(A) Plan submission. A plan shall be prepared for all land-disturbing activities subject to this chapter whenever the proposed activity meets the requirements set forth in § 152.04(D)(1) or (2). The plan shall be filed with the county, and a copy shall be simultaneously submitted to the Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation District at least 30 days prior to the commencement of the proposed activity.
(B) Financial responsibility and ownership.
(1) Plans may 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 his or her attorney in fact. The statement shall include the mailing and street addresses of the principal place of business of:
(a) The person financially responsible;
(b) The owner of the land; and
(c) Any registered agents.
(2) If the person financially responsible is not a resident of the state, a state agent must be designated in the statement for the purpose of receiving notice of compliance or noncompliance with the plan, the Act, this chapter, or rules or orders adopted or issued pursuant to this chapter.
(3) 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) Two copies of the plan shall be filed with the County Department of Soil and Water. A copy of the approved plan shall be maintained on the job site for the duration of the job. A plan approval issued under this chapter shall be prominently displayed until all construction is complete, 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.
(E) Efforts should be made to prevent the uncovering of more than 20 acres at any one time. If more than 20 acres are to be uncovered at any one time, the plan shall contain the following additional information:
(1) The method of limiting time of exposure and amount of exposed area to achieve the objectives of this chapter;
(2) A cut/fill analysis that shows where soil will be moved from one area of the tract to another as ground elevation is changed;
(3) Construction sequence and construction phasing to justify the time and amount of exposure;
(4) Techniques to be used to prevent sedimentation associated with larger disturbed areas; and
(5) Additional erosion control measures, structures, and devices to prevent sedimentation.
(F) 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 county shall promptly notify the person submitting the plan that the 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.
(G) The land-disturbing activity described in the plan shall not result in a violation of rules adopted by the Environmental Management Commission to protect riparian buffers along surface waters.
(H) The land-disturbing activity described in the plan shall not result in a violation of any local ordinance, law, rule or regulation, including, but not limited to, zoning, tree protection, stream, lake and watershed buffers and floodplain regulations.
(I) 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 county on request.
(J) Soil and Water Conservation District comments. The District shall review the plan and submit any comments and recommendations to the county within 20 days after the District received the plan, or within any shorter period of time as may be agreed upon by the District and the county. Failure of the District to submit its comments and recommendations within 20 days or within any agreed-upon shorter period of time shall not delay final action on the plan.
(K) Timeline for decisions on plans. The county will review each complete plan submitted to it and, within 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 30 days of receipt shall be deemed approval. The county will review each revised plan submitted to it and, within 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 15 days of receipt shall be deemed approval.
(L) Approval. The county 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 county shall condition approval of plans upon the applicant’s compliance with federal and state water quality laws, regulations and rules.
(M) Disapproval for content. The county 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.
(N) Other disapprovals.
(1) The county 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.
(2) The county 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:
(a) 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.
(b) 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.
(c) 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.
(d) Has failed to substantially comply with state rules or local ordinances and regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter.
(3) In the event that an erosion and sedimentation control plan or a transfer of a plan is disapproved by the county 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 days of the disapproval. The county 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 § 152.17(A) of this chapter, the applicant may appeal the county's disapproval of the plan directly to the Commission.
(4) For purposes of this division, an applicant’s record or the proposed transferee’s record may be considered for only the two years prior to the application date.
(O) Transfer of plans. The county 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 division.
(1) The county may transfer a plan if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) The successor-owner of the property submits to the local government a written request for the transfer of the plan and an authorized statement of financial responsibility and documentation of property ownership.
(b) The county finds all of the following:
1. The plan holder is one of the following:
a. A natural person who is deceased;
b. A partnership, limited liability corporation, corporation, or any other business association that has been dissolved;
c. A person who has been lawfully and finally divested of title to the property on which the permitted activity is occurring or will occur;
d. A person who has sold the property on which the permitted activity is occurring or will occur;
2. The successor-owner holds title to the property on which the permitted activity is occurring or will occur;
3. The successor-owner is the sole claimant of the right to engage in the permitted activity;
4. 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 county may not impose new or different terms and conditions in the plan without the prior express consent of the successor-owner. Nothing in this division shall prevent the county from requiring a revised plan pursuant to G.S. § 113A-54.1(b).
(P) 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.
(Q) Preconstruction conference. If a plan approval is required under this chapter, the person conducting the land-disturbing activity, or an agent of that party, shall contact the County Soil and Water Department at least 48 hours before commencement of the land-disturbing activity. The purpose of the preconstruction conference is to arrange an on-site meeting with the Soil and Water Department to review and discuss the approved plan and the proposed land-disturbing activity.
(R) 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.
(S) Required revisions. After approving a plan, if the county, 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 county 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 county determines that the plan is inadequate to meet the requirements of this chapter, the county may require any revision of the plan that is necessary to comply with this chapter.
(T) 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 an amendment is approved by the county, the land-disturbing activity shall not proceed except in accordance with the plan as originally approved.
(U) 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.
(V) Self-inspections.
(1) 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.
(a) The person who performs the inspection shall maintain and make available a record of the inspection at the site of the land-disturbing activity.
1. 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.
2. The record shall be maintained until permanent ground cover has been established as required by the approved erosion and sedimentation control plan.
(b) The inspections required by this division shall be in addition to inspections required by G.S. § 113A-61.1.
(2) Where inspections are required by this division or G.S. § 113A-54.l(e), the following apply:
(a) The inspection shall be performed during or after each of the following phases of the plan:
1. Initial installation of erosion and sediment control measures;
2. Clearing and grubbing of existing ground cover;
3. Completion of any grading that requires ground cover;
4. Completion of all land-disturbing activity, construction, or development, including permanent ground cover establishment and removal of all temporary measures; and
5. 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 (R) of this section.
(b) Documentation of self-inspections performed under division (V)(2(a)) of this section shall include:
1. Visual verification of ground stabilization and other erosion control measures and practices as called for in the approved plan;
2. Verification by measurement of settling basins, temporary construction entrances, energy dissipators, and traps;
3. 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. Any relevant licenses and certifications may also be included. 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.
4. A record of any significant deviation from any erosion or sedimentation control measure from that on the approved plan. For the purpose of this rule, 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.
(3) Except as may be required under federal law, rule or regulation, no periodic self-inspections or rain gauge installation is required on individual residential lots where less than one acre is being disturbed on each lot.
(W) Plan cancellations. Plans for which land-disturbing activity has not commenced within two years from the initial plan approval are void.
(Ord. passed 1-22-2007; Ord. passed 12-18-2023)