(a) Plan submission. A plan shall be prepared for all land-disturbing activities that will result in the disturbance of land equal to or greater than one (1) acre, or that will result in the land disturbance of less than one (1) acre if part of a larger common plan of development or sale, including without limitation, a subdivision.
(b) Financial responsibility and ownership. Plans shall be disapproved unless accompanied by an authorized statement of financial responsibility and documentation of property ownership. This statement shall be signed by the person financially responsible for the land-disturbing activity or their attorney in fact. The statement shall include the mailing and street addresses of the principal place of business of: (1) the person financially responsible; (2) the owner of the land; and (3) any registered agents. If the person financially responsible is not a resident of North Carolina, a North Carolina agent must be designated in the statement for the purpose of receiving notice of compliance or non-compliance with the plan, the Act, this chapter, or rules or orders adopted or issued pursuant to this chapter. Except as provided in divisions (c) or (k) of this section, if the applicant is not the owner of the land to be disturbed, the draft erosion and sedimentation control plan must include the owner's written consent for the applicant to submit a draft erosion and sedimentation control plan and to conduct the anticipated land-disturbing activity.
(c) If the applicant is not the owner of the land to be disturbed and the anticipated land- disturbing activity involves the construction of utility lines for the provision of water, sewer, gas, telecommunications, or electrical service, the draft erosion and sedimentation control plan may be submitted without the written consent of the owner of the land, so long as the owner of the land has been provided prior notice of the project.
(d) Environmental Policy Act document. Any plan submitted for a land-disturbing activity for which an environmental document is required by the North Carolina Environment Policy Act (G.S. 113A-1 et seq.) shall be deemed incomplete until a complete environmental document is available for review. The Town shall promptly notify the person submitting the plan that the thirty (30)-day time limit for review of the plan pursuant to this chapter shall not begin until a complete environmental document is available for review.
(e) Content. The plan required by this section shall contain architectural or engineering drawings, maps, assumptions, calculations, and narrative statements as needed to adequately describe the proposed development of the tract and the measures planned to comply with the requirements of this chapter. Plan content may vary to meet the needs of specific site requirements. Detailed guidelines for plan preparation may be obtained from the Town on request.
(f) Timeline for decisions on plans. The Town will review each complete plan submitted to them and within thirty (30) days of receipt thereof will notify the person submitting the plan that it has been approved, approved with modifications, or disapproved. Failure to approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove a complete plan within thirty (30) days of receipt shall be deemed approval. The Town will review each revised plan submitted to them and within fifteen (15) days of receipt thereof will notify the person submitting the plan that it has been approved, approved with modifications, or disapproved. Failure to approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove a revised plan within fifteen (15) days of receipt shall be deemed approval.
(g) Approval. The Town shall only approve a plan upon determining that it complies with all applicable state and local regulations for erosion and sedimentation control. Approval assumes the applicant's compliance with the federal and state water quality laws, regulations and rules. The Town shall condition approval of plans upon the applicant's compliance with federal and state water quality laws, regulations and rules. The Town may establish an expiration date, not to exceed three (3) years, for plans approved under this chapter whereby no land-disturbing activity has been undertaken.
(h) Disapproval for content. The Town may disapprove a plan or draft plan based on its content. A disapproval based upon a plan's content must specifically state in writing the reasons for disapproval.
(i) Other disapprovals. The Town shall disapprove an erosion and sedimentation control plan if implementation of the plan would result in a violation of rules adopted by the Environmental Management Commission to protect riparian buffers along surface waters. The Town may disapprove an erosion and sedimentation control plan or disapprove a transfer of a plan under division (k) of this section upon finding that an applicant or a parent, subsidiary, or other affiliate of the applicant:
(1) Is conducting or has conducted land-disturbing activity without an approved plan or has received notice of violation of a plan previously approved by the Commission or a local government pursuant to this chapter and has not complied with the notice within the time specified in the notice.
(2) Has failed to pay a civil penalty assessed pursuant to this chapter or a local ordinance adopted pursuant to this chapter by the time the payment is due.
(3) Has been convicted of a misdemeanor pursuant to G.S. 113A-64(b) or any criminal provision of a local ordinance adopted pursuant to this chapter.
(4) Has failed to substantially comply with state rules or local ordinances and regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter.
a. In the event that an erosion and sedimentation control plan or a transfer of a plan is disapproved by the Town pursuant to division (j) of this section, the local government shall so notify the Director of the Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources within ten (10) days of the disapproval. The Town shall advise the applicant or the proposed transferee and the Director in writing as to the specific reasons that the plan was disapproved. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 96.16(a), the applicant may appeal the local government's disapproval of the plan directly to the Commission.
b. For purposes of this section, an applicant's record or the proposed transferee's record may be considered for only the two (2) years prior to the application date.
(j) Transfer of plans. The Town administering an erosion and sedimentation control program may transfer an erosion and sedimentation control plan approved pursuant to this section without the consent of the plan holder to a successor-owner of the property on which the permitted activity is occurring or will occur as provided in this section.
(1) The Town may transfer a plan if all of the following conditions are met:
(i) The successor-owner of the property submits to the local government a written request for the transfer of the plan including a copy of the current owner corporation's dissolution or other records to support the assertion that the current rights holder is no longer in business or has abandoned the project, and an authorized statement of financial responsibility and ownership.
