Kent County, MI Stormwater Regulations

Kent County has no single stormwater office. The Kent County Road Commission issues soil erosion permits for work within 500 feet of a lake or stream or disturbing one acre or more, except in Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Rockford, and Walker, which issue their own. The Drain Commissioner sets post-construction design standards, EGLE covers construction sites through Permit-by-Rule, and state fines reach $25,000 per day.

Primary sources: Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), Kent County Road Commission, and Kent County Drain Commissioner

Permit Requirements

Michigan splits construction-site rules into two layers, and the local one comes first. Under Part 91 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, every county appoints a County Enforcing Agency to issue soil erosion permits. In Kent County that's the Kent County Road Commission. A permit is required for any ground-disturbing activity within 500 feet of a lake or stream, and for any project that will disturb one acre or more.

Four cities issue their own soil erosion permits instead, according to EGLE's list of Part 91 agencies: Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Rockford, and Walker. Everywhere else, including East Grand Rapids, Grandville, and Wyoming, you apply to the Road Commission. Its posted fee schedule lists $150 for a single-family home, $330 for a commercial site under one acre, and a $1,000-per-acre performance deposit (with a $2,000 minimum) for commercial work. Fees double if work starts without a permit.

The state layer comes from EGLE under Part 31. Construction that disturbs one acre or more and discharges to waters of the state needs NPDES coverage, which EGLE grants through Permit-by-Rule. For one to five acres, coverage is automatic once the soil erosion permit is issued. At five acres or more, you also file a Notice of Coverage with EGLE and pay a $400 fee.

Permanent drainage is reviewed separately. The Kent County Drain Commissioner reviews plats, mobile home communities, and projects that drain to a county drain, plus any project a local unit sends to it for review. Its rules also cover development of one acre or more that discharges to a county drain inside the urbanized area. Crossing, tapping, or building in a county drain easement needs a separate Drain Commissioner permit.

Inspection Obligations

During construction, Permit-by-Rule requires a certified stormwater operator to inspect soil erosion controls weekly and within 24 hours of a significant rain event. If the Road Commission finds a site out of compliance, it sends a letter listing the fixes and gives the owner five days to make them. A permit stays open until permanent vegetation reaches 90% growth, one inch tall, across every square foot of disturbance and the owner passes a final completion inspection.

After construction, the duty sits with the property owner. For private developments in the urbanized area, the Drain Commissioner's rules require a legally binding maintenance agreement with the city, township, or village, including a maintenance plan, a schedule, and compliance tracking. The owner inspects and maintains every structural and vegetative BMP at the interval set in that agreement. It's recorded with the Register of Deeds, so it follows the property when it sells.

If the owner doesn't keep up, the agreement lets the municipality do the work and bill the owner. Inside Grand Rapids, maintenance has to be certified by a qualified professional, such as a Professional Engineer or Landscape Architect, and the certification goes to the City every year. In plats and site condominiums reviewed by the Drain Commissioner, the restrictive covenants must also state that lot owners are responsible for maintaining any open water bodies, including the liability and costs.

Penalty Structure

Soil erosion violations fall under MCL 324.9121. A basic violation carries a civil fine of up to $2,500. A knowing violation runs up to $10,000 per day, and a knowing violation after a notice of determination runs $2,500 to $25,000 per day. The Road Commission can also issue a stop-work order and charge the owner for installing controls it had to put in.

Construction stormwater and MS4 permit violations fall under Part 31, MCL 324.3115, with civil fines of $2,500 to $25,000 per day. Knowing or intentional violations are felonies.

Grand Rapids adds its own penalties. Under Chapter 32, a violator faces at least $500 per day, up to 90 days in jail on conviction, and liability for any EPA or EGLE penalties the City pays because of the violation. Under the Drain Code, connecting sewage or waste to a county drain without the Drain Commissioner's written approval is a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $25,000.

Key BMPs

The Drain Commissioner's rules require treating the runoff from 1 inch of rain to remove 80% of total suspended solids, and holding post-development runoff to pre-development rates and volumes up to the 2-year, 24-hour storm. Low Impact Development is the preferred approach. Common BMPs in the county's design matrix include:

• Wet detention basins - Rated at 80% TSS removal. Need pretreatment, and flood control detention must store the 25-year storm with a release rate of no more than 0.13 cfs per acre.
• Retention and infiltration practices - Rated at 89% TSS removal. Need soil test pits and field permeability testing, and the highest known groundwater elevation has to be established first.
• Bioretention and rain gardens - Rated at 86% TSS removal. A core Low Impact Development practice for smaller sites.
• Sediment forebays - Required pretreatment for detention and retention basins, sized at 15% of the water quality volume.
• Vegetated swales and filter strips - Used for conveyance, pretreatment, or water quality treatment when they meet slope, length, and cover standards.

Local Ordinances

Kent County doesn't have a countywide stormwater ordinance. Its standards live in the Drain Commissioner's Site Development Rules, adopted under the Land Division Act and the Drain Code of 1956. They're minimums, and each city or township can require more. The Drain Commissioner also publishes a model stormwater ordinance for local governments, so check which version your community adopted.

Grand Rapids regulates its own stormwater under Chapter 32 of the City Code. A stormwater discharge permit is required for non-residential or multi-family earth changes of 2,500 square feet or more, new or redeveloped parking areas of 1,000 square feet or more, and any earth change of one acre or more. Individual single and two-family lots are exempt unless they're within 500 feet of water or disturb an acre.

The Drain Commissioner, the Road Commission, Grand Rapids, and the other urbanized cities and townships each hold an individual MS4 permit from EGLE. They coordinate public education, illicit discharge elimination, and TMDL work through the Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds. That plan targets E. coli in the Grand River, Plaster Creek, and Buck Creek.

We found no stormwater utility fee for the county or Grand Rapids. County drain projects and maintenance are paid through drain special assessments, which appear on property tax bills and change from year to year.