Erosion & Sediment Plans

What is an E & S Plan?

An Erosion and Sediment Plan or E&S plan is a plan that indicates how a business, contractor, individual etc. is going to conduct an earth disturbance activity in a way that minimizes erosion and sediment pollution.  E&S plans can vary greatly in complexity depending on the job ranging from a simple few pages for a small project to requiring engineering for large scale projects.

If a site requires an E&S Plan the plan should be placed in a water tight safe storage location easily found on the site much like a building permit.

Who can make an E&S plan?

Anyone can make an E&S plan for small projects.  For certain projects which require a higher level of permitting such as those over an acre of disturbance an engineer may be required.  Wayne Conservation District can offer assistance for anyone that needs to make an E&S plan.

What is in an E&S plan?

An E&S plan will contain most of the following, complexity can vary greatly depending on the project.

  1. Existing topography to include slope or grade of the land, location of nearby water, and any other significant features of the site.
  2. Types of soils on the site.
  3. A description of the proposed alterations to the site.
  4. The staging of earth disturbance activities, sequence of construction, etc.
  5. Types of control measures, both temporary(ie compost filter socks, silt fence, etc.) and permanent(seed and mulch, matting, etc)
  6. A maintenance plan for all the control measures being used.

Silt fence detail

When do I need an E&S plan?

If you are disturbing the soil by excavating, bulldozing, grubbing(removing tree stumps), etc in most of Wayne County an E&S Plan is likely to be required.  Areas that drain to a High Quality(HQ) or Exceptional Value(EV) watershed are required by state law to have an E&S Plan for any earth disturbance activities.  94% of Wayne county falls into the Special Protection Waters category.

If you are in non-special protection waters you need an E&S Plan for the work if the area of disturbance is over 5,000 square feet.  If you're not sure call the Wayne Conservation District or check out these Watershed Maps!

An E&S plan is also required for any work involving a Chapter 105 General Permit, as part of a Joint Permit Application, and may be required by local townships or communities.

When do I need an NPDES permit?

A National Pollution Discharge Elimination System(NPDES) permit when referring to earth disturbance is a permit which is required for most earth disturbance activities over one acre in size.  If you're not sure if you need one please call the Wayne Conservation District and we can get you sorted out.

1-acre-dimensions-in-yards-have-you-ever-wondered-how-big-an-is-this-easy-way-to

What is a BMP?

A Best Management Practice(BMP) is a practice which reduces erosion and sediment pollution.  A BMP can be a physical thing such as a silt fence, compost filter sock, rock construction entrance, seed and mulch, etc. or it can be a practice such as not excavating in the rain or running a skid steer on frozen mud in the winter to cause less erosion.

Properly_installed_rock_construction_entrance

What are some important E&S Plan resources?

  1. Our Small Projects Guide is a good place to start with smaller projects.
  2. The WCD Fee Schedule explains our fees.
  3. The E&S BMP Manual is an extensive manual describing a variety of BMPs and their proper usage.