Environmental Rules in Iowa (2026)

Iowa Code chapter 455B authorizes the DNR to administer NPDES stormwater permits statewide. Construction sites…

New subdivisions in unincorporated Black Hawk County must provide adequate storm sewers and inlets, protect natural…

Cedar Rapids requires an approved Stormwater Management Plan before any development, with on-site detention mandatory…

Davenport regulates stormwater under Municipal Code Chapter 13.34, administered by the Public Works Natural Resources…

Des Moines requires a stormwater management plan for any development adding more than 10,000 square feet of new…

Iowa City runs every developed parcel through a citywide stormwater utility. Owners pay a monthly charge based on an…

Unincorporated Johnson County requires an adequate stormwater management plan before approving most subdivisions, site…

Unincorporated Linn County requires a stormwater pollution prevention plan for major subdivisions and any…

Unincorporated Polk County requires stormwater detention facilities on developments that cannot directly discharge…

Sioux City requires storm water management review for construction creating 5,000 or more square feet of impervious…

Unincorporated Story County requires a Stormwater Management Plan before construction on any development that disturbs…

Iowa Code Chapter 161A makes every landowner statewide responsible for establishing and maintaining erosion control…

Iowa City requires a construction site runoff (CSR) permit, on top of any state NPDES permit, for earth-disturbing work…

Cedar Rapids requires an erosion control permit before any land-disturbing activity in the city: a major permit for…

Davenport requires erosion and sediment control on construction sites, tied to its stormwater code (Chapter 13.34) and…

Des Moines requires a city engineer grading permit before you strip, excavate, fill, or install drainage pipe on most…

Johnson County requires an approved soil erosion and sediment control plan before the Zoning Administrator issues a…

Linn County requires a stormwater pollution prevention plan for major subdivisions and other land-disturbing permits…

Unincorporated Polk County requires a Grading Permit for land-disturbing work exceeding three feet of fill, five feet…

Sioux City requires a grading permit before moving more than 50 cubic yards of material anywhere in the city, with the…

Any development or land-disturbing activity in unincorporated Story County must control erosion and sedimentation under…

Davenport sits on the Mississippi River, not an ocean coast, so waterway development is governed by its stormwater and…

Coastal rules do not apply in Johnson County. This is landlocked eastern Iowa. Work near water here follows Iowa DNR…

Iowa Code 455B and Iowa Admin Code 567 chapters 70 through 72 require state DNR approval for floodplain or floodway…

Davenport enforces floodplain rules under Municipal Code Chapter 15.44 for FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas along the…

Unincorporated Black Hawk County splits its floodplain into four overlay sub-districts, Floodway, Floodway Fringe…

Cedar Rapids requires a Floodplain Development Permit from the city's Floodplain Administrator before any construction…

Des Moines requires a certificate of compliance before any construction, fill, or grading in a mapped floodplain, with…

Iowa City requires a floodplain development permit from the building official before any development begins on land in…

Any development in a mapped floodplain in unincorporated Johnson County, including placing a factory-built home, needs…

Any manmade change to land within Linn County's mapped floodplain, including new buildings, grading, filling, or…

Building in a special flood hazard area of unincorporated Polk County requires a Floodplain Development Permit from the…

Any grading, filling, or construction inside Sioux City's mapped floodplain overlay districts needs a Floodplain…

Any development in a mapped floodway, floodway fringe, or general floodplain district in unincorporated Story County…

In the floodplain districts of unincorporated Black Hawk County, Iowa, a boat dock placed on any river or stream (other…

Building a dock, pier, or other structure in the Des Moines River or Raccoon River, or driving pilings into the…

Marinas, boat rentals, docks, piers and wharves in Sioux City's Floodway Overlay District along the Missouri River need…

Cedar Rapids requires Parks, Waterways & Recreation Commission approval before anyone builds or uses a fixed or…

Boat launching ramps, boat docks, piers and marinas are allowed in the floodway and floodway fringe of unincorporated…

New or substantially improved buildings in the county's Floodway Fringe, General Floodplain and Shallow Flooding…

New and substantially improved homes in Cedar Rapids' AE flood zones must have their lowest floor at least two feet…

New construction and substantial improvements in Des Moines floodplains must elevate the lowest floor at least three…

Iowa City requires one foot of freeboard above the flood hazard elevation for new and substantially improved buildings…

New and substantially improved residential structures in Johnson County's Floodway Fringe Overlay District must have…

In Linn County's floodway fringe district, new or substantially improved homes must have their lowest floor at least…

New or substantially improved homes in the unincorporated Polk County floodplain must have the lowest floor at least…

Sioux City requires new or substantially improved residential structures in the Floodway Fringe Overlay District to…

In unincorporated Story County, new or substantially improved residential structures in the floodway fringe must have…