Erosion and Sediment Control Laws and Rules

NOTICE: Sedimentation Control Rules Review and Re-adoption

Legislation adopted in the 2013 session of the NC General Assembly required state agencies to review their rules according to specific procedures. The law specifies that the agencies, in this case, the Sedimentation Control Commission (The Commission), go through its rules and present the revised rules for public review.  With the help of the DEMLR staff and a workgroup of involved parties, the Commission developed proposed rule revisions and took them through the public involvement and hearing process.  The rules were modified, based on comments received, and approved by the Commission on November 4, 2019.  As specified in the statutes, the proposed rule changes were sent to the NC Rules Review Commission (RRC) for approval.  At their March 19, 2020 meeting, the RRC approved all the proposed rule changes except for two rules.  The RRC objected to rule 15A NCAC 04C .0103 WHO MAY ASSESS and to rule 15A NCAC 04C .0106 CRITERIA. At their May 12, 2020 meeting the Commission voted in agreement with the RRC's objections and repealed both rules. The sediment control rules as they are now in effect can be found at the link “Title 15A Chapter 4: Sedimentation Control” shown below. For a summary of the changes made to the rules during this review and re-adoption period refer to the cover article of Volume 23 No. 1 of the Sediments Newsletter. More editions of the Sediments Newsletter can be viewed on the Erosion and Sedimentation Newsletter Page.

The Act and the Code

Sedimentation Pollution Control Act of 1973

The Sediment Pollution Control Act (SPCA) of 1973 is a performance-oriented law. It was created to prevent pollution by sedimentation while still allowing development within our state. The SPCA is the enabling legislation that gives authority to the Sedimentation Control Commission (SCC) and the Land Quality Section (LQS) - Erosion and Sediment Control (E&SC) Program.

For an overview of the SPCA, review the following document: Simplified Overview of the SPCA

For the full SPCA: Sedimentation Pollution Control Act of 1973

Title 15A Chapter 4: Sedimentation Control

The NC Administrative Code (Code) Title 15A Chapter 4: Sedimentation Control, provides the administrative overview of how the SCC and the LQS-E&SC Program enforces the SPCA.

For the full Code: Title 15A Chapter 4: Sedimentation Control

Contact Information

If you have any questions about the sediment control rules or program, contact Ms. Julie Coco, State Sedimentation Program Engineer at the E&SC Central Office. 

If you have questions or concerns related to erosion and sediment control or off-site sedimentation from construction in NC, contact:

The appropriate Local Government Program,
The DEMLR staff at the appropriate Regional Office,
The E&SC Central Office Staff, or
The DEMLR toll-free hotline, 1-866-STOPMUD

You can also refer to our Erosion and Sediment FAQs page for answers to common questions.