Medford, OR Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

800 was adopted to satisfy the City's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (NPDES MS4) permit obligations. It sets a local trigger well below the state threshold: any project that disturbs 7,000 square feet or more of land needs a City of Medford Erosion Control Permit, regardless of whether state permitting applies. Projects that disturb one acre or more, or that disturb less than an acre but are part of a larger 'common plan of development or sale' totaling an acre or more, additionally need a NPDES 1200-C permit issued by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

Erosion control plans must be submitted together with the building or grading permit application, using the City's current Erosion Control Plan Template, and the Public Works Engineering Division reviews them and issues the Erosion Control Permit alongside the building or grading permit. The approved plan has to be in place before any earthwork starts and kept current as site conditions change over the life of the project; a copy must stay on site and be available for review by both the City and DEQ. Erosion control measures shown on the approved plan must be installed prior to any earth-disturbing work and maintained continuously through construction, not just at the outset.