Sediment and erosion control.
Oklahoma City Municipal Code § 48-23
in effect§ 48-23. - Sediment and erosion control.
No land disturbing activity shall be conducted within the City except in such manner that:
(a) stripping of vegetation, re-grading and other development activities shall be conducted so as to minimize erosion. Clearing and grubbing must be held to the minimum necessary for grading and equipment operation. Pre-construction vegetative ground cover shall not be destroyed, removed or disturbed more than 20 calendar days prior to grading or earth moving. Construction must be sequenced to minimize the exposure time of cleared surface area;
(b) property owners shall be responsible, upon completion of land disturbing activities, for leaving slopes so that they will not erode. Such methods should include re-vegetation, sodding, mulching, rip-rapping, or guniting. Regardless of the method used, the objective will be to leave the site erosion-free and maintenance-free as practicable;
(c) whenever feasible, natural vegetation shall be retained, protected, and supplemented;
(d) stabilization measures shall be initiated within 14 days after the construction activity in that portion of the site has temporarily or permanently ceased unless earth disturbing activities on a portion of the site will be resumed within 21 days, temporary stabilization measures do not have to be initiated on that portion of the site. Stabilization measures must be in accordance with standards approved by the Director or designee. Permittee must diligently continue and maintain such stabilization measures until a Notice of Termination has been accepted by the Director or designee;
(e) a permanent vegetative cover shall be established on disturbed areas not otherwise permanently stabilized;
(f) to the extent necessary, sediment in runoff water must be trapped by the use of debris basins, sediment basins, silt traps or similar measures until the disturbed area is stabilized;
(g) neighboring persons and property shall be protected from damage or loss resulting from excessive stormwater runoff, soil erosion or deposition upon private or public property or public streets of water transported silt and debris. Adjacent property owners shall be protected from land devaluation due to exposed bare banks;
(h) controlled construction entrance/exit shall be maintained in a condition that will prevent tracking or flowing of sediment onto the public right-of-way;
(i) erosion and sediment control measures must be in place and functional before earth moving operations begin, and must be constructed and maintained throughout the construction period. Temporary measures may be removed at the beginning of the workday, but must be replaced at the end of the workday;
(j) structural controls shall be designed and maintained as required to prevent pollution. All surface water flowing toward the construction area shall, to the extent practicable, be diverted by using berms, channels, or sediment traps as necessary. Erosion and sediment control measures shall be designed according to the size and slope of disturbed or drainage areas, to detain runoff and trap sediment. Discharges from sediment basins and traps must be through a pipe or lined channel so that the discharge does not cause erosion. Muddy water to be pumped from excavation and work areas must be held in settling basins or treated by filtration prior to its discharge into surface waters;
(k) inspections will be conducted in accordance with one of the two schedules listed below. Permittee must specify an inspection schedule in the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) which schedule will be either: at least once every seven calendar days, or at least once every 14 calendar days and within 24 hours of the end of a storm event of 0.5 inches or greater.
(1) Inspection frequency may be reduced to at least once every month if:
(A) the entire site is temporarily stabilized;
(B) runoff is unlikely due to winter conditions (eg. Site is covered with snow, ice, or ground is frozen); or
(C) construction is occurring during seasonal arid periods in arid areas and semi-arid areas.
(2) The permittee shall maintain record of such inspections and repairs for a period of three years after the Notice of Termination (NOT) has been accepted by the Director or designee;
(l) a specific individual shall be designated to be responsible for erosion and sediment controls on each site;
(m) there shall be no distinctly visible floating scum, oil or other matter contained in the stormwater discharge. The stormwater discharge must not cause an objectionable color contrast in the receiving water. The stormwater discharge must result in no materials in concentrations sufficient to be hazardous or otherwise detrimental to humans, livestock, wildlife, plant life, or fish and aquatic life in the receiving stream; and
(n) when the land disturbing activity is finished and stable, perennial vegetation has been established on all remaining exposed soil, the permittee shall notify the Manager of these facts and submit a Notice of Termination (NOT) of the permit issued under this section. The Manager shall then provide a final inspection of the site within 20 days after receipt of such notice, and, when advisable, may require additional measures to stabilize the soil and prevent erosion. If such requirements are given by letter, the permittee shall continue to be covered by this provision of this section, until a request for termination of the permit has been accepted by the Manager.
(o) There is a re-inspection fee of $35.00 for each additional trip or inspection. The re-inspection fee shall apply to the following inspections:
(1) Should the applicant request an inspection and the applicant, facility, project, and/or property not be ready for said inspection on the date of said inspection then the re-inspection fee shall be due for each subsequent inspection until the applicant, facility, project, or property passes inspection; or
(2) Upon an inspection for any other purpose, should the applicant, facility, project, and/or property fail to meet established standards, then the re-inspection fee shall be due for each subsequent inspection until the applicant, facility, project, or property passes inspection; or
(3) Upon an inspection within a corrective measure or action is directed by the inspector, then the re-inspection fee shall be due for each subsequent inspection until the correction measure or action and the facility, project, or property passes inspection.
(Ord. No. 24076, § 2, 6-15-10)
Source: City of Oklahoma City, Municipal Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/ok/oklahoma_city/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=OKMUCO2020_CH48SODIAC_ARTIIGRERSECO_S48-23SEERCOFetched: 10/28/2026