Nicholasville, KY Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Section 26-282 of the storm water management article sets the stabilization standard. Under subsection (a), any area where development activities partially or wholly cleared or removed the natural vegetative cover must be revegetated within ten days from the substantial completion of the clearing and construction. Three criteria apply. Reseeding uses an annual or perennial cover crop with straw mulch or its equivalent, in sufficient coverage to control erosion until the crop is established over ninety percent of the seeded area. Replanting with native woody and herbaceous vegetation also needs mulch or its equivalent until the plantings are established and can control erosion. Any revegetated area must show survival of at least seventy-five percent of the cover crop throughout the year immediately following revegetation, and the work is repeated in successive years until one full year reaches that seventy-five percent mark.

Subsection (b) adds a paperwork step: a landscaping plan must be submitted with the final design. It describes the vegetative stabilization and management techniques to be used after construction, who is responsible for maintaining the vegetation, and what practices keep adequate cover in place.

These duties sit inside the permit process. Section 26-220 bars a landowner or land operator from receiving a building, grading or other land development permit for land disturbance activities until the article's requirements are met. Under § 26-221 the application goes to the planning commission with a storm water management plan, a maintenance agreement and all applicable nonrefundable permit review fees. Section 26-222 sets the review fee by the structure the planning commission establishes and requires payment before any grading or building permit issues.

Separate from construction permits, § 19-11 prohibits causing or permitting silt or mud from any source to reach a public way, street, storm sewer system or silt control device in amounts that create a hazard for traffic or pedestrians or a general nuisance.