Clay County, FL Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Section 19-456 requires erosion and sedimentation control best management practices (BMPs) at all excavations within unincorporated Clay County, and sets the compliance bar at whatever protection level the current edition of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's 'Florida Stormwater, Erosion, and Sedimentation Control Inspector's Manual' calls for or better. The section is codified inside the county's Illicit Discharge and Connection article, which exists to keep pollutants such as sediment out of the county's MS4 and surface waters. Because Section 19-456 cross-references the department's inspector manual rather than printing dimensional numbers itself, a builder or excavation contractor satisfies the rule by installing BMPs, such as silt fencing, inlet protection, sediment basins or stabilized construction entrances, that meet or exceed what that manual specifies for the site's soil and drainage conditions.

Enforcement follows the same track as the rest of the illicit discharge article: the Department of Environmental Services can issue a written notice of violation under Section 19-458 ordering the responsible party to correct or discontinue the deficient BMPs, with ten days to appeal to the Clay County Board of County Commissioners or its designee. If the erosion controls are not corrected, the county may enter the site to install adequate BMPs itself and bill the owner or contractor for the investigative and abatement costs under Section 19-457, and unpaid costs become a special assessment lien on the property.