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

Chapter 31 of the Catawba County Code of Ordinances, the County of Catawba Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Ordinance, requires prior plan approval under Sec. 31-5(a)(5): no person may initiate land-disturbing activity uncovering more than one acre unless a plan is filed with and approved by the county at least 30 days beforehand (or submitted under the express review program for faster turnaround). Sec. 31-6(a) requires three copies of the plan, with a copy simultaneously going to the 2nd Soil and Water Conservation District. The county has 30 days to approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove a complete plan (15 days for a revised plan); failure to act within those windows is deemed approval under Sec.

31-6(g). Sec. 31-5(a)(1) sets a standard buffer zone along lakes and natural watercourses wide enough to confine visible siltation within the 25 percent of the buffer nearest the disturbance, with a stricter 25-foot minimum buffer for designated trout waters. Sec. 31-5(a)(2) caps graded slope angles at what vegetative cover or erosion devices can retain, and requires temporary or permanent ground cover within 21 calendar days of completing any grading phase. Sec. 31-5(a)(4) requires sediment-control devices sufficient to retain sediment on the tract, with permanent ground cover completed within 90 calendar days of finishing construction.

Self-inspections are required after each project phase and weekly during rain events under NPDES Construction General Permit No. NCG 010000, per Sec. 31-6(r). A plan approval must be displayed at the job site until construction is complete and the site stabilized (Sec. 31-6(n)). The county may set an expiration of up to three years on an approved plan under which no work has begun (Sec. 31-6(h)).