Passaic, NJ Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Chapter 317, the City's Zoning Ordinance, folds erosion and sediment control into its 'Miscellaneous provisions' article rather than a stand-alone stormwater chapter. Section 317-55C requires a permit before any earth moving, grading, filling or removal of topsoil takes place anywhere in the City, with one carve-out: work performed in connection with an already-approved construction project does not need a separate soil-movement permit because that disturbance was already reviewed as part of the site plan. Anyone doing standalone grading, clearing a vacant lot, cutting a driveway, filling a yard, must apply to the Construction Code Official and submit topographic conditions (existing and proposed), the location of utilities, street lines and any retaining walls, plus whatever else the Engineering Department and Building Department ask for.

The City's separate stormwater management ordinance, § 258A-6L, cross-references this section by name as the 'City's Soil Movement Ordinance' and directs applicants to comply with it, or with the statewide New Jersey Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Standards, whichever applies, and to install diversions, sediment basins and similar measures before any on-site grading or disturbance begins. Because Chapter 317 (Zoning) carries its own violations article that funnels back to the citywide general penalty, an unpermitted grading or filling job is punishable the same way any other zoning violation is: through Municipal Court enforcement initiated after the administrative officer serves a notice of violation.