Environmental Rules in Cherokee County, GA (2026)
4 rules for unincorporated Cherokee County, Georgia.
Verified from official government sources
Stormwater Management
Cherokee County's Illicit Discharge and Illegal Connection Ordinance bars dumping anything but stormwater into the county's separate storm sewer system. Sections 62-81 through 62-88 give the marshal's office inspection and enforcement authority countywide in the unincorporated area, backing the ban with civil fines up to $1,000 per day and criminal penalties up to $1,000 and 60 days in jail.
Cherokee County Bans Illicit Stormwater Discharges
Significant RestrictionsCherokee County Code of Ordinances §§ 62-82, 62-84, 62-88
(a)Prohibition of illicit discharges. No person shall throw, drain, or otherwise discharge, cause, or allow others under its control to throw, drain, or otherwise discharge into the Cherokee County separate storm sewer system any pollutants or waters containing any pollutants, other than stormwater. ... (b)Applicability. The provisions of this article shall apply throughout the unincorporated a...
Erosion Control
Land-disturbing activity in unincorporated Cherokee County must use best management practices under the county's Soil Erosion, Sedimentation and Pollution Control Ordinance, including a mandatory 25-foot undisturbed buffer along the banks of state waters.
Cherokee County Erosion & Sediment Control
Some RestrictionsCherokee County Code of Ordinances § 26-69(c)(15)
Except as provided in paragraph (16) of this subsection, there is established a 25 foot buffer along the banks of all state waters, as measured horizontally from the point where vegetation has been wrested by normal stream flow or wave action, except where the director determines to allow a variance that is at least as protective of natural resources and the environment...
Flood Zones
Cherokee County regulates every Area of Special Flood Hazard and Area of Future-Conditions Flood Hazard under Chapter 30 of the county code. No development activity, including grading, filling or building, can occur in a mapped flood hazard area without a permit from the Cherokee County Engineering Department, and the county's floodplain maps rest on the June 7, 2019 Flood Insurance Study.
Cherokee County Floodplain Development Rules
Significant RestrictionsCherokee County Code of Ordinances § 30-21
No owner or developer shall perform any development activities on a site where an Area of Special Flood Hazard or Area of Future-conditions Flood Hazard is located without first meeting the requirements of this ordinance prior to commencing the proposed activity. Unless specifically excluded by this chapter, any landowner or developer desiring a permit for a development activity shall submit to...
Flood Elevation Requirements
New residential construction in Cherokee County's future-conditions floodplain must have its lowest floor, including any basement, elevated at least three feet above the base flood elevation, one foot more than FEMA's minimum. Non-residential buildings need one foot of freeboard above base flood elevation or may floodproof instead.
Cherokee County Base Flood Elevation Freeboard
Significant RestrictionsCherokee County Code of Ordinances § 30-57
New construction. New construction of principal residential structures shall not be allowed within the limits of the future-conditions floodplain unless all requirements of sections 30-38, 30-39, and 30-40 have been met. If all of the requirements of sections 30-38, 30-39, and 30-40 have been met, all new construction shall have the lowest floor, including basement, elevated no lower than three...
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