Sussex County, DE Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- Who maintains the pond
- Individual landowners, not the county
- Agreement required
- Recorded before building permit issues
- Runs with the land
- Binds all subsequent owners
- Inspecting agency
- DNREC or Sussex Conservation District
- Governing chapter
- Sussex County Code Ch. 90
Summary
Before issuing a building permit that requires stormwater management, Sussex County makes the applicant sign a recorded inspection and maintenance agreement under § 90-7 of Chapter 90, binding every future owner of land served by a private stormwater pond. Landowners, not the county, are responsible for infiltration, sediment control and vegetative cover upkeep.
Prior to the issuance of any building permit for which stormwater management is required, the District shall require the applicant or owner of the land to execute an inspection and maintenance agreement binding on all subsequent owners of land served by the private stormwater management pond. Infiltration, sediment control and vegetative cover maintenance are the responsibility of the individual landowners. Such agreement shall provide for access to the facility at reasonable times for regular inspection by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control or the District or its authorized representative.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4401089; v17 updated 2025-06-17; through 06-17-2025).
Full Breakdown
§ 90-7 requires the Sussex Conservation District to obtain an inspection and maintenance agreement from any applicant or landowner before the County issues a building permit that triggers stormwater management review. That agreement binds all subsequent owners of the land served by a private stormwater management pond, not just the original applicant, and it must be recorded in the Sussex County land records under § 90-7B. The chapter puts day-to-day upkeep, infiltration function, sediment control and vegetative cover maintenance squarely on the individual landowners rather than the County or the District.
The agreement must also give the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, the District, or its representative a right of access to the facility at reasonable times for regular inspection, and any deed restrictions within the subdivision must carry provisions requiring the property owners to keep the facility in proper working condition to the design standards the District set. § 90-3 frames this maintenance duty as part of the chapter's broader purpose: minimizing adverse impacts of modified stormwater characteristics, reducing localized flooding, and maintaining post-development runoff as close to predevelopment conditions as practicable.
A related permit, under § 90-6, can be suspended if the District later finds the runoff characteristics on which a waiver was based have changed.
Violations & Fines
A landowner who lets a private stormwater pond's infiltration, sediment control or vegetative cover lapse is in breach of the recorded § 90-7 maintenance agreement, which the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control or the Sussex Conservation District can enforce through their right of regular inspection. A related grading or building permit can be suspended under § 90-6 if changed runoff characteristics undercut a waiver the District granted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible for maintaining a stormwater pond in Sussex County?
Can DNREC inspect my private stormwater pond?
Does the stormwater maintenance agreement transfer when I sell my property?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sussex County
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