Environmental Rules in Indiana (2026)

Indiana's IDEM administers statewide NPDES stormwater permitting under IC 13-18-3 and 327 IAC 15, requiring MS4…

In the City of Bloomington, dumping anything other than stormwater into a storm drain, ditch, or waterbody is illegal…

Unincorporated Clark County bans nearly all non-stormwater discharges into its MS4 storm sewer system under Code §…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, a stormwater management permit is required before land disturbance starts. Chapter…

Fishers requires all site drainage, grading, and stormwater systems to follow the city's Stormwater Management…

Fort Wayne bans dumping anything but stormwater into its storm drains, ditches and rivers, with fines up to $2,500 per…

Gary's Stormwater Management District, GSWMD, requires a permit before any land disturbance of 10,000 square feet or…

Hamilton County bans discharging anything but stormwater into the county's storm drains, regulated drains, or…

Hendricks County's Stormwater Management Ordinance regulates development, illicit discharges, and drainage design…

LaPorte County's Chapter 52 Stormwater Management ordinance requires a permit and an approved Stormwater Management…

Anyone disturbing a half acre or more of land in unincorporated Morgan County, Indiana must get a Stormwater Management…

Porter County's stormwater ordinance, Chapter 20 of the county code, bars illicit discharges and illegal connections…

Any new development, redevelopment or land-disturbing activity in unincorporated Vanderburgh County that adds more than…

Warrick County bans illicit discharges and illicit connections into its municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4)…

Unincorporated Bartholomew County bans discharging anything but stormwater into its municipal separate storm sewer…

Boone County Code Section 53.021 bars discharging any substance other than stormwater into a county MS4 conveyance…

Chapter 94 of the Dearborn County Code requires erosion and sediment controls on every land-disturbing site in…

Elkhart County's Uniform Requirements for Post Construction Stormwater Management cover any unincorporated property…

Evansville requires a Notice of Intent letter and a city-approved construction plan before any project disturbing one…

Chapter 152 of the Floyd County Code requires a stormwater quality management permit before land-disturbing…

In the City of Greenwood, Indiana, the Department of Stormwater Management regulates drainage design and stormwater…

The Hammond Sanitary District's Board of Stormwater Management holds exclusive jurisdiction over stormwater collection…

In unincorporated Howard County, new development or redevelopment disturbing one or more acres must limit…

Marion County's Stormwater Management District regulates drainage and collection across the consolidated city, funded…

In the City of Kokomo, any land-disturbing construction activity needs a site development permit and an approved…

Lafayette's Stormwater Code bans discharging anything but stormwater or an exempted flow into the city's drainage…

Lake County regulates stormwater and drainage through Ordinance 1500A, its 2024 Stormwater Management and Clean Water…

Grading, filling, or otherwise altering land in Muncie requires a drainage permit from the city engineer before work…

In the City of Noblesville, Chapter 52 of the Code of Ordinances bans dumping anything but stormwater into the…

South Bend sits on the St. Joseph River with an aging combined sewer system, and a 2012 federal consent decree drives…

St. Joseph County requires a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) before any land-disturbing construction of…

Unincorporated Tippecanoe County requires a stormwater management permit before land-disturbing construction, under the…

Wayne County investigates storm water nuisance complaints through the County Surveyor working with the County Drainage…

The City of Westfield, Indiana bans illicit discharges into its Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) under City…

Gary Chapter 113 requires anyone starting a land disturbing activity, clearing, grading, excavating, filling, or…

Kokomo requires a city site development permit before any land-disturbing construction activity under Chapter 161…

LaPorte County requires an approved Erosion and Sediment Control Plan before any construction on a project site…

Construction that disturbs the ground in unincorporated Morgan County, Indiana must control soil erosion and…

Any land-disturbing activity of one acre or more in unincorporated Warrick County needs a stormwater approval with an…

Any construction site in unincorporated Bartholomew County that disturbs more than one acre, outside an approved…

In the City of Bloomington, every construction site disturbing ground, no matter the size, must control erosion and…

Boone County requires a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan with erosion and sediment control measures for any project…

Clark County requires a grading permit and an approved erosion and sediment control plan before any land disturbing…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, everyone engaged in land disturbing activity must comply with the stormwater…

