Chapter 1501:15-1 Erosion and Sediment Control
(A) Purpose. Rules 1501:15-1-01 to 1501:15-1-06 of the Administrative Code establish state standards to achieve a level of management and conservation practices which will control wind or water erosion of the soil and minimize the degradation of water resources by soil sediment in conjunction with land grading, excavating, filling, or other soil-disturbing activities on land used or being developed for non-farm commercial, industrial, residential, or other non-farm purposes, and establish criteria for determination of the acceptability of such management and conservation practices. The state standards are designed to implement applicable water quality management and nonpoint source management plans prepared under Section 208 and Section 319 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 86 Stat 816, 33 U.S.C. 1288, as amended. Such standards and criteria shall be used by the division of soil and water conservation to review projects required to control sediment pollution pursuant to any applicable statutory or administrative authority including but not limited to division (K) of section 1511.02 of the Revised Code and Section 319 of the Water Quality Act of 1987; such standards and criteria may also be used by local governments as a model when developing local ordinances or rules pertaining to sediment pollution control.
(B) Definitions. As used in Chapter 1501:15-1 of the Administrative Code:
(1) "Accelerated water erosion" means the wearing away of the land surface by water, occurring at a much more rapid rate than geologic or normal erosion, primarily as a result of the influence of the activities of humans.
(2) "Approving agency" means either a state or local agency responsible for administering urban sediment pollution control programs.
(3) "Channel" means a natural stream that conveys water; a ditch or channel excavated for the flow of water.
(4) "Chief" means chief of the division of soil and water conservation, department of natural resources.
(5) "Concentrated stormwater runoff" means surface runoff which converges and flows primarily through water conveyance features such as swales, gullies, waterways, channels or storm sewers and which exceeds the maximum specified flow rates of filters or perimeter controls intended to control sheet flow.
(6) "Conservation" means the wise use and management of natural resources.
(7) "Cut and fill slopes" means a portion of land surface or area from which soil material is excavated and/or filled forming a slope or embankment.
(8) "Denuded area" means a portion of land surface on which the vegetation or other soil stabilization features have been removed, destroyed or covered and which may result in or contribute to erosion and sedimentation.
(9) "Development area" means any tract, lot or parcel of land or combination of tracts, lots or parcels of land which are in one ownership, or are contiguous and in diverse ownership where earth disturbing activity is to be performed.
(10) "District" means a soil and water conservation district, organized under Chapter 1515. of the Revised Code.
(11) "Ditch" means an excavation either dug or natural for the purpose of drainage or irrigation with intermittent flow.
(12) "Division" means the division of soil and water conservation, department of natural resources.
(13) "Dumping" means grading, pushing, piling, throwing, unloading, or placing of soil.
(14) "Earth-disturbing activity" means any grading, excavating, filling, or other alteration of the earth's surface where natural or man-made ground cover is destroyed and which may result in or contribute to erosion and sediment pollution.
(15) "Earth material" means soil, sediment, rock, sand, gravel, and organic material or residue associated with or attached to the soil.
(16) "Erosion" means the process by which the land surface is worn away by the action of water, wind, ice or gravity.
(17) "Erosion and sediment control plan" means a written and/or drawn sediment pollution control plan or strategy to minimize erosion and prevent off-site sedimentation throughout all earth-disturbing activities on a development area.
(18) "Erosion and sediment control practices" means conservation measures used to control sediment pollution and includes structural practices, vegetative practices and management techniques.
(19) "Frequency storm" means a rainfall event of a magnitude with a specified average recurrence interval and is calculated with natural resources conservation service type II twenty-four-hour curves or depth-duration frequency curves.
(20) "Grading" means earth-disturbing activity such as excavation, stripping, cutting, filling, stockpiling, or any combination thereof.
(21) "Grubbing" means removing, clearing or scalping material such as roots, stumps or sod.
(22) "Highly erodible soil" means a portion of land surface which is very susceptible to erosive forces and is characterized by steep slopes or long slopes.
(23) "Landslide" means the rapid mass movement of soil and rock material downhill under the influence of gravity in which the movement of the soil mass occurs along an interior surface of sliding.
(24) "Outfall" means an area where water flows from a structure such as a conduit, storm sewer, improved channel or drain, and the area immediately beyond the structure which is impacted by the velocity of flow in the structure.
(25) "Person" means any individual, corporation, partnership, joint venture, agency, unincorporated association, municipal corporation, township, county, state agency, the federal government, or any combination thereof.
