Environmental Rules in Oregon (2026)

In the City of Albany, Oregon, no person can discharge a pollutant to a public right-of-way, the stormwater system or…

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…

Corvallis bans any non-stormwater discharge or illegal connection into its municipal storm drainage system, with the…

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…

In rural Josephine County outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, every subdivision…

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 the City of Springfield, Oregon, Development Code section 4.3.110 requires a site-specific stormwater management…

In the City of Tigard, Oregon, the Director and City Engineer issue a development permit only where adequate provisions…

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 Albany, Oregon, an erosion prevention and sediment control (EPSC) permit is required for land-disturbing…

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…

The City of Corvallis requires an Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control (EPSC) permit before any ground-disturbing…

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…

In rural Josephine County outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, grading or filling on…

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…

Construction sites in the City of Springfield, Oregon must control erosion and sediment under the Land and Drainage…

In the City of Tigard, Oregon, no one can drag, track or deposit mud, dirt, rock or debris on a public street or into…

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…

In the City of Corvallis, any development in the Special Flood Hazard Area, the mapped 100-Year Floodplain of the…

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…

In the City of Springfield, Oregon, no construction, fill, or other development can begin inside a mapped special flood…

In the City of Tigard, Oregon, a development permit is required before construction or development begins inside any…

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…

In rural Josephine County, outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, the Rural Land…

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…

In the City of Springfield, Oregon, a private dock, boat shelter, or pier is a permitted use only in the strip between…

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…

Corvallis Municipal Code Section 7.08.120 requires every property owner or occupant to cut down and remove weeds…

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…

In the City of Springfield, Oregon, Development Code § 3.3.540(B) requires a Fire Marshal-approved wildfire defense…

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…

In the City of Springfield, Oregon, Springfield Development Code Section 3.3.430 requires new or substantially improved…

In the City of Tigard, Oregon, new and substantially improved residential and nonresidential structures in riverine…

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

In the City of Corvallis, the Land Development Code adds one foot of freeboard on top of FEMA's Base Flood Elevation to…

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 rural Josephine County, outside the Grants Pass and Cave Junction urban growth boundaries, homes built in flood…

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…