Resource Center

Erosion Control & Stormwater Knowledge Center

Technical guides, county regulation links, and permitting agency resources — written for developers, contractors, civil engineers, and municipal staff working in Central Florida.

County Stormwater & Erosion Control Regulations

Official county pages covering local stormwater, erosion, and sediment control requirements in each county LES serves.

Seminole County — Stormwater Code (Code of Ordinances)

Seminole County's Land Development Code provisions for storm sewer system discharges, erosion, and sediment control.

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Orange County — Stormwater Pollution Prevention

Environmental Protection Division guidance on stormwater pollution prevention and MS4 requirements.

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Lake County — Stormwater Management

Stormwater management design standards and engineering review for Lake County development.

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Volusia County — Stormwater Management

Stormwater pond standards, enforcement, and Public Works program information for Volusia County.

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State & Federal Permitting Agencies

The agencies that issue and enforce the permits most Central Florida construction sites operate under.

FDEP — NPDES Stormwater Program

Florida DEP's Construction Generic Permit (CGP), SWPPP requirements, and stormwater permit forms.

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St. Johns River Water Management District — Permitting

Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) program covering most of LES's Central Florida service area.

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EPA — Construction General Permit

Federal NPDES Construction General Permit framework that Florida's state program is built on.

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Industry & Education Resources

Professional associations and training programs behind the certifications LES holds and the standards LES works to.

International Erosion Control Association (IECA)

Education, technical standards, and professional development for erosion and sediment control practitioners.

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UF/IFAS Green Industries BMP (GI-BMP) Program

The University of Florida program behind GI-BMP certification, developed with FDEP for water-quality-conscious landscaping practices.

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Field Guides

The Developer's Environmental Checklist for Florida Construction

The environmental requirements on a Florida construction project rarely stop the job on their own — they stop it when they're handled late. This checklist maps what belongs in each phase, from due diligence through closeout.

Stormwater BMP Best Practices for Construction Sites

Effective stormwater BMP management is as much about sequencing and maintenance discipline as it is about which BMPs are installed.

Construction Entrance Requirements: What Makes a Compliant Entrance

A compliant construction entrance is an engineered BMP, not a pile of gravel at the gate — and undersized entrances are one of the most common, most visible compliance failures.

Sediment Control Methods: Basins, Traps, Check Dams & Wattles

Sediment control captures soil that's already in motion, and the right method depends on drainage area, flow concentration, and available space on site.

Slope Stabilization Techniques for Florida's Sandy Soils

Florida's sandy soils erode quickly under heavy, short-duration rainfall, which makes slope stabilization method selection more consequential here than in many other regions.

How to Prevent Construction Site Erosion

Preventing erosion is mostly about sequencing and discipline: installing controls before disturbance, stabilizing promptly, and inspecting consistently.

Inlet Protection: What It Is and When It's Required

Inlet protection keeps sediment-laden runoff out of the storm drain system before it ever leaves the site — and an unprotected inlet downstream of disturbed soil is one of the fastest paths to a discharge violation.

Tree Protection During Construction: Coordinating Arborist and Erosion Control Work

Tree protection and erosion control are often planned separately even though they affect the same root zones and grading — coordinating the two avoids damage that's expensive or impossible to reverse.

Construction Site Stormwater Compliance: A Practical Guide

Stormwater compliance is a lifecycle responsibility — from pre-construction permitting through final stabilization and NOT filing — not a single checkbox at the start of a project.

BMP Maintenance Schedules: What to Inspect and How Often

An installed BMP that isn't maintained on a real schedule degrades into a liability — maintenance frequency has to match both the regulatory minimum and the BMP's actual condition on the ground.

Construction Entrance Maintenance Guide

A construction entrance is a maintained BMP for the life of a project, not a one-time installation — and re-dressing it before sediment tracking becomes visible is far cheaper than rebuilding it after a citation.

Silt Fence Installation Quality Checklist

Use this checklist to verify a silt fence installation before signing off on it — most failures trace back to one of these five points being skipped.

Florida Silt Fence Requirements for Construction Sites

Silt fence requirements in Florida are shaped by NPDES permit conditions, FDOT BMP standards, and local jurisdiction review — not a single uniform spec.

Florida Construction BMP Requirements: An Overview

Construction BMP requirements in Florida come from overlapping federal, state, and local programs — understanding how they interact is the first step to staying compliant.

Temporary vs. Permanent Erosion Control: What's the Difference?

Temporary erosion control buys time during active construction; permanent erosion control is what a site is built to live with after the project closes out — confusing the two leads to compliance gaps at closeout.

NPDES Notice of Intent (NOI): What Construction Sites Need to File

Filing a Notice of Intent is the formal step that brings a construction site under NPDES Construction Generic Permit coverage — and it has to be backed by a real SWPPP, not just a form.

SWPPP Basics: What a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan Should Include

A SWPPP is the working reference document for a construction site's erosion and sediment control plan — and field BMPs are judged against what the SWPPP says, not against a generic standard.

Construction Site Stabilization Timelines: How Long You Have After Final Grade

Once an area on a construction site reaches final grade, the clock starts on stabilization — and missing that window is one of the more common, avoidable compliance gaps on multi-phase projects.

Seminole County Erosion & Stormwater Regulations: A Quick-Reference Guide

Seminole County sites generally answer to FDEP's NPDES permit, county MS4 review, and — for parcels in the Wekiva basin — heightened protection as an Outstanding Florida Water.

