading and excavation, that results in a land disturbance that will disturb equal to or greater than one acre of land or will disturb less than one acre of land but is part of a larger common plan of development or sale that will ultimately disturb equal to or greater than one acre of land without a permit from the authorized...
Flood Zones
Taunton overlays a Floodplain Overlay District on top of every zone A and AE area shown on the 2021 Bristol County FEMA flood maps. Every proposed construction or development inside it, from new buildings to fences and sheds, needs a permit, mobile homes are banned outright, and any grading, dredging or paving needs sign-off before work starts.
Taunton Floodplain Overlay District Rules
Significant Restrictions§ 440-1306A, D
A. The Floodplain Overlay District. established by this chapter, and all uses and buildings permitted in the underlying district shall be permitted in the Floodplain Overlay District, subject to the provisions and restrictions of this article, except that no mobile homes shall be permitted in the Floodplain Overlay District and that any excavation, fill, grading, mining, dredging, or paving sha...
Flood Elevation Requirements
Any construction, filling, grading, mining or paving inside Taunton's Floodplain Overlay District needs a City permit, and the district is drawn straight from the 2021 FEMA flood maps. Before a certificate of occupancy issues, owners must file a signed, sealed FEMA elevation certificate showing where the building sits against the base flood elevation.
Taunton Floodplain Overlay BFE Rules
Significant RestrictionsTaunton Code § 440-1306.B, D, K
The Floodplain District is herein established as an overlay district. The District includes all special flood hazard areas within Taunton designated as Zone A and AE on the Bristol County Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) dated July 6, 2021, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the administration of the National Flood Insurance Program. ... Permits are required for all pr...
Looking for Bristol County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Taunton city rules.
Environmental Rules in Bristol County →