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

Laurens County defines stormwater in Sec. 8-53 as the direct runoff response of a watershed to rainfall, including surface and subsurface runoff and any material it carries into a ditch, stream or storm sewer during a rain event. The county's stormwater controls sit inside the Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Ordinance (Secs. 8-48 to 8-69, Ord. No. 895, June 22, 2021), which Sec. 8-49 says exists in part to control stormwater runoff from developing areas, protect surface water and groundwater quality, and prevent pollution of watersheds, streams and lakes.

Under Sec. 8-55(2), before the county's Building Codes Department can issue a land disturbance permit, SCDHEC must have already issued coverage under an applicable NPDES stormwater permit for any construction activity, clearing, grading or excavating, that will disturb one acre or more of land, or less than an acre if the work is part of a larger common plan of development or sale. Plans are built around SCDHEC's current Best Management Practices Handbook for Sediment and Erosion Control. The approving authority, the Building Codes Department and the Public Works Director, reviews the submitted plan and has 30 days to approve or disapprove it. Waivers from specific stormwater provisions can be granted by the approving authority where a developer shows the ordinance's integrity will not be violated.