(26) "Sediment" means solid material, both mineral and organic, that is in suspension, is being transported, or has been moved from its site of origin by wind, water, gravity, or ice, and has come to rest on the earth's surface.
(27) "Sediment basin" means a settling facility meeting or exceeding the design specifications of a temporary sediment basin as defined in "Rainwater and Land Development, Ohio's Standards for Stormwater Management, Land Development and Urban Stream Protection" (department of natural resources, natural resources conservation service and Ohio environmental protection agency), which is available to all Ohio County Soil and Water Conservation Districts.
(28) "Sediment control" means the limiting of sediment transport by controlling erosion, filtering sediment from water, or detaining sediment-laden water allowing sediment to settle out.
(29) "Sediment filter" means a sediment control device such as a silt fence, straw bale barrier, or filter strip, usually capable of controlling only small flow rates.
(30) "Sediment pollution" means failure to use management or conservation practices to control wind or water erosion of the soil and to minimize the degradation of water resources by soil sediment in conjunction with land grading, excavating, filling, or other soil-disturbing activities on land used or being developed for non-farm commercial, industrial, residential, or other non-farm purposes.
(31) "Sensitive area" means an area or water resource as delineated by the approving authority prior to plan approval that requires special management because of its susceptibility to sediment pollution or because of its importance to the well-being of the surrounding communities, region, or the state and includes:
(a) Ponds, wetlands or small lakes with less than five acres of surface area;
(b) Small streams with gradients less than two per cent.
(32) "Settling facility" means a runoff detention structure such as sediment basins or sediment traps, which detain sediment-laden runoff allowing sediment to settle out.
(33) "Sheet flow" means overland water runoff in a thin uniform layer.
(34) "Slip" means landslide as defined in paragraph (B) of this rule.
(35) "Sloughing" means a slip or downward movement of an extended layer of soil resulting from the undermining action of water or the earth-disturbing activity of man.
(36) "Soil" means unconsolidated erodible earth material consisting of minerals and/or organics.
(37) "Soil loss" means soil moved from a site by the forces of erosion and redeposited at another site on land or in a body of water.
(38) "Soil stabilization" means vegetative or structural soil cover controlling erosion, and includes permanent and temporary seed, mulch, sod, pavement, etc.
(39) "Stormwater control structure" means practices used to control accelerated stormwater runoff from development areas.
(40) "Stormwater conveyance system" means all storm sewers, channels, streams, ponds, lakes, etc., used for conveying concentrated stormwater runoff or storing stormwater runoff.
(41) "Stream" means a body of water running or flowing on the earth's surface or channel in which such flow occurs. Flow may be seasonally intermittent.
(42) "Unstable soil" means a portion of land surface or area which is prone to slipping, sloughing or landslides.
(43) "Water resources" means all streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, watercourses, waterways, drainage systems, and all other bodies or accumulations of surface water, natural or artificial, which are situated wholly or partly within, or border upon, this state, or are within its jurisdiction, except those private waters which do not combine or effect a junction with natural surface waters.
R.C. 119.032 review dates: 07/18/2005 and 10/03/2010
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 1511.02(E)
Rule Amplifies: 1511.02 , 1515.08
Prior Effective Dates: 11/1/79, 11/30/89, 6/1/00
(A) Rules 1501:15-1-01 to 1501:15-1-06 of the Administrative Code apply to development areas involving new or relocated projects involving highways, underground cables, pipelines or railroads; or other state and federal agency projects which are required to control sediment pollution pursuant to any applicable federal or state statutory or administrative authority.
(2) Strip mining operations regulated by Chapter 1513. of the Revised Code.
(3) Surface mining operations regulated by Chapter 1514. of the Revised Code.
(4) Development areas in a municipal corporation or county that adopts ordinances or rules for urban sediment control.
In order to control sediment pollution of water resources, the owner or person responsible for the development area shall be responsible for developing an erosion and sediment control plan.
(A) The erosion and sediment control plan shall identify potential erosion and sediment pollution problems and describe measures to be taken to control those problems.
(B) The erosion and sediment control plan must be submitted to and be approved by the approving agency prior to any earth-disturbing activity on the development area.
(C) The following information shall be included in the erosion and sediment control plan:
(1) A general project description including the nature and purpose of the earth-disturbing activity;
(2) A vicinity sketch locating the development area and all pertinent surrounding features, including water resources;
(3) The location of sensitive areas receiving runoff from the development area;
(4) The existing and proposed topography;
(5) The location and description of existing and proposed drainage patterns and facilities, including any allied drainage facilities beyond the development area;
(6) The limits of earth-disturbing activity;
(7) The types of soils within or affected by the development area and the location of all highly erodible or unstable soils;
(8) Erosion and sediment control practices to be employed on the development area:
(a) Their location; and
(b) Where applicable, their size, detail drawings, maintenance requirements, and design calculations.
