Madison County, IL Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

033, part of the Chapter 92 Subdivision Regulations administered by Planning & Development, sets the erosion and sediment control standard for any land divided in unincorporated Madison County. Before grading starts, the subgrade must be cleared of tree stumps, roots, brush and other objectionable material, then shaped, rolled and uniformly compacted; cuts must have stumps, boulders and other objectionable material removed to a depth of at least two feet below the graded surface. The section's design standard for erosion is explicit: the design of every subdivision must be consistent with the natural limitations presented by topography and soil so as to create the least potential for soil erosion, soil must be exposed for the shortest feasible time, and temporary vegetation, mulching or another covering is required to protect exposed ground while work is underway.

For sedimentation, the subdivider must install and maintain devices such as sediment basins, debris basins, desilting basins or silt traps to keep sediment out of surface water leaving the subdivision. 033(B)(6) folds this together with Chapter 114, the county's Stormwater Drainage and Detention and Sediment Control ordinance, so a construction site plan has to satisfy both the subdivision grading rule and the separate stormwater chapter before Planning & Development signs off. Existing trees of four inches or more in diameter, measured a foot above grade, should be kept and protected where the site plan allows it.

Ditches built to carry runoff need seeding, sodding, riprap, paving or comparable measures to stop bank erosion, and no subdivider may deepen, widen, fill or reroute an existing ditch, stream, drain, slough, retention basin or drainage channel without the County Engineer's written permission first.