Environmental Rules in Illinois (2026)

Chicago requires a City-approved Stormwater Management Plan for regulated developments disturbing 15,000+ sq ft or…

DuPage County's Countywide Stormwater and Flood Plain Ordinance makes it unlawful to undertake development without…

McHenry County requires a stormwater management permit before any regulated development, land disturbing 5,000 square…

Peoria County requires an Erosion, Sediment, and Stormwater Control Permit before any commercial, institutional…

Arlington Heights Municipal Code Chapter 22, Article V regulates the Village's municipal separate storm sewer system…

Aurora, Illinois regulates stormwater management citywide by adopting the Kane County Stormwater Ordinance by…

Any development or redevelopment inside Bolingbrook must get a stormwater permit from the village's Department of…

Champaign requires on-site stormwater detention for nonresidential development over 2 acres and residential development…

Champaign County's Storm Water Management and Erosion Control Ordinance, adopted June 18, 2015, bars grading or filling…

New construction, building additions and any development that increases runoff in Cicero must provide stormwater…

In unincorporated Cook County, anyone tilling, clearing, filling or grading land tied to a building or special-use…

Elgin bans discharging anything but clean stormwater into its storm drain system and watercourses, and requires…

Evanston requires on-site storm water detention and release-rate control for all new developments, mandatory once a…

Joliet requires a detention facility with controlled release for new nonresidential construction over 5 acres, new…

Unincorporated Kane County requires a stormwater management permit before any development disturbs more than five…

Kankakee County's stormwater management ordinance keeps surface water on its existing natural course in unincorporated…

Kendall County Code § 16-79 requires every new development in the unincorporated county to keep its site reasonably…

New subdivisions in unincorporated Lake County must meet the county's stormwater management facility standards, sizing…

In unincorporated Macon County, disturbing one acre or more of land, or any part of a larger development that totals an…

In unincorporated Madison County, anyone adding 10,000 square feet or more of impervious surface, disturbing 10,000…

Unincorporated McLean County requires stormwater and erosion control measures on any subdivision needing public…

Naperville requires storm water systems to follow the City's Design Manual for Public Improvements and bars grading…

Oak Lawn bans routing storm water, ground water or surface drainage into its sanitary sewers; downspouts, footing…

Peoria regulates stormwater through Chapter 9.5 of the city code, requiring permanent detention and volume control on…

In unincorporated Rock Island County, surface water must follow its natural or already-regulated course: no one may…

Rockford requires a stormwater management permit and onsite detention for most new development of a half acre or more…

New subdivisions in unincorporated Sangamon County must provide adequate surface drainage, storm sewers sized to county…

Schaumburg requires every new subdivision or development to be served by storm sewers designed for a 10-year storm…

Skokie, Illinois requires new construction and additions that add over 400 square feet or 10 percent of impermeable lot…

New Springfield subdivisions must be built with engineered surface drainage: storm sewers or open channels sized to the…

Unincorporated St. Clair County requires a Stormwater Management and Erosion Control Permit from the Building and…

Tazewell County's erosion control chapter requires permanent stormwater controls on qualifying projects to hold…

Village Code § 151.05 requires every development site in Tinley Park to control peak storm water discharge and reduce…

Waukegan does not write its own stormwater code. Sec. 18-10 adopts the Lake County Watershed Development Ordinance by…

Will County requires a stormwater management permit before any development that could raise flood elevations or shift…

New development in unincorporated Winnebago County can't release stormwater runoff faster than the land could naturally…

Illinois law authorizes Soil and Water Conservation Districts to establish erosion control standards while NPDES rules…

Champaign requires a land disturbance permit and an approved erosion and sediment control plan for construction sites…

Winnebago County requires a surface water management permit before any grading, clearing, excavating, or filling on…

Arlington Heights Municipal Code Section 23-106 requires every building permit's grading plan to include soil erosion…

Before issuing a building permit within any platted subdivision, Aurora, Illinois requires a signed grading agreement…

Clearing, grading, stripping, excavating or filling more than 5,000 square feet, disturbing over 500 square feet within…

Champaign County requires a Land Disturbance Erosion Control (LDEC) Permit for any land disturbance of 10,000 square…

Chicago requires a City-approved Stormwater Management Plan with sediment and erosion control measures for any…

In unincorporated Cook County, grading, filling, clearing or otherwise disturbing land tied to a building or…

Excavating or filling any tract of unincorporated land in DuPage County requires a Building Official permit and an…

Elgin requires builders to control water runoff and erosion during construction and demolition, and to protect…

Evanston requires an approved erosion and sediment control plan before it issues a building permit for any site that…

Grading, filling, or excavation inside a mapped floodway in Joliet must follow the soil erosion and sedimentation…

Every construction site in unincorporated Kane County must keep disturbed ground below forty acres at any one time, cap…

Before grading starts on a construction site in unincorporated Kankakee County, § 109-351 requires silt fences…

Kendall County Code § 16-106 requires every development site in the unincorporated county to plan erosion and sediment…

Unincorporated Lake County requires soil erosion and sediment control measures on any regulated land disturbance, with…