Orange County Erosion & Stormwater Regulations: A Quick-Reference Guide

Orange County sites layer state NPDES permitting with county Environmental Protection Division review and, in many cases, city-level review on top of that — with extra scrutiny near the Butler Chain of Lakes and Lake Apopka.

Lake County Erosion & Stormwater Regulations: A Quick-Reference Guide

Lake County's rolling, lake-dense terrain changes which BMPs apply and adds a possible layer of St. Johns River Water Management District coordination on top of standard state and county permitting.

Volusia County Erosion & Stormwater Regulations: A Quick-Reference Guide

Volusia County's coastal and inland sites face different drainage paths and different scrutiny — coastal sites draining toward the Indian River Lagoon carry the heaviest sediment and nutrient control requirements in the county.

What Is Silt Fence and How Does It Work?

Silt fence is a perimeter sediment barrier made of geotextile fabric, but its effectiveness depends entirely on correct installation and placement.

How to Properly Install Silt Fence

Correct silt fence installation follows a specific sequence — and skipping any step is the most common reason silt fence fails during a storm event.

Common Silt Fence Failures (and What Causes Them)

Most silt fence failures trace back to one of a handful of installation or maintenance shortcuts, not the fabric itself.

When Is Super Silt Fence Required?

Super silt fence is typically called for where standard fence has already failed, or where slope, flow, or receiving water sensitivity exceeds what standard fence can reliably handle.

Riprap Installation: Choosing the Right Stone Size and Placement

Riprap is permanent erosion protection built from sized stone, but it only performs as designed when stone size, layer thickness, and bedding are matched to the site's actual flow conditions.

Retention Pond Edge Erosion: Causes and Repair Options

Retention pond bank erosion starts small — a bare patch at the waterline — and gets significantly more expensive to fix the longer it's left untreated.

Post-Rain Inspection Checklist for Construction Sites

A complete post-rain inspection covers every BMP category on site, not just the most visible perimeter controls.

Emergency Erosion Repair After a Florida Storm: What to Expect

A major rain event or tropical system can undo weeks of stabilization work overnight — emergency repair is about triage first, then a full post-storm inspection before normal operations resume.

Stormwater Asset Maintenance for Developed Properties

Stormwater compliance doesn't end at construction closeout for many properties — retention ponds, outfalls, and conveyance systems are permanent assets that need maintenance for the life of the property.

Resources by Industry

Looking for guidance specific to your role on the project? See how LES supports homebuilders, civil contractors, developers, superintendents, and municipalities.

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Glossary

Plain-language definitions for the terms that show up in SWPPPs, permits, and BMP plan sheets — NOI, NOT, MS4, SWPPP, BMP, and more.

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Erosion Control & Stormwater Knowledge Center

County Stormwater & Erosion Control Regulations

Seminole County — Stormwater Code (Code of Ordinances)

Orange County — Stormwater Pollution Prevention

Lake County — Stormwater Management

Volusia County — Stormwater Management

State & Federal Permitting Agencies

FDEP — NPDES Stormwater Program

St. Johns River Water Management District — Permitting

EPA — Construction General Permit

Industry & Education Resources

International Erosion Control Association (IECA)

UF/IFAS Green Industries BMP (GI-BMP) Program

Field Guides

The Developer's Environmental Checklist for Florida Construction

Stormwater BMP Best Practices for Construction Sites

Construction Entrance Requirements: What Makes a Compliant Entrance

Sediment Control Methods: Basins, Traps, Check Dams & Wattles

Slope Stabilization Techniques for Florida's Sandy Soils

How to Prevent Construction Site Erosion

Inlet Protection: What It Is and When It's Required

Tree Protection During Construction: Coordinating Arborist and Erosion Control Work

BMP Checklists

Construction Site Stormwater Compliance: A Practical Guide

BMP Maintenance Schedules: What to Inspect and How Often

Construction Entrance Maintenance Guide

Silt Fence Installation Quality Checklist

County & Regulatory Resources

Florida Silt Fence Requirements for Construction Sites

Florida Construction BMP Requirements: An Overview

Temporary vs. Permanent Erosion Control: What's the Difference?

NPDES Notice of Intent (NOI): What Construction Sites Need to File

SWPPP Basics: What a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan Should Include

Construction Site Stabilization Timelines: How Long You Have After Final Grade

Seminole County Erosion & Stormwater Regulations: A Quick-Reference Guide

Orange County Erosion & Stormwater Regulations: A Quick-Reference Guide

Lake County Erosion & Stormwater Regulations: A Quick-Reference Guide

Volusia County Erosion & Stormwater Regulations: A Quick-Reference Guide

Silt Fence Resources

What Is Silt Fence and How Does It Work?

How to Properly Install Silt Fence

Common Silt Fence Failures (and What Causes Them)

When Is Super Silt Fence Required?

Riprap & Erosion Repair Resources

Riprap Installation: Choosing the Right Stone Size and Placement

Retention Pond Edge Erosion: Causes and Repair Options

Post-Rain Inspection Resources

Post-Rain Inspection Checklist for Construction Sites

Emergency Erosion Repair After a Florida Storm: What to Expect

Stormwater Asset Maintenance

Stormwater Asset Maintenance for Developed Properties

Resources by Industry

Glossary

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