Burlington, NC Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Chapter 32, the "City of Burlington Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Ordinance," implements the state Sedimentation Pollution Control Act inside city limits. Section 32-4 sets the core rule: "No person shall undertake any land-disturbing activity subject to this chapter without first obtaining a plan approval therefore from the city." The same section carves out one size-based exception: a plan is not required for land-disturbing activity that "does not exceed forty-three thousand five hundred sixty (43,560) square feet in surface area," with commonly owned or jointly developed parcels aggregated for that calculation.

Section 32-6 requires the plan to be prepared by a registered engineer, surveyor, architect, or landscape architect, filed in three copies with the city and simultaneously with the Alamance or Guilford County Soil and Water Conservation District at least 30 days before work begins, and the city must act on a complete plan within 30 days or it is deemed approved. Section 32-5 layers on mandatory buffer-zone, graded-slope, and ground-cover standards, including a 25-foot undisturbed buffer along designated trout waters. Section 32-19 sets the penalty structure: a civil penalty up to $5,000 per violation, with the city council weighing harm, cost of repair, savings from noncompliance, and willfulness, and each day of a continuing violation is a separate offense; knowing or willful violations are a Class 2 misdemeanor carrying up to a $5,000 fine under G.S. 113A-64. Sections 32-17 and 32-20 add a hearing-and-appeal path through the city council and injunctive relief through Alamance County Superior Court.