Howell, NJ Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Howell Township Code § 188-25 sits in the Land Use chapter's Standards of Performance article. It says each plan shall incorporate soil erosion and sediment control programs meeting the approval of the Monmouth County Soil Conservation District and the requirements of the New Jersey Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act, Chapter 251 of the Laws of 1975, if required by that Act. The Township adopts the State Act by reference here and adds a timing rule: filing with the Monmouth County Soil Conservation District is concurrent with filing with the administrative officer. The Township Council's ordinance does not describe the measures themselves, so the Soil Conservation District sets the technical content.

Other sections in the same chapter tighten the practical side. Section 188-23 limits grading to areas shown on an approved site plan and bars any construction or regrading that creates or aggravates water stagnation, siltation or a drainage problem on adjacent properties. Section 188-26 adds that any application proposing to excavate, redistribute or remove more than 600 cubic yards of material, or involving an area exceeding 3,600 square feet, must show on its site plan the means to prevent erosion, provide for sedimentation control and drainage, and control dust and mud on the premises and abutting lands. That same section requires maintenance of at least six inches of the original topsoil layer. Section 188-27 ties all stormwater runoff controls back to the soil erosion and sediment control provisions of the chapter.

For an individual house or commercial lot, the plot plan checklist in § 188-31 lists soil erosion and sediment permit approval, if required, among the items the plan must show. The Land Use Officer, the Township Engineer and the Construction Code Official review the plan in that order before a building permit issues.