Sumter County, SC Environmental Rules: Flood Zones (2026)

Chapter 18, Flood Damage Prevention, was fully rewritten by Ordinance No. 22-980 in October 2022. Section 18-4 applies the chapter to all areas of special flood hazard identified by FEMA in the county's Flood Insurance Study, and pulls in any newly annexed hazard areas automatically. Section 18-5 requires a development permit before any development activity begins, and Section 18-6 bars any structure or land from being located, extended, converted, or structurally altered without full compliance. The Floodplain Administrator, appointed under Section 18-51, reviews permit applications under Section 18-53, which requires a surveyor- or engineer-certified plot plan showing the 100-year floodplain contour, the floodway if any, and (where base flood elevation data exists) the elevation of the lowest floor of new or substantially improved structures.

Section 18-55 gives the administrator ongoing duties, including reviewing federal and state permit compliance, tracking watercourse alterations, preventing floodway encroachments, and making substantial-damage and substantial-improvement determinations. Section 18-56 lets the administrator inspect work in progress, issue stop-work orders, revoke permits for false statements or non-compliance, and, after a hearing, order a violating structure altered, vacated, or demolished; an owner can appeal an order to the county board of appeals within ten days. Chapter 18 states plainly that it sets minimum requirements construed in the county's favor and that the stricter of any conflicting regulation controls.