So, you’re thinking about putting a pool in your backyard or adding an extra room off of your house. Most likely, the Township you’re in will require some type of grading permit. The type of permitting required will depend on what you’re doing, the size, and the amount of disturbance the project will create.

Depending on the size of your project, Townships will require a grading and erosion control permit but may or may not require stormwater management. Each Township will have thresholds for requiring stormwater management depending on the amount of impervious coverage that is being proposed. For example, a Township may allow you to add up to 500 square feet of impervious without having to plan for stormwater management, but anything over the 500 square feet threshold will require full stormwater management design. Other Township’s may require a simplified stormwater management design if the increase of impervious coverage is up to 1,000 square feet, which can save on cost for design and construction. Unfortunately, there are Township’s that will require a stormwater management design no matter what the increase in impervious coverage is.

Now the amount of disturbance necessary for what you want to do will also play into the type of permitting required. Disturbance up to an acre requires you to submit to the Township for their approval, but everything over an acre will require you to submit to the County’s Conservation District for an NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit. This will increase the permitting costs and lengthen the approval time. A few Townships also require submission to the County’s Conservation District for erosion control review for disturbances under one acre.

Here at DL Howell, we strive to provide the most cost-effective solutions to obtaining proper permitting for all your project needs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding starting a new project, give us a call and we’d be happy to help!