Environmental Rules in Oregon (2026)

In the City of Bend, new development or redevelopment that creates 5,000 square feet or more of new impervious surface…

Any new development or redevelopment in unincorporated Benton County that creates or replaces a quarter acre (10,890…

Eugene makes property owners financially and legally responsible for their stormwater service and requires privately…

Lane County bans dumping anything but rainwater into its stormwater system: LC 9.010.007 makes it illegal to discharge…

Medford bans discharging any pollutant into its storm drainage system, including illegal pipe or drain connections…

Any Beaverton property connected to the public storm drainage system must pay a monthly maintenance charge set by…

Gresham owns and operates its public stormwater system as a city utility funded by recurring user charges, and requires…

New Hillsboro development with aboveground stormwater facilities must integrate them into site design and meet Clean…

Unincorporated Multnomah County requires an engineered stormwater drainage system for any new or replacement impervious…

Portland requires development and redevelopment projects that create or replace impervious surface to manage stormwater…

Salem bans discharging any pollutant into the public or private stormwater system or a receiving water within city…

In unincorporated Washington County, any grading that blocks a drainage course requires a properly designed drainage…

Eugene requires an erosion prevention permit before construction that disturbs an acre or more, sits in a sensitive…

Salem bans visible, measurable erosion or sediment reaching its storm system and requires an erosion control permit for…

In the City of Bend, any construction or land-disturbing activity of 5,000 square feet or more must follow an approved…

Construction that disturbs soil in unincorporated Benton County falls under the county's illicit-discharge ordinance…

Gresham requires approved grading and drainage plans, Building Code Appendix J compliance, and a stormwater report…

Hillsboro caps how much finished grade can differ from neighboring ground near single-family zones and requires a…

Unincorporated Lane County requires an erosion prevention permit for land-disturbing construction within the county's…

Medford requires its own Erosion Control Permit for any construction project disturbing 7,000 square feet or more of…

Unincorporated Multnomah County requires a permit before any ground disturbing activity, and a stormwater drainage…

Portland requires a permit for most grading and earthwork, with drainage and terracing standards for every cut or fill…

Washington County requires a grading permit for excavation, fill, private road cuts and site grading anywhere in the…

Oregon's Beach Bill (ORS 390.605-390.770) and Statewide Planning Goals 16-19 give the state primary control over…

Beaverton participates in FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program and regulates development in mapped Special Flood…

Any construction, substantial improvement, manufactured dwelling placement, or grading within a Benton County special…

Medford requires a floodplain development permit before any construction, fill, or other development begins within a…

Unincorporated Multnomah County requires a Floodplain Development Permit before any construction, grading, or fill in…

Building in a mapped floodplain or drainage hazard area in unincorporated Washington County requires engineered…

Any construction, fill, or other development inside a FEMA-mapped special flood hazard area in Eugene needs a…

Any development within Gresham's Floodplain Overlay District needs a floodplain development permit from the Community…

Hillsboro requires a Floodplain Activity Permit for nearly all development in the FEMA-mapped 1% annual chance…

Any construction, fill, grading or new structure within Lane County's mapped special flood hazard area needs a…

Portland requires a development permit before any construction, fill, or grading in a mapped flood hazard area, with…

Any construction or development within Salem's Special Flood Hazard Area or an interim flood hazard area requires a…

Building a new dock or pier in Lane County's Conservation Estuary Zone requires a Conditional Use Permit from the…

New residential floating docks on Portland's Willamette River frontage are capped at 200 square feet with no variances…

Gresham requires a separate building permit before anyone builds, alters, moves or removes a dock, moorage, marina or…

Inside the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, new private docks are capped at 120 or 200 square feet depending…

The City of Bend requires every property owner to reduce flammable vegetation around structures and, on tax lots over…

Every new structure in unincorporated Benton County's Forest Conservation Zone must carry a defensible-space clearing…

Medford requires a minimum 100-foot firebreak (defensible space) around structures in wildfire hazard zones, plus…

Inside the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area's forest zones, new buildings must be surrounded by a maintained…

Eugene limits engine idling to 15 consecutive minutes when plainly audible inside a nearby dwelling between 10 p.m. and…

Salem bans idling a motor vehicle engine for more than ten consecutive minutes when the noise is plainly audible inside…

Eugene requires new residential construction in special flood hazard areas to elevate the lowest floor at least one…

Unincorporated Benton County requires the lowest floor of new or substantially improved residential structures in a…

New and substantially improved homes in Gresham's Floodplain Overlay District must have their lowest floor built at…

New homes and additions built inside Hillsboro's Regulatory Floodplain Overlay must have the lowest floor, including…

In unincorporated Lane County's mapped Special Flood Hazard Areas, new and substantially improved residential…

Medford requires new and substantially improved residential structures in riverine special flood hazard areas to…

Unincorporated Multnomah County requires new and substantially improved homes in flood hazard areas to elevate the…

Portland requires new construction in flood hazard areas to elevate the lowest floor above the base flood elevation…

Salem requires new and substantially improved residential structures in mapped flood zones to elevate the lowest floor…

New homes and major remodels built inside a mapped flood area in unincorporated Washington County must have their…