Santa Maria, CA Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- SMMC Chapter 8-12A
- Enforcing office
- Director of Utilities
- Core duty
- Implement BMPs to prevent runoff pollutants
- Spill report deadline
- 5:00 p.m. next business day
- Violation status
- Public nuisance and misdemeanor
Summary
Santa Maria's storm water ordinance requires anyone doing grading, paving, concrete work, or landscaping to implement Best Management Practices that stop soil sediment and construction runoff from reaching the storm drain system, enforced by the Director of Utilities under Chapter 8-12A.
(a) Requirement to Implement Best Management Practices (BMPs). All responsible parties shall implement appropriate BMPs adopted by the City of Santa Maria for any activity, operation, or facility, which may cause or contribute to pollution or contamination of the storm drain system or receiving waters. (b) New Development and Redevelopment. All responsible parties shall implement City of Santa Maria BMPs to control the volume, rate, and potential pollutant load of storm water runoff from new development and redevelopment projects to minimize the generation, transport, and discharge of pollutants. ... Construction activities which may result in the release of pollutants to storm water include, but are not limited to: grading, paving, pouring concrete, painting, and landscaping. Pollutants to be controlled at construction sites include in particular, but are not limited to, soil sediments released by tracking and erosion during and immediately following construction.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 8-12A of the Santa Maria Municipal Code, the Storm Water Runoff Pollution Prevention ordinance, governs erosion and sediment control on active construction sites. 08(a) requires every responsible party to implement City-adopted Best Management Practices (BMPs) for any activity that may cause or contribute to pollution of the storm drain system or receiving waters, and subsection (b) extends that duty specifically to new development and redevelopment projects, requiring BMPs that control the volume, rate, and potential pollutant load of storm water runoff. Subsection (c)(2) names construction activities directly: grading, paving, pouring concrete, painting, and landscaping are identified as activities that can release pollutants, with soil sediments from tracking and erosion during and immediately following construction called out as pollutants requiring control.
07. 07(f) of the Subdivision title backs this up by requiring every approved subdivision to comply with grading and erosion control requirements set out in the Municipal Code and the City's Grading and Drainage Plan Information Handout, including preventing sedimentation or drainage onto off-site property. 11.
Violations & Fines
A Notice of Violation under Section 8-12A.14 can order abatement within a set deadline, require BMP or treatment measures, and demand cessation of the polluting activity; the City may perform the clean-up itself and bill the responsible party. Administrative fines, costs, and penalties follow Chapters 1-8 and 1-9 of the Municipal Code. Section 8-12A.15 makes any violation a public nuisance subject to abatement, and separately makes any person creating that nuisance guilty of a misdemeanor, on top of any civil or criminal sanctions the City chooses to pursue.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Santa Maria require erosion control on construction sites?
Who enforces Santa Maria's construction erosion rules?
What happens if a construction site violates the erosion control ordinance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Maria
California rules heatmap·Compare Santa Maria to another location·View the California environmental rules overview
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