(ii) The Town finds all of the following:
a. The plan holder is one of the following:
1. A natural person who is deceased.
2. A partnership, limited liability corporation, corporation, or any other business association that has been dissolved.
3. A person who has been lawfully and finally divested of title to the property on which the permitted activity is occurring or will occur.
4. A person who has sold the property on which the permitted activity is occurring or will occur.
b. The successor-owner holds title to the property on which the permitted activity is occurring or will occur.
c. The successor-owner is the sole claimant of the right to engage in the permitted activity.
d. There will be no substantial change in the permitted activity.
(2) The plan holder shall comply with all terms and conditions of the plan until such time as the plan is transferred.
(3) The successor-owner shall comply with all terms and conditions of the plan once the plan has been transferred.
(4) Notwithstanding changes to law made after the original issuance of the plan, the Town may not impose new or different terms and conditions in the plan without the prior express consent of the successor-owner. Nothing in this section shall prevent the Town from requiring a revised plan pursuant to G.S. 113A-54.1 (b).
(k) Notice of activity initiation. No person may initiate a land-disturbing activity before notifying the agency that issued the plan approval of the date that land-disturbing activity will begin.
(l) Preconstruction conference. Prior to any land disturbing activity, a preconstruction conference shall be held on site.
(m) Display of plan approval. A plan approval issued under this chapter shall be prominently displayed until all construction is complete, all temporary measures have been removed, all permanent sedimentation and erosion control measures are installed, and the site has been stabilized. A copy of the approved plan shall be kept on file at the job site.
(n) Required revisions. After approving a plan, if the Town, either upon review of such plan or on inspection of the job site, determines that a significant risk of accelerated erosion or off-site sedimentation exists, the Town shall require a revised plan. Pending the preparation of the revised plan, work shall cease or shall continue under conditions outlined by the appropriate authority. If following commencement of a land-disturbing activity pursuant to an approved plan, the Town determines that the plan is inadequate to meet the requirements of this chapter, the Town may require any revision of the plan that is necessary to comply with this chapter.
(o) Amendment to a plan. Applications for amendment of a plan in written and/or graphic form may be made at any time under the same conditions as the original application. Until such time as the amendment is approved by the Town, the land-disturbing activity shall not proceed except in accordance with the plan as originally approved.
(p) Failure to file a plan. Any person engaged in land-disturbing activity who fails to file a plan in accordance with this chapter, or who conducts a land-disturbing activity except in accordance with provisions of an approved plan shall be deemed in violation of this chapter.
(q) Self-inspections. The landowner, the financially responsible party, or the landowner's or the financially responsible party's agent shall perform an inspection of the area covered by the plan after each phase of the plan has been completed and after establishment of temporary ground cover in accordance with G.S. 113A-57(2). In addition, weekly and rain-event self-inspections are required by federal regulations, that are implemented through the NPDES Construction General Permit No. NCG 010000. The person who performs the inspection shall maintain and make available a record of the inspection at the site of the land-disturbing activity. The record shall set out any significant deviation from the approved erosion control plan, identify any measures that may be required to correct the deviation, and document the completion of those measures. The record shall be maintained until permanent ground cover has been established as required by the approved erosion and sedimentation control plan. The inspections required by this section shall be in addition to inspections required by G.S. 113A-61.1.
Where inspections are required by division (r) of this section or G.S. 113A-54.1(e), the following apply:
(1) The inspection shall be performed during or after each of the following phases of the plan:
(i) Initial installation of erosion and sediment control measures;
(ii) Clearing and grubbing of existing ground cover;
(iii) Completion of any grading that requires ground cover;
(iv) Completion of all land-disturbing activity, construction, or development, including permanent ground cover establishment and removal of all temporary measures; and
(v) Transfer of ownership or control of the tract of land where the erosion and sedimentation control plan has been approved and work has begun. The new owner or person in control shall conduct and document inspections until the project is permanently stabilized as set forth in division (q)(1)(iii) of this section.
(2) Documentation of self-inspections performed under division (q)(1) of this section shall include:
(i) Visual verification of ground stabilization and other erosion control measures and practices as called for in the approved plan;
(ii) Verification by measurement of settling basins, temporary construction entrances, energy dissipators, and traps.
(iii) The name, address, organization affiliation, telephone number, and signature of the person conducting the inspection and the date of the inspection shall be included, whether on a copy of the approved erosion and sedimentation control plan or an inspection report. A template for an example of an inspection and monitoring report is provided on the DEMLR website at: https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/energy-mineral-land-resources/erosion-sediment-control/forms. The person responsible for conducting these inspections shall have or obtain at least one NCDOT recognized erosion and sedimentation control certification. Any documentation of inspections that occur on a copy of the approved erosion and sedimentation control plan shall occur on a single copy of the plan and that plan shall be made available on the site.
(iv) A record of any significant deviation from any erosion or sedimentation control measure from that on the approved plan. For the purpose of this division, a significant deviation means an omission, alternation, or relocation of an erosion or sedimentation control measure that prevents it from performing as intended. The record shall include measures required to correct the significant deviation, along with documentation of when those measures were taken. Deviations from the approved plan may also be recommended to enhance the intended performance of the sedimentation and erosion control measures.
(Ord. No. 21-11-01-001, 11-1-21; Ord. No. 21-12-15-001, 12-15-21; Ord. No. 24-11-20-001, 11-20-24)