GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1991 SESSION

CHAPTER 275
HOUSE BILL 449

AN ACT TO STRENGTHEN THE SEDIMENTATION POLLUTION CONTROL ACT.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 113A-52 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(10a)	'Tract' means all contiguous land and bodies of water being disturbed or to be disturbed as a unit, regardless of ownership."
Sec. 2.  G.S.113A-57 reads as rewritten:
"§ 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.
(2)	The angle for graded slopes and fills shall be no greater than the angle which can be retained by vegetative cover or other adequate erosion-control devices or structures. In any event, slopes left exposed will, within 30 working days of completion of any phase of grading, be planted or otherwise provided with ground cover, devices, or structures sufficient to restrain erosion.
(3)	Whenever land-disturbing activity is undertaken on a tract comprising more than one acre, if more than one acre is uncovered, the person conducting the land-disturbing activity shall install such sedimentation and erosion control devices and practices as are sufficient to retain the sediment generated by the land-disturbing activity within the boundaries of the tract during construction upon and development of said 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 on a tract if more than one acre is to be uncovered unless, 30 or more days prior to initiating the activity, an erosion and sedimentation control plan for such activity is filed with the agency having jurisdiction."
Sec. 3.  This act becomes effective October 1, 1991.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 12th day of June, 1991.

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James C. Gardner
President of the Senate

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Daniel Blue, Jr.
Speaker of the House of Representatives