Any project in unincorporated Macon County that needs a land disturbance permit must file an erosion and sediment…

Any land divided in unincorporated Madison County must control erosion and sedimentation during grading under County…

McHenry County's Stormwater Management Ordinance makes soil erosion and sediment control mandatory on every regulated…

McLean County's zoning construction-permit rule forces erosion and sediment control on any building site in the…

Naperville requires a detailed, engineer-sealed grading plan before issuing a building permit for a new home or…

Oak Lawn's Building Code requires a maintained silt fence anywhere a construction site borders a street or sidewalk…

Peoria requires a separate erosion and sediment control permit for any land-disturbing construction, with control…

Grading in Peoria County answers to two systems: the ILR10 stormwater permit for one-acre disturbances, and the…

Anyone doing construction work in unincorporated Rock Island County must use best management practices to keep sediment…

Rockford requires a stormwater management permit before disturbing more than 1,000 square feet of ground or 250 cubic…

Sangamon County requires an erosion control permit before grading, excavating or filling land in the unincorporated…

Schaumburg requires a land development permit before any clearing, grading or earth movement on a construction site…

The Village of Skokie, Cook County, Illinois, requires an Excavation and Grading permit before any work disturbs ground…

Springfield requires an erosion control permit before any construction, land disturbance over 4,000 square feet, or…

Any new development or land-disturbing project in unincorporated St. Clair County that disturbs an acre or more, adds…

Tazewell County requires an erosion and sediment control permit before disturbing land anywhere in the county's…

Village Code § 151.04 requires a site development permit before land in Tinley Park is cleared, graded, filled or…

Will County requires construction sites to route all disturbed-area runoff through sediment control facilities before…

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources Coastal Management Program regulates Lake Michigan shoreline development…

In unincorporated Lake County's Coastal High Hazard Area along Lake Michigan, new construction and substantial…

Illinois law requires state-issued permits for construction within regulatory floodways and mandates municipal…

Champaign County and its cities enforce NFIP floodplain rules, and Illinois DNR requires a permit for construction in a…

Cook County has a Floodplain Ordinance governing development in FEMA-designated flood zones. The Metropolitan Water…

Orland Park participates in FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program and has adopted floodplain regulations consistent…

Peoria County and its cities enforce NFIP floodplain rules, and Illinois DNR requires a permit for construction in a…

Schaumburg has significant flood risk areas along Salt Creek and its tributaries. The Village participates in the…

The Town of Cicero requires a separate floodplain development permit from the town engineer before any construction…

No development activity in unincorporated DuPage County's flood plain may worsen upstream or downstream flooding, and…

Anyone developing land in Joliet's special flood hazard area, in either the Will County or Kendall County portion of…

Any development inside the FEMA-mapped regulatory floodplain of unincorporated Kane County falls under the county's…

Unincorporated Lake County bars new construction, grading, filling, or excavation in the regulatory floodplain or…

No one may develop in a McLean County floodplain without a development permit from the Director of Building and Zoning…

Any development in Peoria's Special Flood Hazard Area needs a development permit from the director of public works…

Rockford requires a floodplain encroachment permit for any development in the regulatory floodplain, and bars projects…

Village Code § 152.20 allows development or filling in a mapped flood fringe only if it is protected against the base…

Any construction, fill, grading or land subdivision in a Winnebago County flood hazard area needs written clearance…

Arlington Heights, Illinois requires a Village development permit before any construction, fill, grading, or land…

Aurora ties flood-hazard construction directly to Chapter 18 of the municipal code, and its Building and Residential…

Bolingbrook adopts the Will County Stormwater Management Ordinance (WCSMO) village-wide under Code Sec. 16-85, but…

No one may start any development in a Champaign special flood hazard area without first obtaining a development permit…

Chicago requires a flood-control permit and elevation compliance for any development valued over $1,000 in a designated…

Des Plaines participates in NFIP. The Des Plaines River runs through the city and portions are in FEMA flood hazard…

Elgin regulates floodplain development under Title 21, adopting the Kane County Stormwater Management Ordinance with…

Any new construction, substantial improvement, or watercourse alteration in Evanston's floodplain requires a floodplain…

In unincorporated Kankakee County no one may begin construction, filling, grading, or any other development in the…

Unincorporated Kendall County bars any development inside a mapped floodplain until the Floodplain Administrator issues…

Anyone developing land in a Macon County floodplain, from grading to new construction, needs a development permit from…

Anyone developing land in a mapped floodplain within unincorporated Madison County must first obtain a development…

Unincorporated McHenry County adopts the International Building Code's flood-load rules, but routes every real…

Naperville doesn't write its own floodplain code - City Code § 5-6-1 adopts the DuPage Countywide Stormwater and…

Any development in Oak Lawn's flood-prone areas needs a development permit from the Office of Quality Control, and fill…

In unincorporated Rock Island County, no one may start development in a mapped floodplain without a permit from the…

Any development in Sangamon County's unincorporated floodplain needs a Floodplain Development Permit from the Executive…

Skokie participates in the National Flood Insurance Program and enforces floodplain development regulations under its…

Springfield requires any building in the floodplain to sit at or above the flood protection elevation before…

