Battle Creek, MI Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

The erosion rule sits in the Subdivision Regulations, Codified Ordinances § 1250.02(g)(11), under the Improvements subsection. The City Commission's reasoning is printed in the text: considerable erosion can take place before houses, buildings, facilities and features go up, so the plats for a subdivision must contain proposed erosion and sediment control measures, and the measures must be incorporated into the final construction drawings. The standard is borrowed from the state: the measures must conform to the standards and specifications of Public Act 451 of 1994, as amended, MCL 324.101 et seq., and the rules established under it.

The preliminary plat contents list in the same section repeats the requirement from the application side, calling for plans and specifications of the soil erosion and sedimentation control measures. That list cites Public Act 347 of 1972 as amended, again with MCL 324.101 et seq., so the code names two public act numbers for the same state statute family.

The stormwater chapter reinforces the policy. Section 1048.01 finds that inadequate soil erosion and sedimentation control practices can cause increased turbidity, and § 1048.02(g) lists minimizing soil erosion and sedimentation as a goal of the chapter. Section 1048.03(aa) defines a soil conservation plan as a document prepared or approved by the Calhoun County Enforcing Area that controls storm water and soil erosion, reduces sediment loss, or protects receiving water quality on a specific parcel. Under § 1048.05(c), bona fide agricultural pursuits with a soil conservation plan approved by the Calhoun County enforcing agency are exempt from the stormwater chapter.

Chapter 1048 applies to all land within the City under § 1048.04, and a developer who builds a stormwater system must also submit a stormwater management plan with site development approval under § 1048.08.