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

Escambia County's Land Development Code, article 4 of chapter 5 (Stormwater Management), sets the county's erosion and sediment control standard for every site under development. LDC § 5-4.3 requires sediment to be retained on site and erosion and sedimentation control measures applied to stabilize barren and unvegetated areas both during and after construction. No clearing of land or other land-disturbing activity may begin until erosion and sedimentation control devices are installed between the areas to be disturbed and adjacent lands, including waterbodies, watercourses and wetlands. Controls must comply with the best management practices listed in the county's Design Standards Manual, chapter 1, stormwater management plans section, which points builders to the BMPs in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Northwest Florida Water Management District's Environmental Resource Permitting Applicants Handbook, Volume II.

Enforcement runs through § 5-4.5. The property owner must schedule an erosion and sediment control inspection with the county before any construction or land disturbance begins, a second inspection before underground drainage structures are buried, and a final inspection once all stormwater facilities are complete. A county representative either approves the completed work or notifies the applicant in writing of any failure to comply; noncompliant work must be corrected before the county issues final authorization for use. If a stormwater system owner fails to maintain required controls after county notice, the owner has 30 days to take corrective action before the county can step in and place a lien on the owner's property to recover its costs.

Failure to complete or correct erosion-control work as directed is subject to the LDC's penalty provisions.