Burlington, WI Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Chapter 270, adopted February 7, 2017 by Ordinance No. 234, Wis. , applies to any post-construction site where one acre or more of land-disturbing construction activity occurs, including smaller parcels that are part of a larger common plan of development. The City Engineer is designated as the administering authority and can also apply the chapter to sites under an acre if runoff is likely to exceed the safe capacity of drainage facilities or cause channel erosion or pollution. Agricultural facilities, underground utility construction, and post-construction sites with less than 10% connected imperviousness and under an acre of total impervious surface are exempt, though the protective-area standards still apply.

Under § 270-8, no landowner or operator may begin a covered activity without a City permit; the application must include a stormwater management plan meeting § 270-7 and § 270-9, a maintenance agreement under § 270-10, a financial guarantee under § 270-11, and a nonrefundable permit fee set under § 270-12. The City Engineer must approve or deny a complete application within 30 days, or within 15 days of receiving requested additional information. Design standards in § 270-6 require BMPs to meet or reduce peak runoff rates for the one-, two- and ten-year, twenty-four-hour design storms compared to predevelopment conditions, using TR-55 methodology and Atlas 14 precipitation data, with storage sized for a one-hundred-year, twenty-four-hour storm. Permit holders must notify the City at least two business days before starting work and within five business days of completing stormwater practices.