Pender County, NC Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Article III of Chapter 14, the "Watershed Protection Ordinance of Pender County," governs stormwater management for land inside the county's mapped public water supply watersheds, adopted under authority in G.S. 143-214.5. Section 14-165, which sets subdivision standards and required improvements, addresses stormwater directly in subsection (c): the application shall be accompanied by a description of the proposed method of providing stormwater drainage, and the subdivider must provide a drainage system that diverts stormwater runoff away from surface waters and incorporates best management practices to minimize water quality impacts.

The same section requires an accompanying erosion and sedimentation control statement where the state division of land quality's approval is required, and it steers new roads away from critical areas and watershed buffers where feasible. Section 14-190 backs this up with a 30-foot vegetative buffer requirement along perennial waters, generally barring new development in that buffer except for water-dependent structures and public projects like road crossings, and directing any development that is allowed there to minimize built-upon surface area, direct runoff away from the surface waters and maximize the utilization of stormwater best management practices.

Section 14-216 separately flags the improper management of stormwater runoff as one of the public-health threats the watershed administrator monitors under § 14-217, who can pursue abatement action when a threat to water quality is found. Enforcement of Article III runs through § 14-130: a misdemeanor punishable under G.S. 14-4 with a fine not exceeding $500.00, with each day of continuing violation a separate offense, plus a $100.00 civil penalty and other equitable remedies under § 14-131.