Soil Erosion and Sediment Control
Soil erosion and sedimentation involves three steps:
- soil particle detachment
- transportation
- deposition
The loss of soil from agricultural lands has long been recognized as a significant world problem affecting food production and water quality (read story from Cornell news service). Just as agricultural soil erosion results in lower yields and poor plant growth, urban soil erosion reduces the likelihood of healthy landscape plantings. This is especially true during the urbanization process where mass grading destroys the natural soil profile and causes significant loss of topsoil.
A Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) is required by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) for projects that disturb site topography, existing soil cover (both vegetative and non-vegetative) and/or soil topography on one or more acres of land. Less than one acre of total land area can also fall under regulation if it is part of a larger Common Plan of Development or Sale that will ultimately disturb one acre or more and includes all areas of Support Activity.
The design, implementation and monitoring of a SWPPP involves a significant amount of expertise and resources if the plan is to be successful. Substantial fines and penalties can be levied by regulatory agencies from the EPA down to local municipalities if construction site runoff is not addressed. The cost of noncompliance has been set high. Fortunately a wide variety of resources exist that provide information on SWPPP development and implementation, including: