Alachua County, FL Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

95, part of the Unified Land Development Code's stormwater article, requires every development plan that disturbs land to include an erosion and sedimentation control plan. The plan must be prepared by a certified sediment and erosion control specialist, a registered civil engineer, registered architect, licensed landscape contractor, resource conservation district representative, or a USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service specialist, and it must conform to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Erosion and Sedimentation Control Manual. Design principles require the plan to fit the site's existing topography, soils, waterways and vegetation, expose the smallest possible area for the shortest possible time, and keep stockpiled materials clear of stormwater flow paths.

Stabilization is spelled out in numeric detail: dry basin bottoms must be seeded with a mix providing both long-term and rapid-growth vegetation, side slopes steeper than 3H:1V must have sod stapled or pegged, and outlets of drainage structures need pegged or stapled sod when discharge velocity is under 3 feet per second, faster flows require an energy-dissipation device such as riprap, baffles, or a stilling basin. Dewatering and pumping during construction is allowed only if it will not cause flooding or downstream harm; discharging onto a neighbor's private land needs that owner's written permission, and any off-site discharge into the county right-of-way needs a permit from the Alachua County Public Works Department. 99).