Florence County, SC Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Florence County's Stormwater Management Plan, adopted under § 9.5-26, is the county's official operational program for complying with its NPDES permit, and the county Engineering Division administers it through the Florence County Stormwater Design Manual referenced in § 9.5-27. Section 9.5-28 requires every land disturbing activity, unless specifically exempt, to obtain permit coverage by submitting a stormwater management and sediment control plan prepared to the standards in § 9.5-51. Under § 9.5-29, the person responsible must apply in writing to the Engineering Division, and the division has 20 working days to approve the plan or return comments; if it misses that deadline, the plan is automatically considered approved. Larger projects disturbing an acre or more must have the plan sealed by a licensed design professional, while smaller, non-common-plan projects under an acre can submit without one.

Section 9.5-30 requires a nonrefundable application fee, set by the Engineering Division and approved by county council, scaled per disturbed acre up to a capped maximum, with separate fees for waivers, variances, permit extensions and major plan changes; DHEC's own NPDES issuance fee is charged on top of the county's fee for activity of an acre or more. Waivers and variances under §§ 9.5-31 and 9.5-32 are decided on the same 20-working-day clock, with automatic approval on a missed deadline, and appeals from Engineering Division decisions go to the county planning commission under § 30-297.

Violating an approved plan, or disturbing land without one, draws a civil penalty of up to $1,000.00 per violation under § 9.5-35, on top of misdemeanor exposure for negligent, willful or intentional violations.