Appleton, WI Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

The City of Appleton's Stormwater Management Standards and Planning Ordinance, City Code Secs. 20-301 through 20-327, governs post-construction runoff from land development and redevelopment. Sec. 20-302 states the purpose is to establish long-term, post-construction runoff management requirements that diminish threats to public health, safety, welfare and the aquatic environment, and to prevent and control soil erosion and water pollution. Under Sec. 20-321(a), no responsible party may undertake a land-disturbing construction activity, other than on one- and two-family residential lots, without a post-construction runoff permit issued by the City before work begins.

A complete application under Sec. 20-321(b) must include a stormwater management plan, narrative, drawings, a grading plan, a utility plan, a landscape plan and an operation and maintenance agreement, all stamped by a Wisconsin-licensed engineer, plus a non-refundable $100 application fee credited toward the City's actual review costs. The City must act on a complete Major Stormwater Management Plan application within 30 business days under Sec. 20-321(c)(1). Sec. 20-312 sets numeric performance standards: post-construction peak flow rates cannot exceed pre-development rates for storms of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 100-year recurrence, calculated using TR-55 methodology, and stormwater practices must sit at least 25 feet from a detention pond edge, 100 feet from an infiltration basin, or 8 feet from a stormwater culvert or ditch near a private well.

Sec. 20-326 lets the City notify a violator by certified mail, order corrections, post a stop-work order, revoke the permit, or pursue injunction without first seeking a forfeiture. The City may also enter the land to perform corrective work and bill the cost as a special charge against the property.