Pitt County, NC Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted / effective
- June 3, 2024 / July 1, 2024
- Riparian buffer width
- 50 feet from streams, ponds, lakes
- Residential exemption threshold
- Disturbs less than 1 acre
- Small commercial exemption
- Disturbs less than 1/2 acre
- Built-upon area cap for expansions
- 24% of parcel
- Enforcing office
- Pitt County Stormwater Administrator
Summary
Pitt County regulates post-development stormwater runoff countywide under the Stormwater Management Ordinance for Nutrient Control, adopted June 3, 2024 and effective July 1, 2024. A stormwater permit from the Stormwater Administrator is required for most new development and redevelopment in the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico watersheds, with narrow acreage-based exemptions for small residential projects.
Beginning with and subsequent to its effective date, this ordinance shall be applicable to all development and expansion of development throughout the planning jurisdiction of Pitt County, including, but not limited to, site plan applications, subdivision applications, and grading applications, unless exempt pursuant to this ordinance.
(A) Exemptions The following are exempt from this ordinance:
(1) Single family and duplex residential and related recreational development and expansion of development that disturbs less than one acre;
(2) Commercial, industrial, institutional, multifamily residential or local government development that disturbs less than one half acre and does not expand existing structures on a parcel;
(3) ...and expands existing structures on a parcel but does not result in a cumulative built-upon area for the parcel exceeding twenty-four (24) percent;
(4) Development of an individual single-family or duplex residential lot that is not part of a larger common plan of development or sale and does not result in greater than five (5) percent built-upon area on the lot;
Full Breakdown
04. 09 requires a stormwater permit for site plan, subdivision, and grading applications unless a project qualifies for one of the listed exemptions: single-family or duplex development disturbing less than one acre, commercial or institutional development disturbing less than one-half acre that does not expand existing structures, expansions under one-half acre that keep built-upon area at or below 24 percent, or an individual lot developed outside a common plan that stays at or below 5 percent built-upon area. 0714); the County must disapprove new development within that first 50 feet unless the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) has issued an on-site determination, an authorization certificate, a vested-rights opinion, or a variance letter.
S. 21. S. 160D-404, or seek an injunction through the County Attorney for any uncorrected violation, and each day a violation continues is treated as a separate offense.
Violations & Fines
Enforcement runs through the Stormwater Administrator. Civil penalties are assessed by the Technical Review Committee up to the maximum authorized by N.C.G.S. 143-215.6A after the violator has been notified and given a compliance period; each day of continuing violation is a separate assessable violation. The County may also withhold a certificate of occupancy, deny future permits, issue a stop-work order, or pursue injunctive relief and lien-based cost recovery for violations that endanger public health under N.C.G.S. 160A-193.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Pitt County stormwater ordinance apply to my property inside Greenville or Winterville?
Do I need a stormwater permit to build a single-family home in Pitt County?
How wide is the required buffer next to a stream on my Pitt County property?
What happens if I build without the required stormwater permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pitt County
Compare Pitt County to another location·View the North Carolina environmental rules overview
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