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Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC) Approvals

Find out if you require an ESC Plan for your project

SMALL SITES (LESS than 0.4ha of land will be exposed to erosion)
Total site size ESC Plan requirements / communication with The City
Less than 0.4ha: Without characteristics that indicate greater than normal ESC concerns*.
  1. Contact 311 to determine if an ESC Plan or Good Housekeeping letter is required.
  2. After a review process, either an Approval letter or a Good Housekeeping letter may be issued by The City and is required prior to the commencement of construction.
Less than 0.4ha: With characteristics that indicate greater than normal ESC concerns*.
  1. Contact 311 to determine if an ESC Plan or Good Housekeeping letter is required.
  2. After a review process, either an Approval letter or a Good Housekeeping letter may be issued by The City and is required prior to the commencement of construction.
Equal to or greater than 0.4ha Less than 0.4ha exposed to erosion  
  1. Submit a Good Housekeeping Request via email to ESC@calgary.ca including: 
    • Project name, 
    • City project number (e.g. DP#/CD#/DA#),
    • Project owner (must have name, phone, email),
    • Brief description of planned work, with specific focus on soil disturbance activity, 
    • Disclose if the site indicates any greater than normal ESC concerns,
    • Site size in hectares, 
    • Disturbed soil area size in hectares including access roads and laydown areas; and 
    • A basic map showing the extent of the site boundaries, critical areas, and soil disturbance (including access roads/laydown areas). Show the area size (in hectares) for both the total site area as well as the soil disturbance area. 
  2. After the review process is complete, a Good Housekeeping letter may be issued by The City and is required prior to the commencement of construction.

NOTE: The City reserves the right to request an ESC Plan or Good Housekeeping letter on any site that is less than 0.4 ha if The City believes there is potential of an adverse effect to property, infrastructure, health, safety, or the environment.

MEDIUM TO LARGE SITES (MORE Than 0.4ha of Land Will be Exposed to Erosion)
Total Site Size ESC Plan requirements / communication with The City
Equal to or greater than 0.4ha, but less than 65ha
  1. Submit an ESC Application via email to ESC@calgary.ca. 
  2. After the review process is complete, an Approval letter may be issued by The City and is required prior to the commencement of construction.
Equal to or greater than 65ha
  1. Submit an ESC Application via email to ESC@calgary.ca. It must include: 
    • A Phasing Plan Drawing (ESC10) which clearly shows how the soil disturbance area is to be limited to 65ha at any one-time during development of the site. 
    • An ESC Large Site Safety Plan that is available to staff working on the construction site.
  2. After the review process is complete an Approval letter may be issued by The City and is required prior to the commencement of construction.

* Greater than normal ESC concerns could include adjacent environmental reserves, steep slopes leading directly to natural waterbodies, or other abnormal ESC risks

Apply for a disposal permit

Information about how to apply for a Stormwater disposal permit can be found here:

Stormwater disposal permit

Technical difficulties with ESC email

Recently, the ESC@calgary.ca inbox has had problems receiving emails.

The issue is now resolved, but please resend your information if you sent an email after Dec. 26 and have not received a response.

ESC Plan application form and support documents

An ESC Plan consists of the ESC Plan application form, required documentation and drawing references and the relevant ESC Standard Specifications.

ESC Plan application

This fillable pdf form is required for all ESC Plans. The application will inform which drawings you will be required to submit with your plan. For best functionality, we recommend you download this form and open it with Adobe Acrobat Reader.

ESC Plan application instruction manual

This document provides a detailed explanation of requirements for each section and sub-section of the application. View a sample completed application. View example application drawings.

ESC Standard Specifications Erosion and Sediment Control (Specifications)

The specifications set out requirements for construction site erosion and sediment control in Calgary. Use them as a reference when creating ESC Plans. The specifications form part of all approved Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC) Plans and must be followed during all stages of construction.

Your plan must align with the general requirements section, and any specific erosion control or practice you are using must follow the implementation, maintenance, inspection and removal requirements outlined within this document.

ESC Guidelines

The guidelines provide an introduction to ESC principles, local regulatory requirements, ESC Plan design requirements and considerations. These guidelines are intended to support the planning and design stages of ESC projects in Calgary.

ESC Plan supporting tools

To make calculating LS values for your site's ESC Plan more streamlined and consistent, The City has created a LS3 Calculator.

How to submit your ESC Plan

To help limit the spread of COVID-19, you will temporarily be able to submit ESC applications digitally, and/or via hard copy delivery.

Digital submissions can be sent to ESC@calgary.ca or your respective reviewer. Please note the following:

  1. This is a temporary service and will be discontinued when we return to normal operations.
  2. We are working towards developing a permanent process for digital submissions, but are not there yet. We will keep you posted on progress for digital submissions in the future.
  3. All submissions will require a FINAL physical copy for our official records. We will arrange this with you once we return to normal operations.
Application type 1st Submission Resubmissions
Stripping & Grading Development Permits & Development Agreements

Hardcopy: Calgary Municipal Building

Digital: Email to the project’s assigned Engineering Generalist

Hardcopy: Shipping and Receiving Water Centre, 625 25 Avenue SE

Digital: Email to ESC@calgary.ca
Development Permits City Projects  

Hardcopy: Shipping and Receiving Water Centre, 625 25 Avenue SE

Digital: Email to ESC@calgary.ca

Hardcopy: Shipping and Receiving Water Centre, 625 25 Avenue SE

Digital: Email to ESC@calgary.ca
Water Centre
Mail Courier

c/o Business Support Coordinator

The City of Calgary, Water Resources

Mail code 413

PO Box 2100, Stn M, T2P 2M5

c/o Business Support Coordinator

The City of Calgary, Manchester Centre

Stormwater Pollution Prevention

Water Centre Shipping and Receiving

625 25 Avenue S.E.

 

Note: The Water Centre shipping and receiving door is located on the east side of the building. Ring the buzzer for entry.
Calgary Municipal Building
Mail Courier

Engineering Generalist

The City of Calgary

Development & Building Approvals

Mail code 8032

PO Box 2100, Stn M, T2P 2M5

Engineering Generalist

The City of Calgary

Development & Building Approvals

3 rd floor, Calgary Municipal Building

800 MacLeod Trail S.E.

Timelines for obtaining ESC Plan approval

The City commits to reviewing each ESC Plan submitted to The City within 14 business days. It is common for ESC Plans to require two or three submissions before an ESC Approval letter is granted and construction can begin. Avoid delays to your construction start date by scheduling adequate time for the entire ESC Plan approval process which can often take anywhere from three to 12+ weeks.

ESC Inspections

ESC practices must be inspected and documented by a Qualified Inspector at least every seven days, and at critical times when erosion and sediment release could occur, such as after windy weather, significant precipitation or melt events. Find out more about ESC inspections.