Haverford, PA Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Article I of Chapter 78 of the Haverford Township Code is the Township of Haverford Erosion and Sediment Control Ordinance. Section 78-4 makes it unlawful to pave, fill, strip, grade or regrade land without a permit, and also to disturb or divert the natural flow of stormwater or build any dam, ditch, culvert or drainpipe without one. The only grading permit exception in § 78-3 is an excavation that does not exceed three feet in vertical depth and does not cover more than 200 square feet. Applications go on a township form, with two hard copies and one digital copy of the plan, a review fee set by resolution, and an escrow deposit when the area of disturbance is greater than 500 square feet (§ 78-5).

The plan must show contours, soil type and classification, drainage structures, and a time schedule, and must include both interim and permanent erosion and sediment control built to Delaware County Conservation District standards (§ 78-6). In the performance standards of § 78-9, no one may grade so close to a property line as to endanger an adjoining street, sidewalk or property without supporting it, and graded surfaces must be seeded, sodded or planted within 60 days. Fill must be tested in layers, with density not less than 95% of maximum dry density.

The permit holder must give the Township Engineer at least 48 hours of notice for each inspection: initial, rough grading, drainage facilities, special structures and final (§ 78-10). The applicant pays inspection costs through a deposit with the Director of Finance (§ 78-11), and satisfactory compliance is required before an occupancy permit issues. Article II adds that regulated earth disturbance cannot start until the Conservation District approves an erosion and sediment control plan (§ 78-34).