Environmental Rules in Tennessee (2026)

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation administers NPDES stormwater permits statewide, requiring…

The City of Clarksville is a Phase II MS4 permittee in its own right under TDEC permit TNS075205, separate from…

Hendersonville bans dumping anything but stormwater into its storm drain system: Section 18-208 prohibits illicit…

Knoxville requires an engineering department site development permit before grading, filling, clearing, or altering any…

Memphis Code Chapter 13-40 bans dumping trash, petroleum products, paints, pesticides and 29 other listed contaminants…

Unincorporated Shelby County bans dumping oil, antifreeze, paint, pesticides, pool backwash and 27 other contaminants…

Sumner County presumes every Major Subdivision of three or more lots and every Site Plan needs a stormwater detention…

New development and redevelopment in Chattanooga must manage the first inch of every rainstorm on-site with no…

Franklin requires new development to size stormwater systems to specific storm-return standards: catch basins for the…

Knox County's engineering and public works department enforces the Knox County Stormwater Management Ordinance, Sec…

Murfreesboro bars any construction, public or private, from materially increasing flooding through flow restrictions…

Metro Nashville charges a monthly stormwater utility fee on every parcel based on impervious surface area, funding…

New development in unincorporated Rutherford County must hold post-development runoff to pre-development rates for…

Sullivan County requires a stormwater management plan for qualifying development in the unincorporated county under…

Williamson County runs a Phase II MS4 stormwater program under a TDEC permit, protecting the Harpeth River watershed…

Tennessee's Water Quality Control Act and TDEC rules require erosion and sediment controls on regulated construction…

Clarksville Code section 12-304 requires erosion prevention and sediment controls on land disturbance over one acre, or…

Knoxville requires erosion prevention and sediment controls on every site development project, with a…

Any grading, excavating, or filling in Chattanooga needs a City land disturbing permit before work starts, kept on-site…

Every construction site in Franklin, regardless of size, must have erosion prevention and sediment control (EPSC)…

Unincorporated Hamilton County requires a land disturbance permit before grading or clearing one acre or more, or a…

Any land-disturbing project in Hendersonville needs a Land Disturbance Permit before grading begins, and disturbances…

Any construction or land-disturbing activity in unincorporated Knox County, even work exempt from a stormwater plan…

Any construction activity in Memphis that disturbs one acre or more of land must obtain coverage under Tennessee's…

Murfreesboro requires a land disturbance permit before grading, clearing or filling one acre or more, triggering an…

Metro Nashville requires an engineer-prepared grading and drainage plan, reviewed and approved by Water and Sewerage…

Construction plans for any new subdivision in unincorporated Rutherford County must include a grading, drainage and…

Any construction disturbing one acre or more in unincorporated Shelby County needs a state stormwater discharge permit…

Sullivan County requires a grading permit for land-disturbing activity in the unincorporated county under Section…

Tennessee has no statewide grading permit. Earthwork disturbing one acre or more triggers a TDEC construction…

Williamson County requires erosion plans for significant earthwork and forbids development from sending more stormwater…

Tennessee is landlocked, so no coastal program exists. Building near the Cumberland and Red Rivers instead runs through…

Williamson County is landlocked in Middle Tennessee, so coastal rules do not apply. Development near its streams and…

Chattanooga regulates two overlapping flood districts under Zoning Code Sec. 38-38 and Sec. 38-39: the F/W Floodway…

Metro Nashville bans new structures in the floodway under Metropolitan Code § 15.64.170, and requires floodplain…

In unincorporated Sumner County, no development can occur in an Area of Special Flood Hazard without a permit from the…

Any development in a Williamson County Area of Special Flood Hazard needs a development permit before work starts…

Franklin requires a floodplain development permit before any construction, fill, or land disturbance in a FEMA-mapped…

Any development inside a Hendersonville flood hazard area needs a development permit before work starts, and every…

Knox County requires a development permit from the county Engineering Department before any construction, fill or…

Any development activity in a flood-prone part of Knoxville, from filling and grading to new construction, needs a city…

Any development within a Special Flood Hazard Area in Memphis or unincorporated Shelby County requires a development…

Murfreesboro requires a development permit before any construction, filling, grading or land alteration in a…

In unincorporated Rutherford County, a development permit is required before any grading, filling, or construction…

Shelby County allows development in the floodplain, but the County Engineer can require the developer to prove no…

In unincorporated Sullivan County, a permit from the Building Commissioner is required before excavating, building…

A boat dock, marina or similar organized waterfront recreation facility in unincorporated Hamilton County needs a…

Hendersonville bans commercial and private boat docks within 500 feet of the public water intake on Drakes Creek, with…

Metro Nashville's zoning code lists 'boat dock (commercial)' as a permitted use only in downtown, industrial, and…

Murfreesboro bars trucks over 10,000 pounds GCWR from sitting stationary and idling more than ten minutes an hour in…

New and substantially improved homes in Hendersonville's AE flood zones must sit at least two feet above the FEMA base…

New construction and substantial improvements in a Williamson County AE flood zone must have the lowest floor…

Chattanooga requires new homes and manufactured homes in mapped flood zones to elevate the lowest floor at least two…

Franklin's 2026 zoning ordinance requires new or substantially improved homes in AE flood zones to elevate the lowest…

In the unincorporated area of Hamilton County, new and substantially improved residential buildings in a Special Flood…

Knox County requires new construction and substantial improvements in mapped flood-hazard areas to elevate the lowest…

Knoxville requires new and substantially improved buildings in mapped flood zones to elevate the lowest floor at least…

New residential construction and substantial improvements in a Memphis or Shelby County flood hazard area must have the…

Murfreesboro requires new and substantially improved homes in a mapped AE flood zone to sit at least one foot of…

Metro Nashville requires new structures in the floodplain to elevate the lowest floor at least four feet above base…

In unincorporated Rutherford County, new homes and substantially improved residences in AE flood zones must have their…

New and substantially improved homes in Sumner County's unincorporated Special Flood Hazard Areas must sit at least…