While erosion is a natural process that has created the interesting landscapes we enjoy, a sudden alteration of the natural land surface can dramatically accelerate this process. The erosion rate from land disturbed at a construction site may be 1,000 times greater than the natural rate.
Accelerated erosion occurs whenever the soil surface is disturbed.
Erosion decreases the productive value of the soil as well as reducing the quality of the waters that receive the sediment. Sediments created by accelerated erosion clog streams, fill lakes, and often can carry pollutants to these waters. Concern about these potential damages provided the impetus for the North Carolina Sedimentation Pollution Control Act of 1973. The law is performance oriented. It prohibits visible off-site sedimentation from construction sites but permits the land disturber to determine the most economical, effective methods for controlling erosion and sedimentation.