St. Clair County requires a floodplain development permit from the Zoning Director before any grading, filling, or…

Tazewell County requires a development permit from the Floodplain Administrator before any construction, fill, or…

Waukegan regulates grading, subdivision, and construction in its mapped floodplains through Sec. 6-92, layering…

New and substantially improved homes in unincorporated Will County's regulatory floodplain must have their lowest floor…

Building, altering, or repairing any dock in Chicago's harbor waterways requires a written permit from the Commissioner…

In unincorporated Cook County, docks, piers, wharves and boat rentals sited within a mapped floodway are not permitted…

In a Champaign floodway, a boat dock is allowed without a separate city variance only if it qualifies as a "minor boat…

In unincorporated Lake County, boat docks and piers are a listed allowed use in the regulatory floodplain if the…

A minor boat dock built in a Macon County floodway does not need the county's no-rise engineering analysis if it meets…

In unincorporated Madison County's mapped floodways, a minor boat dock counts as an approved development activity…

Unincorporated McHenry County requires a stormwater management permit before building a boat dock on the Fox River…

A boat dock built in the McLean County floodplain qualifies as a minor development activity without a full development…

Anyone docking a boat along Peoria's Illinois River bank, seawall or marina slips needs a permit or docking ticket from…

Rock Island County lets minor boat docks in the floodway meet its flood-height standard without a full engineering…

A minor boat dock built in Sangamon County's floodway skips the individual IDNR/OWR permit other work needs if it meets…

Minor boat docks in a Springfield floodway are allowed without a separate city flood-height review only if they meet…

Building a boat dock in unincorporated St. Clair County requires a floodplain development permit from the Zoning…

In unincorporated Will County, boat docks, boathouses and piers are allowed within required wetland and stream buffer…

Bolingbrook Code § 50-36 caps diesel-powered idling at three minutes within any 60-minute period on public property or…

Cook County's environmental code doesn't set its own idling limit: it adopts and defers to Illinois' state idling law…

In Evanston, a standing or parked motor vehicle weighing 8,000 pounds or more must not idle for more than five minutes…

Oak Lawn bans running truck, reefer, or refrigeration unit engines overnight, from 10:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., anywhere…

Joliet adds one foot of freeboard on top of the base flood elevation to set the flood protection elevation, and the…

In unincorporated Kane County, any building in the regulatory floodplain must be elevated or floodproofed to the Flood…

New buildings in McLean County's floodplain must have their lowest floor, including any basement, built at or above the…

Peoria requires buildings in the flood hazard area to sit at or above the flood protection elevation (FPE): base flood…

Arlington Heights, Illinois adds a one-foot freeboard buffer above the FEMA base flood elevation before any building in…

Detention basins built under Bolingbrook's stormwater rules must keep at least one foot of freeboard between the…

Champaign measures floodplain protection against the base flood elevation set by the State Water Survey's Floodplain…

Chicago's flood control code sets a flood protection elevation one foot above the base flood elevation, and new…

In unincorporated Cook County, new and substantially improved buildings in flood zones must set the lowest floor at or…

Unincorporated DuPage County requires one foot of freeboard above the base flood elevation for any new construction in…

Elgin's stormwater code sets the base flood elevation from FEMA's Cook and Kane County flood maps and requires two feet…

New and substantially improved residential buildings in Evanston's mapped floodplain must have their lowest floor…

In unincorporated Kankakee County, any new building in the mapped floodplain must be protected below the flood…

In unincorporated Kendall County, any new construction or substantial improvement in the regulatory floodplain must…

New homes in unincorporated Lake County floodplains must have their lowest floor built up to the Flood Protection…

Macon County requires one foot of freeboard above the base flood: the county's flood protection elevation is defined as…

In unincorporated Madison County, new construction in a mapped floodplain must sit at least one foot above the base…

In unincorporated McHenry County, new buildings, additions and substantial improvements inside a mapped floodplain must…

Oak Lawn requires new construction and substantial improvements in flood hazard areas to raise the lowest floor to the…

Peoria County requires new buildings and substantial improvements in a mapped floodplain to sit above the flood…

Rock Island County requires new and substantially improved buildings in the floodplain to sit above a defined flood…

Rockford requires new and substantially improved buildings in the floodplain to sit at least two feet above the base…

Sangamon County defines the flood protection elevation as the base flood elevation plus one foot, and floodplain…

Schaumburg ties new construction in the floodplain to the base flood elevation from the Cook and DuPage County flood…

Springfield defines the flood protection elevation as the base flood elevation plus one foot of freeboard, and requires…

St. Clair County sets its flood protection elevation, the height a building must clear, at the base flood elevation…

Tazewell County's floodplain code sets a Flood Protection Elevation two feet above the base flood elevation, and…

Village Code § 152.03 sets the base flood elevation for Tinley Park from the FEMA flood insurance studies for Cook…

Waukegan sets its regulatory flood protection elevation 2.5 feet above the mapped high-water profile, and Sec. 6-131…

Will County requires new and substantially improved residential structures in the regulatory floodplain to elevate…

New and improved buildings in Winnebago County's floodplain must have their lowest usable space at least one foot above…