Smyrna, TN Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

In the Town of Smyrna, Tennessee, erosion and sediment control is enforced through the grading permit in § 14-603 and the plan requirements in §§ 14-604 and 14-605. The Public Works Department runs the permit. A grading permit is required when land disturbing activity disturbs one or more acres, when a smaller disturbance is part of a larger common plan of development that affects one or more acre, when Public Works decides a smaller activity poses a unique threat to water, public health, or safety, and for borrow pits. Exempt activities are emergency work needed to protect life, property, or natural resources, existing nursery and agricultural operations, logging or farming that follows practices prepared or approved by the Rutherford County Soil Conservation District or the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service, and additions or modifications to existing single-family structures.

No grading or building permit is issued until the applicant has submitted the required state and federal permits, such as a notice of coverage. The application needs an erosion and sediment control plan, a stormwater management plan, and a long-term maintenance and repair plan. The erosion plan must be sealed by a registered professional engineer or landscape architect licensed in Tennessee and must include a topographic map with contour intervals of five feet or less. A preconstruction meeting with the Public Works Director, Town Engineer, or designee is held after the erosion protection and sediment control measures are installed, inspected, and approved. Public Works answers within 15 working days with an approval, a conditional approval, or a denial, and no construction plans are released until the grading permit has been approved.

On the site itself, soil, sediment, and debris brought onto streets and public ways must be removed by the end of the work day. Under § 14-605(2), soil stabilization must be completed no later than 15 days after construction activity in that portion of the site has ceased. Reseeded areas need straw mulch or its equivalent until the cover crop is established over 90% of the seeded area.