The Town of Butner is in the watershed for Falls Lake, meaning that rain and other stormwater in Butner and Southern Granville County drain to Falls Lake. Falls Lake is also a drinking water supply. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and State of North Carolina have identified Falls Lake as being an impaired waterbody (Clean Water Act, Section 303(d) list), relative to its intended use as a drinking water supply, due to nutrients being deposited by runoff (nutrient loading). This led to a set of rules called the Falls Lake Nutrient Management Strategy and an expansion of the areas that require a state NPDES Phase MS4 II permit. This means that Butner must comply with two sets of state regulations, intended to keep the water quality in compliance with the Federal Clean Water Act.
Falls Lake Rules
The Falls Lake Rules focus on the sediment/dirt and the nitrogen and phosphorus that are getting into the stormwater. Article 15.2 of the Town of Butner LDO comprises the Town’s legal authority to regulate and enforce these rules. These rules require that all Stormwater Control Measures (SCM’s) within its jurisdiction be inspected monthly to ensure they are being maintained and are functioning as originally designed. As a part of this inspection process, the Town requires an annual maintenance inspection report to be completed by a licensed professional qualified to perform this inspection.
NPDES MS4 Phase II Permit
The Town of Butner received its initial National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit (#NCS000544) for the discharge of stormwater in November 2012. According to the Storm Water Phase II Rule, as a small MS4 owner/ operator, the Town must reduce pollutants in storm water to the maximum extent practicable to practicable to protect water quality. The regulations specify that compliance with the maximum extent practicable requirement can be attained by developing a stormwater management plan.
Upper Neuse River Basin Association (UNRBA)
The UNRBA was formed in 1996 to provide an ongoing forum for cooperation on water quality protection and water resource planning and management within the 770-square mile watershed. The mission of the UNRBA is to preserve the water quality of the basin through innovative and cost-effective pollution reduction strategies and to constitute a forum to cooperate on water supply issues within the basin. Local governments in the watershed include: Butner, Creedmoor, Durham, Raleigh, Hillsborough, Stem, Wake Forest, and Durham County SWCD.
Construction Site Runoff Is managed by the State’s Erosion and Sedimentation Control Program. To report erosion and sediment problems from Construction activities, contact the NC Department of Environmental Quality STOP MUD hotline at 1-866-STOPMUD (786-7683).
Town of Butner – Stormwater Management Plan
Stormwater Management Permit Application and Checklist
Annual SCM Inspection Form
Town of Butner NPDES MS4 Permit NCS000544
NPDES Annual Report 2025
MS4 Map