Pitt County, NC Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

The Pitt County Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Ordinance (Ordinance No. S. 113A-60, governs land-disturbing activity across unincorporated Pitt County and in any municipality that adopts it by resolution (Section 4). Before breaking ground on a tract where more than one acre will be uncovered, or less than an acre if the work is part of a larger common plan of development or sale such as a subdivision, the person conducting the work must file an erosion and sedimentation control plan with the County at least 30 days before starting and receive approval (Section 10(D)).

Anyone who obtains that plan approval and disturbs an acre or more must also secure coverage under the NC Department of Environmental Quality's Construction General Permit NCG010000 (Section 10(D)). Graded slopes and fills exposed during construction must be planted or otherwise stabilized within 21 calendar days of completing any grading phase (Section 10(B)), and a permanent ground cover sufficient to restrain erosion must be established within 90 calendar days after construction is finished, or within 15 working days, 60 calendar days maximum, in High Quality Water zones (Section 10(C), Section 11(B)(5)).

Section 10(A) requires an undisturbed buffer zone along any lake or natural watercourse wide enough to keep visible siltation within the 25 percent of the buffer nearest the disturbed land, with a 25-foot minimum along designated trout waters. No permit is required for firefighting, sediment-controlled stockpiling of sand, stone or gravel, or activity disturbing less than 43,560 square feet, one acre (Section 19(A)). The Pitt County Board of Commissioners may set a permit fee (Section 19(B)). Plans are reviewed by the county's Technical Review Committee for compliance with the basic control objectives in Section 9, including limiting exposure time and controlling stormwater runoff velocity so it does not accelerate erosion at the discharge point (Section 12).