Land-disturbing work in unincorporated Dearborn County, Indiana needs erosion control measures installed before the…

Elkhart County requires a stormwater clearance from the Soil and Water Conservation District before any building…

Before disturbing under an acre of land in Evansville, property owners must install erosion and sediment control…

Fishers bans mud, dirt, and dust from construction sites from tracking onto public streets and requires contractors to…

Floyd County Code § 152.006 requires a Perimeter Control Plan on construction sites in unincorporated Floyd County to…

Fort Wayne requires a land disturbance permit and an approved stormwater pollution prevention plan before any grading…

In the City of Greenwood, Indiana, any project that clears, grades, excavates, or otherwise disturbs land must follow…

Any construction site in unincorporated Hamilton County disturbing an acre or more of land needs an approved stormwater…

Any construction site disturbing 1 acre or more within Hammond must get a land disturbance permit and follow an…

Hendricks County requires a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) with erosion and sediment control measures…

In unincorporated Howard County, land-disturbing construction that uncovers one or more acres in the county's MS4 Area…

Construction sites in the Consolidated City must minimize erosion, stabilize exposed soil within set deadlines, and…

Lafayette requires a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan for any project disturbing a half acre or more of land…

Construction sites in Muncie that strip vegetation must keep erosion to a minimum under Chapter 164's sediment control…

Any development in the City of Noblesville that needs an Improvement Location Permit must first have an Erosion Control…

Porter County requires an Erosion Control Permit under UDO Section 7.15 (EC-01) before any land-disturbing activity of…

Grading and earthwork in South Bend answer to two systems. A site of one acre or more needs a site development permit…

St. Joseph County's sediment and erosion control chapter ties every construction site's erosion plan to Indiana's Rule…

Vanderburgh County Code Chapter 15.44 bars any land disturbing activity in the unincorporated county until erosion and…

In unincorporated Wayne County, Indiana, subdividers must protect every road shoulder, ditch and slope from erosion by…

Westfield requires builders holding an Improvement Location Permit to install and maintain perimeter sediment and…

Building a permanent structure in, or removing water or material from, Lake Michigan or any Indiana navigable waterway…

Excavating, filling, or building over, along, or lakeward of the shoreline of a public freshwater lake in…

Indiana Code 14-28-1 requires DNR Division of Water permits for any construction, fill, or excavation in a regulated…

The St. Joseph River floodway runs straight through downtown South Bend. Under Indiana's Flood Control Act, IC…

In the City of Bloomington, no structure may be located, altered or extended within an area of special flood hazard…

Any development activity in a Clark County special flood hazard area needs a floodplain development permit before work…

Fort Wayne bans new subdivisions inside the mapped floodway outright and allows floodway-fringe subdivisions only after…

In the City of Greenwood, Indiana, any construction, fill, grading, or other development inside a mapped Special Flood…

Hamilton County's floodplain ordinance covers every special flood hazard area shown on the county's November 19, 2014…

Any development in a special flood hazard area of the City of Hammond, Indiana needs a floodplain improvement location…

Hendricks County's Chapter 151 Flood Hazard ordinance establishes Primary and Secondary Floodplain Districts based on…

Before any development activity begins in a mapped special flood hazard area (SFHA) in Marion County, the property…

LaPorte County requires a floodplain development permit before any grading, filling, construction or structural…

Anyone building, filling, or altering land in a Muncie flood hazard area needs a floodplain development permit before…

Porter County requires a Floodplain Development Permit before any construction, filling, or land alteration inside a…

Tippecanoe County requires a separate permit for every building, mobile home, or man-made change to land within its…

Vanderburgh County requires a Floodplain Development Permit before any grading, filling, construction or structural…

In unincorporated Bartholomew County, the Plan Commission won't approve a subdivision unless each lot has enough land…

Unincorporated Boone County, Indiana requires a floodplain development permit before any building, filling, or grading…

In the City of Columbus, Indiana, the Department of Code Enforcement reviews every permit application for new…

In unincorporated Dearborn County, Indiana, no development can begin in a special flood hazard area without a…

Evansville requires a floodplain development permit before any construction, fill, grading, or land-disturbing activity…

