Caddo Parish, LA Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Article III of Chapter 46 splits erosion and sediment control duties by project size. Every minor development, meaning any land-disturbing activity under one acre, must limit construction traffic to a single stabilized access route, stabilize all exposed soil with BMPs like sod, mulch or compacted base material, protect neighboring parcels with buffer strips or sediment barriers, and keep those measures maintained (§ 46-57). Major developments of one acre or more must go further: they must demonstrate compliance through a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) that only a certified professional in erosion and sediment control or a licensed professional civil engineer may prepare, and the director can request it before issuing a permit (§ 46-59).

Section 46-60 lists fifteen specific minimum requirements for those SWPPPs, including stabilizing exposed and unworked soils, including stockpiles, within no more than 14 days after construction activity on that portion of the site stops; removing all temporary erosion controls within 30 days of final site stabilization; limiting open utility trenches to no more than 500 feet at a time; and designing temporary conveyance channels to withstand a two-year, 24-hour storm. Facilities built specifically to control erosion and sedimentation must be engineered for that same two-year, 24-hour design storm (§ 46-60(15)).

The director may also require additional or different erosion controls beyond what was originally approved if the parish determines the existing measures aren't containing erosion from the site (§ 46-61), and can order repairs to a hazardous erosion condition, or make emergency repairs and bill the property owner, if the situation is severe enough (§ 46-73).