Topsoil becomes a dirty subject at the legislature

UPDATE -- the legislature has adjourned and this bill is inactive for 2023. 

The Iowa legislature is attempting to ban cities and counties setting requirements for topsoil restoration on building sites.  It would also force cities and counties to repeal their ordinances that have requirements for contractors and homebuilders to restore topsoil and reduce soil compaction on building sites. 

Bill SF455 has already passed the Senate and is now under consideration by the House.  Ask your representative to oppose SF455 -

In 2015 the Iowa Department of Natural Resources revised its topsoil rule so that a developer or homebuilder would be allowed to decide how much topsoil to replace, if any, following construction.  Previously the rule required four inches of topsoil to be returned.  That led to cities and counties establishing their own topsoil requirement.

The stormwater permit (NPDES General Permit 2) that contractors must obtain does not specify the amount of topsoil that must be returned to a building site after construction.  It states that the permittee "shall minimize soil compaction and, unless infeasible, preserve topsoil".  Further, NPDES Permit 2 states, "'Infeasible' shall mean not technologically possible, or not economically practicable and achievable in light of the best industry practices."  What it boils down to is that contractors often do not leave adequate topsoil on lots and often leave heavily compacted lots.  That frustrates homeowners who are trying to grow grass, gardens, ornamental plants, and trees on their lots.

Reasons for the topsoil restoration are to help increase water infiltration into the soil, to prevent runoff and erosion, to retain healthy soil and to lessen the degradation of water quality.  Topsoil retention will aid the homeowners in their efforts to establish landscaping on their lots – grass, trees and gardens.

Topsoil holds water on the land and also holds fertilizer.  When the topsoil has been stripped from a lot and not returned, water runs off the land, exacerbating flood risks.  To make matters worse, fertilizers do not stay in the ground, instead running into Iowa's lakes, rivers, and streams.

Homeowners across the state complain about properties where no topsoil was returned to the building site.  Homeowners thought they were purchasing a lot with topsoil, only to find that the sod was laid on compacted soil with no topsoil returned.  They relate horror stories about the inability to grow trees, grass, and gardens.  They have painful stories about the costs that they either have incurred or were quoted to remedy the situation.  It is infinitely more expensive for a homeowner to restore the topsoil than for a developer to do it in the first place.  Furthermore the price of returning topsoil to a lot would be bundled into a homeowner's loan at the time of purchase.  Getting that loan is easier than trying to get a separate loan to complete the work that the contractor did not perform.

So, it makes sense to allow local communities and counties to establish requirements for returning topsoil to building sites and reducing compaction of soil on the lot.