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

Unincorporated Lee County ties its own zoning clearance permit directly to state sediment control approval. Under Unified Development Ordinance § 9.1, any land-disturbing activity meeting the state definition in G.S. § 113A-52.01 must conform to the Sedimentation and Pollution Control Act of 1973 (G.S. §§ 113A-50 to 113A-458). The Community Development department, which administers the county's zoning clearance permits, cannot issue that permit for a project requiring a state sedimentation and erosion control permit until the applicant submits a copy of the state permit or another approval notification to the administrator.

In practice this means a builder or developer clearing land in unincorporated Lee County for a subdivision, commercial site, or larger residential project must first secure sign-off from the state sedimentation program before Lee County will move the local zoning clearance forward. The UDO's article 9 summary describes this article as designed to promote conservation and protect the natural environment by referencing state and federal programs rather than duplicating them locally; stormwater management and tree preservation sections in the same article are expressly reserved and carry no current county standards.

Because § 9.1 is enforced as part of the zoning clearance process, violations fall under the UDO's general enforcement and penalty framework in § 1.6: a first offense draws a ten-day warning period followed by a $100 per day civil penalty for each day the violation continues, escalating to an immediate $100 penalty plus $100 per day for a repeat offense on the same property within twelve months, collectible through a civil debt action in district court. Property owners and contractors working in unincorporated Lee County should build the state sedimentation permit timeline into their project schedule before applying for county zoning clearance, since the local permit is legally withheld pending the state approval.