Greenville, NC Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Section 9-6-5(A) of the Flood Damage Prevention ordinance lists the general standards every project in a mapped special flood hazard area must meet regardless of BFE data: new construction and substantial improvements must be anchored to prevent flotation, collapse or lateral movement, built with flood-damage-resistant materials, and constructed using methods that minimize flood damage. Electrical, heating, plumbing and HVAC equipment must be elevated to the regulatory flood protection elevation and designed so water cannot enter or accumulate in the components. New and replacement water supply and sanitary sewage systems must be designed to keep floodwater from infiltrating the system or from carrying sewage discharges into floodwaters, and on-site waste disposal systems must be sited and built to avoid contamination during flooding.

Nonconforming structures already in the floodway, non-encroachment area, or stream setback may be repaired or rebuilt only if the work does not increase the bulk of the structure below the regulatory flood protection elevation and otherwise meets the chapter. The ordinance draws a harder line for the riskiest land uses: Section 9-6-5(A)(9) bars any new solid waste disposal facility, hazardous waste management facility, salvage yard, or chemical storage facility from a special flood hazard area outright, allowing only an incidental chemical or fuel tank serving an already-permitted use, water treatment plant, or wastewater plant, and only if that tank is elevated or floodproofed to the regulatory flood protection elevation and certified under Section 9-6-4(B).

Zone determinations for all of this rely on the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map referenced in Section 9-6-3(B), administered by the City Engineer as Local Floodplain Administrator.