Supervisors adopt text amendment tightening county rules on temporary and permanent construction soil stockpiles
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Summary
The board approved an amendment to Chapter 45 of the county environmental regulations to define and limit temporary stockpiles, prohibit permanent stockpiles and require bonds equal to 100% of estimated removal costs for large temporary piles.
The Caroline County Board of Supervisors adopted a text amendment to Chapter 45 (erosion and sediment control/environmental regulations) that clarifies and tightens rules for on-site stockpiling of soil and other earthen materials generated by land-disturbing activities.
Key changes and rationale
The amendment adds a definition for temporary stockpiles (earth material kept less than 12 months), prohibits manmade materials (construction debris, asphalt millings, garbage) from stockpiles, and sets explicit siting, slope and height criteria (no steeper than 3:1; maximum pile height 35 feet; linear berms 10 feet). The ordinance also clarifies that transferring earth to a farm or agricultural use does not qualify for the ordinance’s land-disturbance exceptions.
One new enforcement tool requires a financial guarantee: applicants proposing stockpiles must post a bond equaling 100% of the cost to remove the stockpile at its largest projected size. Staff said the bond level and the larger technical standards were added in response to complaints and past practice where permanent or long-term stockpiles caused erosion, drainage or nuisance problems.
Board and public discussion
Planning staff reviewed the amendment and addressed detailed questions from supervisors about situations in subdivision development (stockpiles adjacent to residences), foundation and site-preparation issues, and how the county will calculate removal costs for the bond. The county clarified that normal subdivision stockpiles still must follow the site plan and cannot remain permanent; the new rules are targeted at larger sites and long-term deposits.
The amendment passed on the record with the conditions and clarifications that staff incorporate minor wording fixes (for example, changing an ambiguous pronoun to ‘applicant’) before final publication.