Quick Notes on Erosion Contol

The Haywood County Erosion and Sediment Control Ordinance (PDF) defines land disturbing activity as any use of the land by any person for residential, industrial, educational, institutional, or commercial development, and 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.
Haywood County’s Ordinance is taken from a model provided by the state of North Carolina. These rules and regulations were originally adopted by the state in The Sedimentation Pollution Control Act of 1973. This legislation has been periodically amended and is also supported by Title 15A of the North Carolina Administrative Code. In 1988, Haywood County adopted the ordinance and began its own erosion control program.
North Carolina General Statute 113A-61(b) states that “a local government shall only approve a plan upon determining that it complies with all applicable state and local regulations for erosion and sediment control”
This department also oversees Haywood County’s Slope Ordinance (PDF) and Standard Operating Procedures, a set of standards for improved construction and development practices that will result in higher levels of safety and stability on developed land, while decreasing the potential of damage to natural resources and properties adjoining tracts containing artificial slope construction.