Dane County, WI Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Chapter 14 of the Dane County Code sets minimum stormwater management standards enforced countywide in unincorporated areas and in towns unless a city or village has adopted its own equivalent ordinance. Under sec. 07, a stormwater management permit under sec. 10 is required for any development after August 22, 2001 that results in the cumulative addition of 20,000 square feet of impervious surface to the site; any development that requires a plat or a certified survey map under the local land division ordinance for commercial or industrial use; land disturbing activity in excess of 4,000 square feet on sites developed as commercial, industrial, institutional or multifamily; and other land development activities the local approval authority determines may significantly increase downstream runoff volumes, flooding, soil erosion, water pollution, or impact a lake, stream, or wetland.

Permits are separate from the erosion control permit required under sec. 06 for smaller-scale land disturbance. The Director of the Dane County Land and Water Resources Department, or the local approval authority in a municipality that has adopted an equivalent ordinance, administers and enforces the chapter. Where county standards conflict with local land division, zoning, shoreland zoning, or state regulations, sec. 05(4) directs that the more restrictive standard controls. Violations trigger a stop-work order under sec. 18 and correction deadlines of 24 to 72 hours depending on how notice was served.