Las Cruces, NM Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Article V of the Land Development Code splits erosion control into water and wind. Sec. 32-301 sets the general purpose: protecting upstream and downstream properties, the city's MS4 stormwater system and natural waterways from soil carried by rainfall or blown by wind, requiring control measures on any site where flowing water or blowing dust could threaten adjacent health and safety, consistent with Chapter 32 and Chapter 34 of the Development Code. Sec. 32-302 is the operative wind erosion control article and applies to any construction, demolition or earth-moving activity capable of generating fugitive dust, exempting only regular agricultural operations, emergency government work, and utility service outages.

Any site one acre or larger, or any site hauling material on or off-site, must install track-out control at its exits onto paved roads, sized at least 20 feet wide by 50 feet long if using a gravel pad, per Sec. 32-302(j)(2). Grading on a site of one acre or more requires a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, an erosion control plan and a Wind Erosion Control Plan reviewed and approved before any site disturbance, and disturbed areas left exposed 30 days or longer must be seeded and mulched within 14 days, with germination checked within two weeks or the city can require reseeding.

Subdivisions must also build a perimeter wind fence or dust barrier at least three feet tall. Soil-moving activity has to stop once sustained wind speeds hit 25 mph and can only resume once winds drop or added control measures contain the dust. The Community Development Department and the police department's code enforcement section can issue a written notice of noncompliance with a deadline to correct; failing to meet it is a separate nuisance violation under Chapter 18. Sec. 00 fine in municipal court, with each day of continued violation counted as a separate offense.