Tucson, AZ Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

0, Excavating and Grading. 0, Erosion Control, that the faces of cut and fill slopes be prepared and maintained to control against erosion, with protection installed as soon as practicable and prior to calling for final approval. Acceptable slope protection includes effective planting; where cut slopes are erosion-resistant by their material character, planting may be omitted. The same section requires PDSD to see check dams, cribbing, riprap or other devices or methods employed wherever necessary to control erosion and provide safety. The grading rules also police idle construction sites.

3, Reseeding, any site of one acre or more that has been wholly or partially grubbed or graded must begin continuous construction within 60 days of grubbing. If construction does not start or stay continuous within that 60-day window, the site must be native-seeded or have dust abatement applied within 30 days after the window expires; a PDSD-approved time extension is available only for conditions like flooding or discovered historic artifacts. A site graded or grubbed without a permit at all must, in addition to other penalties provided by law, be revegetated to its pre-existing condition.

Infrastructure projects covering 20 acres or less of land coverage are exempt from the reseeding trigger. Grading permits cap at 35 acres and must proceed continuously from grubbing through completed construction, which limits how long a disturbed, erosion-exposed surface can sit unprotected.