Agriculture
Agriculture
Based on the Shelby County Stormwater Management Ordinance and Technical Standards, agricultural land use is granted significant flexibility to ensure standard farming operations remain unburdened, while still being held to specific environmental and structural protections. Agricultural activities are broadly exempt from the Ordinance’s requirements for Stormwater Quantity (Detention), Construction Site SWPPPs, and Post-Construction Water Quality BMPs. While most activities are protected, agricultural operations must still comply with rules designed to prevent environmental damage and illicit discharges.
- Crop Production: Tillage, planting, cultivation, or harvesting operations for agricultural, nursery, or vegetative crops.
- Pasture Management: The renovation and establishment of pastures.
- Conservation Practices: The construction of specifically agricultural conservation measures, such as:
- Grassed waterways.
- Sediment basins and terraces.
- Grade stabilization structures.
- Accessory Structures: Detention is not required for the construction of accessory structures (such as barns or sheds) that are appurtenant to a one- or two-family dwelling.
- Non-Structural Changes: Practices like gardening and plowing that do not involve filling, grading, excavation, or the construction of permanent buildings are excluded from the definition of "Development".
Land Use and Runoff
- Pollutant Limits: Runoff from agricultural land is only exempt as long as it does not contain pollutants unrelated to farming or in excess of standard practices.
- Farm Residences: The exemption for agricultural runoff does not include farm residences. Residential structures on a farm are held to the same standards as other single-family homes regarding prohibited discharges.
- Waste Management: While farming operations are exempt from construction-site waste rules, they are still prohibited from discharging any substance other than pure stormwater (or exempted flows) into the county's storm drainage system.
Pesticide and Fertilizer Use
Agriculture is held to specific management standards for chemicals to prevent water contamination:
- Application Rates: Fertilizers must be applied at rates determined by soil analysis or the Indiana Stormwater Quality Manual. Application should be timed to coincide with maximum vegetative uptake and avoided immediately before anticipated heavy rain.
- Management: Proper project management is required to manage the application and storage of pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, and fertilizers to minimize potential contamination of surface or groundwater.
- Spill Prevention: Sites must implement measures to prevent and clean up spills of fuels, petroleum products, and other chemicals.
Prohibited Connections
- Sump and Footing Drains: Stormwater sump pumps and footing (foundation) drains are strictly prohibited from being connected to farm drainage tiles designed for groundwater level control.
Land Disturbance and Stabilization
If agricultural land is disturbed for non-exempt reasons, it is held to these restoration standards:
- Return to Production: Land being returned to agricultural production must be temporarily or permanently seeded immediately upon completing the disturbing activities.
- Restoration of Buffers: Any disturbed areas that were not previously used for production, such as filter strips, must be returned to their pre-land-disturbance use.
- Regulated Drains: No permanent structures, including fences, may be erected within 75 feet of the top of the bank of a regulated open drain or the centerline of a piped regulated drain without Drainage Board approval.