Lee County, AL Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Section 5-4-4 of the Lee County Subdivision and Land Development Regulations, in Article V's road construction standards, requires all road construction in a subdivision to conform to the current edition of the Alabama Department of Transportation's Standard Specifications for Highway Construction and states plainly that Best Management Practices for erosion control shall be used throughout construction and development. The rule puts the burden on the developer directly: the developer is responsible for all erosion control in accordance with Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) regulations and for securing any permits ADEM requires for the project.

The County Engineer enforces this by tying it to inspections: any requested inspection of road or drainage work may be withheld or delayed until ADEM regulations are met, so a developer who has not obtained ADEM coverage, ordinarily an NPDES construction stormwater permit for sites disturbing an acre or more, cannot get the County Engineer to sign off on the work. This sits alongside the notification duty in the same section: the developer or contractor must give the County Engineer or an authorized agent one working day's written notice before starting any phase of construction, including clearing, grading, drainage, gutters, inlets, base or surfacing, and failure to notify is separately grounds for nonacceptance.

Because Lee County has no stand-alone erosion-control ordinance, Section 5-4-4, read together with its clearing-and-grubbing requirement that vegetation and unsuitable material be stripped only ahead of grading with the County Engineer's approval, is the operative local control on construction sediment in unincorporated Lee County.