Kern County, CA Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

040 requires that "no person shall do any grading or cause the same to be done without first having obtained a grading permit from the building official," with exemptions carved out for things distinctive to Kern's landscape: routine agricultural activities like mowing, plowing, ditching and disking; accepted oilfield drilling-pad and sump grading; small excavations under two feet deep; and fills under 50 cubic yards on flat ground. 140 imposes the county's actual erosion-control standards: cut and fill slope faces must be prepared and maintained against erosion, often through planting, installed "as soon as practicable" and before final approval; check dams, cribbing or riprap must be used "where necessary"; temporary drainage and erosion control must be provided at the end of each work day so channels aren't blocked, with dust control applied to all graded areas; and every grading plan must include a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan incorporating the BMPs detailed in Division 10 of the Kern County Development Standards.

050 adds a hazard-abatement backstop: the building official can order an owner to repair or eliminate any excavation, embankment or fill that becomes a hazard to life, property, or a public way or drainage channel, and that duty follows the property to a new owner even if the original grading predates their ownership. 170 requires all permitted grading to be inspected by the building official, with engineered grading also professionally inspected by the project's civil engineer, soils engineer and engineering geologist, who must report any discrepancy from the approved plans immediately in writing.