Iowa Landowner Duty to Control Soil Erosion Statewide

Section 161A.43 imposes a legal duty on all Iowa property owners, expressly including every state agency and political subdivision holding public land, to establish and maintain soil and water conservation or erosion control practices required by their local soil and water conservation district. When a landowner files a written complaint that sediment from neighboring land is damaging their property, the district commissioners inspect under section 161A.47 and issue an administrative order describing how far erosion exceeds the district's soil loss limits. On construction sites stripped of vegetation, corrective work must commence within five days and be completed within thirty; in all other cases, within six months and one year.

The administrative order is delivered by personal service or restricted certified mail. On a construction site exposing bare soil, erosion-control work must begin within five days of the notice and be satisfactorily completed within thirty days.