Gary, IN Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Gary Municipal Code § 119-37 makes compliance with Chapter 119 a condition of getting a building permit: no permit for construction, extension, remodeling, alteration, or repair may issue unless the applicable stormwater provisions have been met, on top of whatever the zoning ordinance and other city, state, and federal rules already require. Section 119-7 puts the Gary Stormwater Management District, GSWMD, in charge of administering, implementing, and enforcing the chapter, and § 119-8 makes its requirements additional to, not a substitute for, Indiana's Rule 5 construction stormwater rule, Rule 13 for municipal separate storm sewer systems, and Rule 6 for industrial sites.

Under § 119-76(a), any development or redevelopment disturbing 10,000 square feet or more of land needs a stormwater permit, following the procedures in the city's design standards manual; once GSWMD issues the permit, the project owner must file a notice of intent at least 48 hours before construction starts, and, for sites disturbing an acre or more, also notify IDEM with a $100.00 fee. A pre-construction meeting with GSWMD is required before grading begins to confirm perimeter erosion controls are in place. Section 119-78 covers individual lots inside a larger permitted project that disturb less than 10,000 square feet: those still need a formal lot-level plot plan permit, including a certified site layout and an erosion and sediment control plan, before a building permit can issue.

Stormwater permits issued under § 119-76 expire five years after issuance, and the NOI must be resubmitted at least 90 days before that expiration if construction isn't finished.