New Hanover County, NC Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Sec. 23-283 applies the stormwater article to all territory in the unincorporated areas of the county, and Sec. 23-284 states its purpose as protecting public health and natural resources by conditioning development activity and setting up administration and enforcement procedures. Sec. 23-343 sets the substantive minimum for new development: post-development runoff from the two-year, ten-year and 25-year frequency storms must not exceed predevelopment discharge rates, while Sec. 23-344 requires redevelopment to at least improve controls so post-redevelopment runoff from the ten-year storm does not exceed predevelopment rates.

Sec. 23-342 puts ongoing maintenance of stormwater conveyances, ditches, swales, channels, canals, culverts, ponds and lakes on the individual property owner; if the owner fails to fix a deficiency the county has flagged as a public nuisance, the county can correct it and recover the cost, subject to the appeal in Sec. 23-315. Sec. 23-311 defines violations as developing without a permit, developing inconsistent with a permit, or otherwise violating a permit condition, with each day of a continuing violation a separate offense. Sec. 00.

Sec. 23-313 treats blocked drainage and sediment-clogged swales as public nuisances the county can order abated within ten days, or abate immediately if the condition is an imminent danger. Sec. 23-315 gives anyone assessed a penalty 14 days to demand a hearing before the county manager, whose decision can then be appealed to the board of commissioners or challenged by writ of certiorari in superior court within 30 days under Sec. 23-316.