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

Section 62-117 sits in article V of the county's subdivision ordinance, chapter 62, and applies to any land being subdivided in unincorporated Burke County. Its purpose is to prevent pollution of streams, springs, flat water bodies and other drainage networks from soil erosion and sedimentation, and it ties compliance to Title 15 of the North Carolina Administrative Code. For major subdivisions, the planning board may conditionally approve a preliminary plat while the subdivider still needs to obtain erosion and sedimentation plan approval from the state, but before final plat approval the subdivider must deliver an erosion control and sedimentation plan approval letter from the state's division of land resources to the subdivision administrator, and that official (or a designee) must inspect the property to confirm that disturbed areas have been stabilized and that no improper drainage, severe erosion or slides remain.

If those conditions persist, the subdivider is responsible for fixing them before final plat approval can be granted, and where an installation improvement guarantee under section 62-56 is used, the inspection happens before that security is released. Minor subdivisions face the same one-acre trigger and state-plan-approval requirement, but the administrator's inspection is discretionary rather than mandatory, and any remaining erosion or drainage problems must be fixed before the county issues improvement permits rather than before a final plat is recorded.