5 rules for unincorporated Elkhart County, Indiana.
Verified from official government sources
Indiana's Construction Stormwater General Permit (CSGP), which replaced the repealed Rule 5 (327 IAC 15-5) in December 2021, governs land disturbance across Elkhart County. Any construction disturbing one acre or more must obtain CSGP coverage before ground is broken.
Construction Stormwater General Permit (CSGP)
The CSGP applies to all "construction activity" that results in the disturbances of one (1) acre or more of land area.
Erosion control in Elkhart County runs through the Construction Stormwater General Permit. Every site disturbing one acre or more must implement a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWP3) controlling erosion and sediment before, during, and after construction.
Construction Stormwater General Permit (SWP3)
First, the plan outlines how erosion and sedimentation will be controlled on the project site to minimize the discharge of sediment off-site or to a water of the state.
Coastal-development rules do not apply in Elkhart County. This is inland north-central Indiana, with no Lake Michigan frontage. Indiana's Lake Michigan Coastal Program reaches only Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties along the actual shoreline.
Indiana's Flood Control Act, IC 14-28-1-22, requires a permit from the IDNR before erecting a structure or placing fill in a floodway. The St. Joseph and Elkhart River floodways run straight through the city of Elkhart and downtown Goshen.
IC 14-28-1-22
a person who desires to: (1) erect, make, use, or maintain a structure, an obstruction, a deposit, or an excavation; or (2) suffer or permit a structure, an obstruction, a deposit, or an excavation to be erected, made, used, or maintained; in or on a floodway must file with the director a verified written application for a permit.
The Construction Stormwater General Permit treats clearing, grading, and excavation as regulated land disturbance in Elkhart County. Any site of one acre or more needs CSGP coverage, and the County Drainage Board oversees regulated drains under Indiana's drainage code.
Construction Stormwater General Permit (CSGP)
construction activity (which includes clearing, grading, excavation, and other land-disturbing activities) that results in the disturbance of one (1) acre or more
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