Greenwich, CT Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Under Chapter 6, Article 2, anyone excavating, grading or filling land in Greenwich (beyond the small exemptions in § 6-210) needs a permit from the Commissioner of Public Works, and § 6-213(a)(12) requires the application to include details of soil preparation and of revegetation or other methods of soil erosion control, alongside topography, drainage and access-way plans. Once work is complete, § 6-220(a)(1) requires excavated pits and fill areas to be graded to the level of adjoining properties or to a grade that allows natural drainage.

Section 6-220(a)(2) sets the revegetation standard directly: where erosion control is by revegetation, topsoil removed from the site must be set aside and retained in sufficient quantity to cover all exposed surfaces except rock to a depth of at least four inches, adding topsoil if needed, and the resurfaced area must be harrowed or raked into a seed bed and seeded with grass, permanent pasture mixture, or other approved fast-growing vegetation, repeated as often as necessary until the area is stabilized. The applicant must notify the Commissioner at rough grading, final grading before seeding, and completion under § 6-220(a)(5), and the Commissioner makes field inspections at each of those stages to confirm the work matches the approved plan.