Chapel Hill, NC Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Chapel Hill stormwater authority sits at three layers. Federally, the Town holds an NPDES Phase II Small MS4 permit (NCS000414) issued by NC DEMLR under the federal Clean Water Act. At the state layer, the NC Environmental Management Commission has adopted the Jordan Water Supply Nutrient Strategy (15A NCAC 02B .0262 to .0273). Locally, the Town has codified stormwater controls in Town Code Chapter 23 (Water, Sewers and Drains) and in LUMO Appendix A Article 5 — Section 5.4 establishes the Stormwater Management requirements for new development and redevelopment, and Section 5.19 sets the Stormwater Quality and Peak Flow Rate Requirements. The Town's Stormwater Management Utility was created by ordinance in 2004 as a public enterprise fund — the ERU fee of $34.97 per year per 1,000 square feet of impervious surface funds NPDES Phase II MS4 compliance, LUMO administration through development review, inspections, bonding, stream classifications for the Resource Conservation District (RCD), and public education programs. All waterways in Chapel Hill and its planning jurisdiction flow into the Upper New Hope arm of Jordan Lake, which experiences frequent algal blooms from nitrogen and phosphorus loading. The original Jordan Lake new-development rule 15A NCAC 02B .0265 — which capped Upper New Hope new-development nutrient loading at 2.2 lb/ac/yr nitrogen and 0.82 lb/ac/yr phosphorus and required treatment of the first one inch of rainfall — has been suspended by the NC General Assembly pending rule readoption. The buffer rule 15A NCAC 02B .0267 and the nutrient offset rule 15A NCAC 02B .0273 remain in force. Day-to-day stormwater review and the RCD program are handled by the Stormwater Management Division of Chapel Hill Public Works.