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

County Code § 24-786 requires permit coverage for stormwater discharges from any land disturbing activity of one acre or more, including sites under an acre that are part of a larger common plan of development that ultimately disturbs an acre or more, unless the activity is exempt. The applicant submits three copies of a stormwater management and sediment control plan to the county public works division's stormwater management department, which under § 24-787 must transmit approval or review comments within 20 working days; if the county misses that deadline, the applicant may demand the plan be stamped as submitted.

Plans must be certified by a registered professional engineer, landscape architect or Tier B land surveyor, remain valid for three years, and require notice to the county before work begins. Section 24-788 sets a nonrefundable fee schedule of a base fee plus a per-disturbed-acre charge, with no fee for disturbances under an acre outside a larger plan of development, plus added fees for waivers, variances, resubmittals beyond two, and major plan changes. Waivers and variances are reviewed within 20 working days under §§ 24-789 and 24-790, with automatic approval if the county fails to act, and appeals go to the county land use board of appeals under § 24-791.

Section 24-872 exempts a stand-alone single-family residence or accessory building disturbing less than an acre, and most routine agricultural land use, though an agricultural structure of an acre or more needing a building permit still needs a plan. Inspectors may enter sites at any time without notice under § 24-792, and the county may issue a stop-work order for off-site sedimentation or work done without an approved plan.