Stream Buffers Model Ordinance: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The purpose of this ordinance is to establish minimal acceptable requirements for the design of buffers to protect the streams, wetlands and floodplains; to protect the water quality of watercourses, reservoirs, lakes and other significant water resources; to protect riparian and aquatic ecosystems; and to provide for the environmentally sound use of land resources.
The model ordinance provides language communities can use to regulate and promote buffers around waterways. The ordinance is broken into ten sections. The ordinance first introduces the purpose of the regulation and defines appropriate terms. The ordinance then discusses which land areas are applicable to this ordinance, buffer plan requirements and design standards. The ordinance ends with sections concerning buffer management and maintenance requirements and enforcement procedures.
This document provides exact ordinance language for local governments interested in promoting appropriate buffers in their community. The ordinance is designed to be flexible so that any local government can use the language once the “blanks” are filled with the appropriate agencies. It should be noted that this ordinance is not an exhaustive listing of all the language needed for a local ordinance, but represents a good base that communities can build upon and customize to be consistent with the staff resources available in their locality.
