Erie, PA Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Section 1011 of the City of Erie Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (Ord. No. 23-1989) makes an erosion and sedimentation control plan mandatory for every major subdivision. The plan must be prepared to the standard set out in Pennsylvania's Chapter 102 rules for Erosion and Sedimentation Control and reviewed by the Erie County Soil Conservation District before the City signs off. The City also has discretion under the same section to demand an identical plan from a minor subdivision, so a small three-lot split is not automatically exempt.

Once approved, the plan is not paperwork the developer can shelve: Section 1011 requires it to be fully implemented throughout construction, meaning the controls specified in the plan have to be maintained on-site as grading and building proceed, not merely filed with the application. The requirement sits alongside Section 1010, which lets the City limit grading and require preservation of natural conditions on lots with slopes of 15% or greater, floodplains, wetlands, or other hazard-prone terrain, and Section 1006, which sets the street grading and drainage standards the same crews must follow.

Filing fees for the subdivision review that includes the erosion plan are set by City Council resolution under Section 1102, with the applicant responsible for any additional City engineering, design, inspection, or maintenance costs the review generates. A developer who disagrees with a Planning Commission decision tied to an inadequate erosion control submission has 30 days to appeal to the Erie County Court of Common Pleas under Section 1104.