St. Louis County, MN Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

" Every alteration must be designed to expose the least bare ground possible, use mulch or similar cover for any temporarily bare soil, and reach permanent vegetative stabilization within seven days of finishing the work. The county requires accepted methods to prevent or limit erosion and trap sediment, naming silt fences, diversions, and sediment traps as examples, and altered slopes must be finished according to accepted engineering or soil erosion standards, with fill on steep ground reviewed by a qualified professional and capped at a 20 percent finished slope.

Smaller, routine alterations, such as grading tied to a permitted structure, a driveway at or beyond the shoreline setback, or under 50 cubic yards of material outside the shore impact zone, need no separate permit as long as they still meet those A-level standards. C: a performance standard permit is required for any alteration inside the shore impact zone, within 50 feet of shore, in a bluff impact zone, on a steep slope, or that moves more than 50 cubic yards outside those sensitive zones.

D flatly disallows activities that cause potential soil erosion or that impede drainage onto neighboring land, and any alteration below the ordinary high water level must separately comply with Minnesota Statutes chapter 103G, which the county folds into its own permit review.