By Sam Foley
There’s been a lot of activity in the stormwater permitting office to start off 2026. So far this year Richland SWCD has issued 24 residential stormwater permits and 23 residential permit exemptions. Exempted permits are projects or sites that don’t reach any of the thresholds outlined in the County’s Stormwater and Sediment Control Regulations. We have also issued 21 commercial permits, with the majority of those being small commercial site maintenance at oil and gas wells. If your project is carried over from 2025 you can expect our office to be requesting stabilization of your site this spring. Warm weather is right around the corner and there’s no better time to get some grass growing!
For this month’s stormwater minute, I wanted to briefly touch on the regulations mentioned above. In the Applicability section of the County’s regulations, it is laid out which projects will be required to adhere to these standards. Projects involving earth-disturbing activities of over 3,000 square feet or new hard surfaces of over 2,000 square feet, must obtain the stormwater permit. A development that would significantly change the use of the property (from residential to commercial, for instance) would also be applicable. Finally, any development involving earth-disturbance within 100 feet of a stream, wetland, or Special Flood Hazard Area must follow the performance standards laid out in the regulations.
Think your project might be exempt? Great, but we still need to make that call! Stop by our office and fill out an application so Zoe or I can officially confirm and sign off on your stormwater permit exemption. If you have any questions about applicability of your project, please contact our office for guidance.
