Benton County, AR Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Chapter VIII's stormwater program requires every construction site to control erosion and sediment with Best Management Practices, and sets a hard numeric trigger for a written plan. It applies "to all construction sites where construction on a site will disturb soil or remove vegetation on one (1) or more acres of land during the life of the construction project; this shall include a single lot in a subdivision regardless of size" (§8.3(B)). The owner must file a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWP3) with county staff, and "construction activity, including any soil disturbance or removal of vegetation, shall not commence on the site until a duly certified SWP3 has been filed" (§8.3(B)(3)).

Subdivision developments get their own parallel rule: once a platted development disturbs an acre or more, the SWP3 covers the entire platted area, and every phase, from sewer and street construction through individual home building, needs to comply (§8.3(C)). Once filed, the SWP3 isn't a formality: BMPs must be inspected at least once every seven days, or every 14 days plus within 24 hours of any quarter-inch rainfall, and any BMP that isn't meeting the program's objectives must be modified within 24 hours of discovery and fixed within 7 calendar days (§8.3(D)(2)).

Beyond acreage-triggered sites, every development in the county carries a baseline duty to "minimize the area disturbed by construction activities" and promptly revegetate disturbed ground (§4.7, item 12). This program applies only within the county's MS4 stormwater service area covering the unincorporated urbanized portions of the county, not every rural parcel countywide (§8.4(J)).