(9) Stormwater provisions, including:
(b) The location and design calculations for all permanent stormwater conveyance, detention, and retention structures;
(c) The person or entity responsible for continued maintenance of the stormwater control structure;
(d) Maintenance requirements and schedules; and
(e) Permanent access and access easements required to perform inspection and maintenance of stormwater control structures and stormwater conveyance systems.
(10) The schedule, phasing, and coordination of construction operations and erosion and sediment control practices.
(A) In order to control sediment pollution of water resources the owner or person responsible for the development area shall use conservation planning and practices to maintain the level of conservation established by the following standards:
(1) Timing of sediment-trapping practices
Sediment control practices shall be functional throughout earth-disturbing activity.
Settling facilities, perimeter controls, and other practices intended to trap sediment shall be implemented as the first step of grading and within seven days from the start of grubbing. They shall continue to function until the upslope development area is restabilized.
(2) Stabilization of denuded areas
Denuded areas shall have soil stabilization applied within seven days if they are to remain dormant for more than forty-five days. Permanent or temporary soil stabilization shall be applied to denuded areas within seven days after final grade is reached on any portion of the site, and shall also be applied within seven days to denuded areas which may not be at final grade, but will remain dormant (undisturbed) for longer than forty-five days.
(3) Settling facilities
Concentrated stormwater runoff from denuded areas shall pass through a sediment-settling facility.
The facility's storage capacity shall be sixty-seven cubic yards per acre of drainage area.
(4) Sediment barriers
Sheet flow runoff from denuded areas shall be filtered or diverted to a settling facility.
Sediment barriers such as sediment fence or diversions to settling facilities shall protect adjacent properties and water resources from sediment transported by sheet flow.
(5) Storm sewer inlet protection
All strom sewer inlets which accept water runoff from the development area shall be protected so that sediment-laden water will not enter the storm sewer system without first being filtered or otherwise treated to remove sediment, unless the storm sewer system drains to a settling facility.
(6) Working in or crossing streams
(a) Streams including bed and banks shall be restabilized immediately after in-channel work is completed, interrupted, or stopped.
To the extent practicable, construction vehicles shall be kept out of streams. Where in-channel work is necessary, precautions shall be taken to stabilize the work area during construction to minimize erosion.
(b) If a live (wet) stream must be crossed by construction vehicles regularly during construction, a temporary stream crossing shall be provided.
(7) Construction access routes
Measures shall be taken to prevent soil transport onto surfaces where runoff is not checked by sediment controls, or onto public roads.
(8) Sloughing and dumping
(a) No soil, rock, debris, or any other material shall be dumped or placed into a water resource or into such proximity that it may readily slough, slip, or erode into a water resource unless such dumping or placing is authorized by the approving agency, and, when applicable, the U.S. army corps of engineers, for such purposes as, but not limited to, constructing bridges, culverts, and erosion control structures.
(b) Unstable soils prone to slipping or landsliding shall not be graded, excavated, filled or have loads imposed upon them unless the work is done in accordance with a qualified professional engineer's recommendations to correct, eliminate, or adequately address the problems.
(9) Cut and fill slopes
Cut and fill slopes shall be designed and constructed in a manner which will minimize erosion. Consideration shall be given to the length and steepness of the slope, soil type, upslope drainage area, groundwater conditions, and slope stabilization.
(10) Stabilization of outfalls and channels
Outfalls and constructed or modified channels shall be designed and constructed to withstand the expected velocity of flow from a post-development, ten-year frequency storm without eroding.
(11) Establishment of permanent vegetation
A permanent vegetative cover shall be established on denuded areas not otherwise permanently stabilized.
Permanent vegetation shall not be considered established until ground cover is achieved which, in the opinion of the approving agency, provides adequate cover and is mature enough to control soil erosion satisfactorily and to survive adverse weather conditions.
(12) Disposition of temporary practices
All temporary erosion and sediment control practices shall be disposed of within thirty days after final site stabilization is achieved or after the temporary practices are no longer needed, unless otherwise authorized by the approving agency. Trapped sediment shall be permanently stabilized to prevent further erosion.
All temporary and permanent erosion and sediment control practices shall be designed and constructed to minimize maintenance requirements. They shall be maintained and repaired as needed to assure continued performance of their intended function. The person or entity responsible for the continued maintenance of permanent erosion controls shall be identified to the satisfaction of the plan-approving authority.
