Wayne County, IN Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Wayne County Code § 155.186, under the subdivision street construction standards, spells out exact erosion-control specifications rather than a general duty to 'control erosion.' Contractors must apply fertilizer at a minimum rate of 1,000 pounds of 12-12-12 fertilizer per acre (or its equivalent, based on soil tests), and seed at 35 pounds of tall fescue per acre, or 20 pounds of bluegrass with 20 pounds of creeping red fescue, plus a nurse crop of one bushel of oats, rye or wheat. Mulch must be straw or a suitable substitute applied at one and one-half tons per acre, anchored where site conditions require it.

Earthen ditch side slopes cannot be built steeper than 2:1, and any ditch flow line exceeding a 5% grade must get a concrete-paved side ditch or hand-laid stone riprap rather than bare earth. The section closes the loop financially: under § 155.186(D), the county will not release the three-year maintenance bond on the improvements until all unpaved area between the pavement edge and the right-of-way line carries an adequate stand of sod. That ties erosion control directly to the developer's bond, giving the County Engineer, who inspects the work under §§ 155.175 through 155.178, real leverage to require reseeding or remulching before signing off. This provision governs subdivision construction specifically; it does not create a general-purpose erosion ordinance for other land-disturbing activity outside platting.