Under Cary’s Land Development Ordinance (LDO) Section 4.4.6, property owners are responsible for maintaining SCMs located on their property in accordance with the approved plans and recorded Maintenance Agreement.

 SCMs must:

 Be maintained so they function as originally designed and approved.

• Remain accessible for inspection.
• Be repaired promptly if deficiencies are identified.
• Be inspected at least once per year by a qualified professional.

 Maintenance and annual inspections are required for the life of the SCM.

Responsibility for an SCM is established by ownership of the parcel on which the device is located. Responsibility is also established through recorded easements and maintenance agreements at the time of development approval.

In most cases:

• The property owner is responsible for privately owned SCMs.
• For multi-parcel developments (e.g., commercial centers or HOA-managed communities), responsibility may rest with an owners’ association or designated entity.

To determine ownership or responsibility for a specific SCM, use the Town’s GIS mapping tool to find the SCM, and click on the parcel on which the device is located. This is typically the property owner.

SCMs are also typically shown on the recorded plat for the parcel within an easement. You may find the plat for your parcel by searching the Register of Deeds websites for your county.

• Wake County Register of Deeds
• Chatham County Register of Deeds
• Durham County Register of Deeds

 If assistance is needed locating recorded documents, contact the Stormwater Division using 311.

The following documents are commonly required during development:

1. Executed Deed for property
2. Operations & Maintenance Manual
3. Maintenance Agreement
4. Recorded final plat
5. Establishment of Dedicated Maintenance Account, engineer's estimate for 10% of total SCM construction cost and certification form
6. Stormwater Control Structure Access and Easement Agreement (recorded at Register of Deeds)
7. Professional Engineer's Certification Engineered Stormwater Control Structure
8. As-Built Record Drawings
9. For Bioretention Cells, a soils report for media (showing % by volume of sand, silt and organics as well as P-value)
10. Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) video files of all public and private storm drain infrastructure for staff review.
11. Homeowners' Association/Property Owners' Association covenants, if applicable.

Please view the SCM Paperwork webpage for links and more information.

Certification documents for existing SCMs can be found in Cary’s SCM Certification Document Repository.

You can view the documents either as a digital folder or a searchable webpage. 

Some sites considered sensitive (such as churches, schools, banks, or other secured facilities) may require a request via email for access to certain documentation.

Routine maintenance varies depending on the type of SCM but may include:

• Removal of sediment and debris
• Vegetation management
• Repair of erosion or damaged structures
• Restoration of inlets, outlets, or flow paths
• Replacement of dead or failing plant material

Specific maintenance requirements can be found in the device’s Operation & Maintenance Manual and Maintenance Agreement, which are likely included in the certification documents described above.

Owners must maintain records of all maintenance activities and retain them for review.

If deficiencies are identified during inspection, corrective actions must be completed within the timeframe specified by the Town.

All SCMs must be inspected annually – the inspection month is established by the date of the Certificate of Watershed Compliance per Cary’s LDO. An inspection report may be received up to 90 days before the due date.

 For example:

• Certificate of Watershed Compliance is issued on April 14^th, 2023
• Inspections are due annually no later than April 30^th every year
• Inspection may be conducted between February 1^st and April 30^th

Inspection months cannot be changed due to preference or budgeting cycles. However, if there are multiple SCMs with different inspection months within the same subdivision or site, they can be consolidated into one month.

Inspections must be performed by a qualified professional with one of the below certifications, as required by our LDO:

• A licensed professional engineer
• A licensed landscape architect
• A certified public land surveyor

The inspector must evaluate the SCM, identify any maintenance needs or deficiencies, and assign a status of Compliant, Compliant with Maintenance, or Non-Compliant.  Then, the inspector must send the report to Cary Stormwater staff via email by the annual inspection due date.

Inspection reports must be completed on Cary templates and include the cover sheet, a checklist for each device (depending on SCM type), and required photographs. All items must be combined into a single PDF and transmitted via email.

Refer to the GIS map (see above) to find the Facility IDs, inspection month, and other relevant details for a site to complete the report.

The Town reviews submitted inspection reports to verify compliance.

If an SCM is assigned a status of:

• Compliant – The SCM is functioning properly. The Town will acknowledge receipt of the report. The next inspection will be due the following year during the assigned month.

• Compliant with Maintenance – Minor deficiencies were identified and must be corrected. The Town will notify the responsible party and provide a deadline (typically 30 days from receipt) for corrective action and documentation. Photographic evidence of completed repairs is required.

• Non-Compliant – The SCM is not functioning as designed and requires significant repairs. The Town will notify the responsible party and provide a deadline (typically 60 days from receipt) for corrective action and documentation. The SCM must be reinspected, and a compliant inspection report submitted within the specified timeframe.

As part of Cary’s NPDES permit, Town staff must inspect privately owned SCMs once per permit cycle (approximately every five years). This inspection is separate from, and in addition to, the property owner’s required annual inspection and does not replace that obligation.

If deficiencies are identified during a Town inspection, staff will notify the responsible party and provide a deadline for completing repairs and submitting documentation. The same compliance and enforcement procedures that apply to annual inspections also apply to Town inspections.

If required maintenance or repairs and associated documentation are not received by the due date, or if the annual inspection report is not received by the due date, enforcement actions may follow.

1. Phone/Email Correspondence – the Stormwater Program Analyst will typically reach out to the property owner or other contact for the site to determine if required actions were already taken, and perhaps notification was not sent.
2. Notice to Correct – this is formal written warning that the report, repairs or required documentation have not been received, which is sent to the property owner and any contacts on file
3. Notice of Violation – this moves the enforcement issue into the LDO’s timeline and out of staff’s discretion, and is sent via certified mail to the property owner and registered agent. This is the last step before civil penalties are issued.
4. Citation – this is the official issuance of a civil penalty. These penalties can be assigned up to $400 per device per day and can only be removed through formal appeal to the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

You may request an extension on the repair period, so long as progress is being made and can be documented. Please send an email to the Stormwater Program Analyst to explain the reason for the needed extension and submit any documentation that the work has been scheduled, delayed, etc.