Fishers reviews every building permit application for new construction, substantial improvements, or major repairs…

Floyd County's post-construction stormwater ordinance bars new buildings and structures within a waterway buffer…

Sec. 123-304 prohibits any development in Gary's Special Flood Hazard Area that would raise flood heights or velocity…

Anyone developing land within a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) in unincorporated Howard County must get an…

In the City of Kokomo, any development activity inside a mapped special flood hazard area requires a floodplain…

Lafayette's Stormwater Code layers floodplain-storage protection on top of the county's Unified Zoning Ordinance…

Unincorporated Lake County requires a floodplain development permit from the Floodplain Administrator before any…

In unincorporated Morgan County, Indiana, and the Towns of Bethany, Brooklyn and Paragon, a floodplain development…

The Flood Hazard (FH) District under § 159.109(A) governs all development in Noblesville's Special Flood Hazard Areas…

Any construction, fill, grading or land-disturbing activity wholly or partly inside a mapped special flood hazard area…

In unincorporated Warrick County, Indiana, any development in a mapped floodway or floodplain must comply with the…

Any development in a Wayne County, Indiana special flood hazard area needs a floodplain development permit from the…

In the City of Bloomington, no one may build a boathouse or permanent dock structure on land adjoining Lake Lemon…

A boat dock on Eagle Creek Reservoir, the city-owned reservoir inside Indianapolis, needs city sign-off before it goes…

A dock for noncommercial watercraft is allowed countywide as a zoning accessory use, but Section 17.12.070(C) caps how…

In unincorporated Elkhart County, idling a tractor within 500 feet of a residence between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. is a…

New or substantially improved buildings in Clark County's mapped flood hazard areas must have their lowest floor at or…

The City of Hammond, Indiana sets its flood protection grade (FPG) at the base flood elevation (BFE) plus 2 feet of…

In unincorporated Morgan County, Indiana's special flood hazard areas, Morgan County Code § 151.62 sets the flood…

Muncie requires new and substantially improved homes in its mapped flood hazard areas to sit at least two feet above…

Section 153.07 requires large subdivisions in Tippecanoe County's flood plain, more than 50 lots or five acres, to…

Vanderburgh County sets its Flood Protection Grade at the FEMA base flood elevation plus two feet of freeboard, and new…

New or substantially improved homes in a Bloomington special flood hazard area must have their lowest floor built at or…

Boone County requires new or substantially improved residential structures in a special flood hazard area to elevate…

In unincorporated Dearborn County, Indiana, new construction or a substantial improvement inside a special flood hazard…

Evansville sets its flood protection grade at base flood elevation plus two feet of freeboard, and requires new or…

Sec. 123-252 defines Gary's regulatory flood elevation, the code's flood-protection benchmark, by pointing to specific…

In the City of Greenwood, Indiana, Sec. 10-02-31 sets the Flood Protection Grade (FPG) at the base flood elevation plus…

New homes and additions in Hamilton County's mapped flood hazard areas must have their lowest floor built two feet…

In unincorporated Howard County's flood hazard areas, buildings must be protected to the Flood Protection Grade…

New construction and substantially improved buildings in Indianapolis and Marion County's mapped flood hazard areas…

In the City of Kokomo, new and substantially improved buildings in the mapped floodplain must be built to the Flood…

Lafayette requires new buildings near mapped floodplains to sit at least two feet above the 100-year flood elevation…

In unincorporated Lake County's Special Flood Hazard Areas, new or substantially improved residential structures must…

In LaPorte County's special flood hazard areas, new and substantially improved homes must have their lowest floor…

The City of Noblesville requires two feet of freeboard above the base flood elevation. Under § 159.016, the Flood…

New or substantially improved residential structures in Porter County's flood hazard areas must set the lowest floor…

New and substantially improved residential structures in South Bend's mapped flood hazard areas must have their lowest…

New or substantially improved homes in St. Joseph County's Zone A and Zone AE flood areas must have their lowest floor…

Warrick County's drainage code sets the yardsticks for flood elevation: it defines Flood Protection Grade as the base…

Wayne County, Indiana requires new and substantially improved residential structures in the special flood hazard area…