Springfield, OR Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

SMC section 8.400 establishes the Land and Drainage Alteration Program to restrict sediment and hazardous-material discharges into the public stormwater system and to control excavating, grading, and earthwork. Section 8.404 applies it to land disturbance, structural development, new impervious surfaces, and dewatering, both inside city limits and in the urban transition area. Section 8.412 sets the permit triggers: more than 50 cubic yards of cut or fill, more than 500 square feet disturbed in a mapped sensitive area (steep slopes over 15 percent, drainage ways, wetlands, or floodplains per section 8.410), more than 7,000 square feet disturbed on a lot, disturbance of an acre or more, or any cut or fill for an inhabited structure.

Type I permits cover sensitive-area or commercial work and require a Land and Drainage Alteration Plan from a licensed 'Certified Professional' under section 8.406; Type II permits cover single-unit or duplex residential work outside sensitive areas. Smaller projects, like sheds under the disturbance thresholds or interior remodels, are waived from the permit itself but still must meet the outcome standards in section 8.408: keeping adjacent properties and the stormwater system free of sediment, covering exposed soil and stockpiles, and removing tracked material from the right-of-way by day's end.

During the wet weather season, October 1 through April 30, sites must additionally gravel entrances and protect stormwater facilities. The Development and Public Works Department administers permits and enforcement; violations of sections 8.400 to 8.436 are enforced as civil infractions under SMC sections 5.604 and 5.624.