Sussex County, DE Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Reviewing agency
- Sussex Conservation District
- Trigger
- Required before any building permit
- Occupancy hold
- CO needs a lot grading certificate
- Adopted
- 1991, Ord. No. 769
- Standard incorporated
- Delaware Sediment and Stormwater Regulations
Summary
Sussex County won't issue a building permit until the Sussex Conservation District approves a sediment control and stormwater management plan under § 90-5 of Chapter 90, and it won't issue a certificate of occupancy without a lot grading certificate meeting the county's Drainage and Grading Requirements. The plan must satisfy the state's Delaware Sediment and Stormwater Regulations.
No building permit shall be issued by Sussex County unless a sediment control and stormwater management plan has been approved by the Sussex Conservation District meeting all of the applicable requirements of the Delaware Sediment and Stormwater Regulations and Chapter 99, Articles I, III, V and VI, including an inspection and maintenance agreement, and an individual grading plan meeting all requirements of the Sussex County Drainage and Grading Requirements. No certificate of occupancy shall be issued without the submission of a lot grading certificate meeting all requirements of the Sussex County Drainage and Grading Requirements.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4401089; v17 updated 2025-06-17; through 06-17-2025).
Full Breakdown
§ 90-5 requires an applicant to have a sediment control and stormwater management plan approved by the Sussex Conservation District before the County issues any building permit; that plan must meet the Delaware Sediment and Stormwater Regulations and Articles I, III, V and VI of Chapter 99, and must include an inspection and maintenance agreement plus an individual grading plan meeting the county's Drainage and Grading Requirements. No certificate of occupancy follows without a separate lot grading certificate confirming the site was built to that approved grading plan.
§ 90-2 grounds the whole chapter in the County's authority under Title 7, Chapter 40 of the Delaware Code, and § 90-3 states its purpose as controlling erosion, protecting water quality, reducing localized flooding and keeping post-development runoff close to predevelopment conditions.
Violations & Fines
Building without an approved sediment control plan, or building outside the plan's approved limits, exposes a project to permit suspension or revocation under § 90-6, which forces a new plan submission to the Sussex Conservation District before work resumes. Enlarging the disturbed area beyond the approved plan, or ignoring a DNREC correction notice or stop-work order, are each independent grounds for revocation, and construction can't proceed again until the District re-approves the plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an erosion control plan before building in Sussex County?
Who approves Sussex County sediment control plans?
Can my Sussex County building permit be revoked over erosion control?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sussex County
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