Rock Hill, SC Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Article V is Rock Hill's local stormwater ordinance. South Carolina's Stormwater Management and Sediment Reduction Act (S.C. Code § 48-14-10 et seq., enacted 1991) requires DHEC/SCDES to promulgate stormwater and sediment-control regulations and authorizes delegation of program implementation to local governments. SCDES Regulation 72-300 through 72-316 sets the state floor; municipalities like Rock Hill act as the local Implementing Agency for land-disturbing activities. Rock Hill is also covered under South Carolina's NPDES General Permit for Storm Water Discharges from Regulated Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (SCR030000), administered by SCDES, which obligates the City to implement the Six Minimum Control Measures: (1) public education and outreach, (2) public involvement / participation, (3) illicit discharge detection and elimination, (4) construction-site stormwater runoff control, (5) post-construction stormwater management for new and redevelopment, and (6) pollution prevention / good housekeeping for municipal operations. Section 29-305 specifically addresses maintenance responsibilities after development: once temporary or permanent erosion, sedimentation, and stormwater facilities have been installed and passed final inspection, the property owner (or person in control) must maintain in good condition and promptly repair grade surfaces, walls, drains, dams, structures, vegetation, erosion / sediment control measures, and other protective devices. The City of Rock Hill's Stormwater Management and Erosion Control Design Manual (administered by Public Works) sets the engineering criteria for compliance. The City also operates a Stormwater Utility funded by a stormwater fee billed on the utility bill (Chapter 29 Article V); the fee underwrites MS4 compliance, drainage maintenance, and capital flood-mitigation projects (such as the City's federally funded Lige Green Street flooding project).