York County, SC Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

020 bars clearing, stripping, excavating or grading, or creating borrow pits, spoil areas, quarries or material processing plants, without first getting a land disturbance permit from York County; property owners also need any required SCDHEC permits. 021 then sets the operative erosion and sediment control standards inside the required C-SWPPP: development must be fitted to topography and soils to create the least erosion potential, natural vegetation must be retained and protected wherever possible, and only the smallest practical area may be exposed for the shortest practical time, with a target of not disturbing more than 20 acres at once.

Exceeding 20 acres triggers mandatory extras in the plan: a cut/fill analysis, a construction sequencing and phasing justification, and additional erosion control measures and devices. 5 ml/l settleable solids standard) using a ten-year, 24-hour storm event. Sites within three-quarters of a mile of Lake Wylie, the Catawba River, the Broad River, a drinking water source, or within 500 feet of a perennial stream must meet a stricter 85% TSS removal standard and may be required to use polymer flocculants with site-specific soil testing. Sediment basins and traps must stay in place until 80% of the contributing drainage area is permanently stabilized, cannot double as permanent wet-basin retention structures during construction, and stockpiles must sit at least 50 feet from any water quality buffer zone. 007.