(B) The standards are general guidelines and shall not limit the right of the approving agency to impose additional, more stringent requirements, nor shall the standards limit the right of the approving agency to waive individual requirements.
(C) Erosion and sediment control practices used to satisfy the standards shall meet the specifications in the current edition of "Rainwater and Land Development, Ohio's Standards for Stormwater Management, Land Development and Urban Stream Protection" (department of natural resources, natural resources conservation service and Ohio environmental protection agency), which is available to all Ohio County Soil and Water Conservation Districts.
R.C. 119.032 review dates: 07/18/2005 and 10/03/2010
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 1511.02(E)
Rule Amplifies: 1511.02 , 1515.08
Prior Effective Dates: 11/1/79, 11/30/89, 6/1/00
(A) In order to control pollution of public waters by soil sediment from accelerated stream channel erosion and flood plain erosion caused by accelerated stormwater runoff from development areas, the peak rates of runoff from an area after development may be no greater than the peak rates of runoff from the same area before development for all twenty-four-hour storms from one- to one-hundred-year frequency. Design and development to match the peak rate of runoff for the one-, two-, five-, ten-, twenty-five-, fifty-, and one-hundred-year storms may be considered adequate to meet this rule.
(1) If the volume of runoff from an area after development will be greater than the volume of runoff from the same area before development, it shall be compensated by reducing the peak rate of runoff from the critical storm and all more-frequent storms occurring on the development area to the peak rate of runoff from a one-year frequency, twenty-four-hour storm occurring on the same area under predevelopment conditions. Storms of less-frequent occurrence (longer return periods) than the critical storm up to the one-hundred-year storm shall have peak runoff rates no greater than the peak runoff rates from equivalent size storms under predevelopment conditions.
(2) The critical storm for a specific development area is determined as follows:
(a) Determine the total volume of runoff from a one-year frequency, twenty-four-hour storm, occurring on the development area before and after development.
(b) From the volumes in paragraph (B)(2)(a) of this rule, determine the per cent of increase in volume of runoff due to development and, using this percentage, select the critical storm from this table:
For Table -- To obtain the appendix, table, image, etc. please call LSC's ERF Helpdesk at 614-387-2078 or send an email to email@example.com.
(C) Methods for controlling increases in stormwater runoff peaks and volumes may include but are not limited to:
(1) Retarding flow velocities by increasing friction; for example, grassed road ditches rather than paved street gutters where practical, discharging roof water to vegetated areas, or grass and rock-lined drainage channels.
(2) Grading and use of grade control structure to provide a level of control in flow paths and stream gradients.
(3) Induced infiltration of increased stormwater runoff into the soil where practical; for example, constructing special infiltration areas where soils are suitable, retaining topsoil for all areas to be vegetated, or providing good infiltration areas with proper emergency overflow facilities.
(4) Provisions for detention and retention; for example, permanent ponds and lakes with stormwater basins provided with proper drainage, multiple-use areas for stormwater detention and recreation, wildlife, or transportation, or subsurface storage areas.
(1) The chief, in cooperation with the local districts, the "Ohio Municipal League," the "County Commissioners Association of Ohio," and "County Engineers Association of Ohio," shall inform counties, townships, municipal corporations, and planning and management agencies of the state standards related to sediment pollution control.
(2) The chief shall provide model sediment pollution control regulations and guidance in the development, adoption and implementation of sediment pollution control programs to municipal corporations, counties or other units of government.
(B) The chief shall:
(1) Recommend to existing and prospective planning agencies methods and management practices to meet state standards and criteria relating to sediment pollution control, as reflected in rules 1501:15-1-01 to 1501:15-1-06 of the Administrative Code.
(2) Provide administrative guidance to districts in planning, budgeting, staffing, implementing, and administering the sediment pollution abatement program and the training of district supervisors and personnel in their duties, responsibilities and authorities.
(3) Coordinate the development and implementation of cooperative programs and working agreements between districts and other agencies of local, state, and federal government regarding the sediment pollution abatement program.
(4) Review and approve the erosion and sediment control policies and standards of state government agencies and programs for their compliance with these rules.
(5) Assist in developing technical guides and publications and conducting information and training programs for the development and building industries, local governments, and consultants.
(6) Review plans to ensure compliance with rules 1501:15-1-01 to 1501:15-1-06 of the Administrative Code for new or relocated projects involving highways, underground cables, pipelines or railroads; or other state and federal agency projects which are required to control sediment pollution pursuant to any applicable statutory or administrative authority.