North Carolina General Statutes 113A-57. Mandatory standards for land-disturbing activity
No land-disturbing activity subject to this Article shall be undertaken except in accordance with the following mandatory requirements:
(1) No land-disturbing activity during periods of construction or improvement to land shall be permitted in proximity to a lake or natural watercourse unless a buffer zone is provided along the margin of the watercourse of sufficient width to confine visible siltation within the twenty-five percent (25%) of the buffer zone nearest the land-disturbing activity. Waters that have been classified as trout waters by the Environmental Management Commission shall have an undisturbed buffer zone 25 feet wide or of sufficient width to confine visible siltation within the twenty-five percent (25%) of the buffer zone nearest the land-disturbing activity, whichever is greater. Provided, however, that the Sedimentation Control Commission may approve plans which include land-disturbing activity along trout waters when the duration of said disturbance would be temporary and the extent of said disturbance would be minimal. This subdivision shall not apply to a land-disturbing activity in connection with the construction of facilities to be located on, over, or under a lake or natural watercourse.
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 113A-57
- Commission: means the North Carolina Sedimentation Control Commission. See North Carolina General Statutes 113A-52
- Erosion: means the wearing away of land surface by the action of wind, water, gravity, or any combination thereof. See North Carolina General Statutes 113A-52
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Land-disturbing activity: means any use of the land by any person in residential, industrial, educational, institutional or commercial development, highway and road construction and maintenance that results in a change in the natural cover or topography and that may cause or contribute to sedimentation. See North Carolina General Statutes 113A-52
- Person: means any individual, partnership, firm, association, joint venture, public or private corporation, trust, estate, commission, board, public or private institution, utility, cooperative, interstate body, or other legal entity. See North Carolina General Statutes 113A-52
- Sediment: means solid particulate matter, both mineral and organic, that has been or is being transported by water, air, gravity, or ice from its site of origin. See North Carolina General Statutes 113A-52
- Tract: means all contiguous land and bodies of water being disturbed or to be disturbed as a unit, regardless of ownership. See North Carolina General Statutes 113A-52
(2) The angle for graded slopes and fills shall be no greater than the angle that can be retained by vegetative cover or other adequate erosion-control devices or structures. In any event, slopes left exposed will, within 21 calendar days of completion of any phase of grading, be planted or otherwise provided with temporary or permanent ground cover, devices, or structures sufficient to restrain erosion.
(3) Whenever land-disturbing activity that will disturb more than one acre is undertaken on a tract, the person conducting the land-disturbing activity shall install erosion and sedimentation control devices and practices that are sufficient to retain the sediment generated by the land-disturbing activity within the boundaries of the tract during construction upon and development of the tract, and shall plant or otherwise provide a permanent ground cover sufficient to restrain erosion after completion of construction or development within a time period to be specified by rule of the Commission.
(4) No person shall initiate any land-disturbing activity that will disturb more than one acre on a tract unless, 30 or more days prior to initiating the activity, an erosion and sedimentation control plan for the activity is filed with the agency having jurisdiction and approved by the agency. An erosion and sedimentation control plan may be filed less than 30 days prior to initiation of a land-disturbing activity if the plan is submitted under an approved express permit program, and the land-disturbing activity may be initiated and conducted in accordance with the plan once the plan has been approved. The agency having jurisdiction shall forward to the Director of the Division of Water Resources a copy of each erosion and sedimentation control plan for a land-disturbing activity that involves the utilization of ditches for the purpose of de-watering or lowering the water table of the tract.
(5) The land-disturbing activity shall be conducted in accordance with the approved erosion and sedimentation control plan. (1973, c. 392, s. 8; c. 1417, s. 5; 1975, c. 647, s. 2; 1979, c. 564; 1983 (Reg. Sess., 1984), c. 1014, s. 3; 1987, c. 827, s. 131; 1989, c. 676, s. 3; 1991, c. 275, s. 2; 1998-99, s. 1; 1999-379, s. 2; 2002-165, s. 2.6; 2005-386, s. 7.2; 2005-443, s. 2; 2006-255, s. 2; 2006-264, s. 53(a); 2013-413, s. 57(f).)