Lincoln County, SD Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Lincoln County Code § 152.110 requires that erosion-control measures on any development site meet, at a minimum, the standards and specifications of the county's Conservation District. Stripping of vegetation, regrading, and cut-and-fill operations must be kept to a minimum, along with the amount of land disturbed and the duration of exposure, and development plans should follow existing topography wherever feasible to create the least erosion potential. Natural vegetation is to be retained, protected and supplemented as much as possible. The Planning Director, working with the Conservation District, can require any further measures needed to prevent erosion on building sites and developments from depositing waste or sediment onto roads or other property.

Every effort must be made to retain natural vegetation on all ditches and drainageways, and ditches and drainageways cannot be disturbed without the approval of both the Planning Director and the County Floodplain Administrator. The required erosion control plan itself must show all proposed land disturbance, including excavation, grading, filling, and removal or destruction of topsoil, plus the sequence of construction operations with an estimated time of exposure. Temporary erosion-control measures on the plan must be designed to withstand a two-year rain event. Separately, § 152.036(C)(2) triggers a formal erosion control plan requirement once a development disturbs more than five acres, tying the site-level standard in § 152.110 to a specific size threshold for subdivision review.