Erosion control is important for the construction of public and private buildings. Without erosion control measures, every acre under construction can deliver about a dump truck and a half of soil into a nearby water source.

Basic principles for erosion and sediment control
1. Minimize both the area and time that soil is exposed.

2. Manage stormwater moving across a site by reducing the velocity and volume.

3. Install erosion and sediment control measures early in construction. Keep them well maintained.

4. Keep sediment on site.

5. Staged seeding as areas of a project are complete can reduce erosion by 90%.

6. Maximize vegetation establishment by selecting the appropriate seed, knowing and preparing the soil, preparing the seedbed, and planting at the right time.

Best Management Practices
The erosion prevention and sediment control BMPs are designed to prevent excessive sediment from reaching water bodies. These BMPs were originally designed for feedlot construction activity.
1. Minimize size of disturbed area - When permanent vegetation must be disturbed, limit the area of disturbance to the minimum required for the project.

2. Sediment controls - Where disturbed areas have steep slopes or concentrated flow, use a combination of buffers and/or other sediment control measures (e.g. silt fences or properly keyed and staked hay bales) as necessary to protect surface waters and subsurface drainage systems, including tile inlets. All sediment control practices should be established on down gradient perimeters of the building site before beginning construction activities that disturb the upgradient soil. These practices should remain in place until other temporary or final stabilization practices have been established.

3. Soil stockpiles - Place topsoil or other temporary stockpiles of soil in locations where they will not be subject erosion from channelized flow (e.g. avoid grassed waterways, tile inlets, gullies, road ditches, drainage ditches, intermittent streams or other water conveyance systems). If stockpiles are placed within 300 feet and up-slope of a water source or tile inlet for more than three days, or when precipitation and runoff are imminent, use a grass buffer or use equivalent sediment control measures between the soil stockpile and surface water or tile inlet (e.g. silt fences or properly keyed and staked hay bales).

4. Immediately seed and temporarily stabilize disturbed areas - Seed and temporarily stabilize disturbed areas until the seed establishes a permanent vegetative cover. Mulch or erosion control blanket should be applied to disturbed areas with 3:1 slopes or steeper within seven days after final grading. When slopes are flatter than 3:1, then any one of the following temporary stabilization practices should be applied within 14 days for slopes of 10:1 to 3:1 and within 21 days for slopes flatter than 10:1.

* Grade along the contour and use surface roughing techniques such as slope tracking and tracked equipment.
* Compact the soil surface of concentrated flow areas to reduce soil erodibility.
* Apply mulch or erosion control blanket and/or
* Install fiber rolls, sand or gravel filled berms (can be filled bags for removal), and/or geotextile erosion barriers across concentrated flow areas such as waterways.

If construction is completed after the fall seeding cutoff date, apply dormant seeding and/or implement any of the temporary stabilization BMPs listed above that are effective and appropriate for the site conditions. Implement seeding and final stabilization as soon as feasible during the following spring.

5. Final Stabilization - Disturbed areas should be protected by permanent erosion control materials or other BMPs that achieve the equivalent of 70 percent uniform vegetative cover.

Source: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency