Durham County

Durham County Engineering & Environmental Services

In short

Durham County Engineering & Environmental Services issues 8 permits we publish for Durham County, last verified 2026-09-30. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.

What this agency issues

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Permit	Issuing agency	Fee	Renews	Last checked
County Sewer Construction Drawing Reviewonly if it applies to you	Durham County Engineering & Environmental Services	Charged per review, county-only, base fee then re-review fee: Restaurant or Cafeteria Plumbing Plans $605.00 / $360.00; Core and Shell Building Plumbing Plans $605.00 / $360.00; Building Plumbing Plans for an upfit or renovation $970.00 / $540.00; Grease Trap or Pretreatment Units $300.00 / $65.00; Commercial or Industrial Development with a single lateral only $735.00 / $420.00; Municipal, Commercial or Industrial Development $1,810.00 plus $0.90 per linear foot of main or force main / $970.00; Single Family House $480.00 / $235.00; Sewer Extension Permit Application Re-Review $120.00 each above two; Field Change for all other development $605.00 each review. A 5% non-refundable technology fee applies to all development review fees. Per the Durham County Utilities Division FY27 Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026 and the Sewer Utilities schedule in the county's FY 2026-27 budget.	per review, at design; each re-review is charged again at the schedule's re-review amount, and a field change during construction is a further $605.00 for all other development	2026-09-30
County Sewer Construction Inspection Chargesonly if it applies to you	Durham County Engineering & Environmental Services	Charged per occurrence or per structure, county-only: Not Ready Inspection $120.00 for each occurrence, payable before as-built approval; Re-Inspection or Failed Inspection $120.00 per hour based on the scheduled inspection time, excluding the certificate-of-occupancy inspection; Private Lift Station $605.00; Public Lift Station $2,625.00; Sewer Main or Outfall $3.70 per linear foot for 8 to 12 inches and $6.00 per linear foot above 12 inches; Force Main $3.70 per linear foot. Water and reclaimed water inspections on the same schedule: Water Tap Inspection up to a 2 inch meter $300.00; Water Line Inspection for a main extension only $3.70 per linear foot; Water Backflow Preventer Inspection $65.00 each; Reclaimed Water Tap Inspection $300.00 up to a 2 inch meter or $185.00 per inch of meter diameter above 2 inches; Reclaimed Water Backflow Preventer Inspection $120.00 each. A 5% non-refundable technology fee applies to all construction inspection fees. Per the Durham County Utilities Division FY27 Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026 and the Sewer Utilities schedule in the county's FY 2026-27 budget.	per occurrence or per structure, during construction; the Not Ready Inspection charge must be paid before as-built approval, so it gates the close-out of the work rather than arriving afterwards	2026-09-30
County Oil, Grease or Sediment Trap Inspectiononly if it applies to you	Durham County Engineering & Environmental Services	$300 each unit, county-only, at construction, per the Durham County Utilities Division FY27 Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026 and the Sewer Utilities schedule in the county's FY 2026-27 budget; a 5% non-refundable technology fee applies to all construction inspection fees	per unit, at construction; the separate review of the grease trap or pretreatment unit's construction drawings is charged at $300.00 with a $65.00 re-review on the same schedule	2026-09-30
County Sewer Certificate of Occupancy Inspectiononly if it applies to you	Durham County Engineering & Environmental Services	Charged per connection, county-only: $120.00 per building connection for all other development; $37.00 per lot for each inspection for single family. Per the Durham County Utilities Division FY27 Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026 and the Sewer Utilities schedule in the county's FY 2026-27 budget. A 5% non-refundable technology fee applies to all construction inspection fees, and the schedule excludes this inspection from the $120.00 per hour re-inspection or failed inspection charge.	per connection, at the point of occupancy; it is the county utility's own sign-off and is separate from the merged building department's occupancy permits	2026-09-30
County Land Disturbance Plan Review and Permitonly if it applies to you	Durham County Engineering & Environmental Services	Charged per project, county-only: Land Disturbance Plan Review $100 for greater than 20,000 sq ft to 1 acre, $100 per lot for single-family lots in a residential development or common plan of development of less than one acre, and $125 per acre for greater than 1 acre; Land Disturbance Permit $275 for 12,000 sq ft to 1 acre, $525 per acre for greater than 1 acre to 10 acres, and $800 per acre for greater than 10 acres; extension 25% of the original permit fee; Unauthorized Land Disturbance Activity 200% of the required permit fee; Performance Security $4,000 per disturbed acre at 5 acres or greater; re-inspection after a notice of violation $1,000 first and $500 subsequent with no or a minor civil penalty, or $5,000 first and $500 subsequent with a major civil penalty. As published in the FY 2026-2027 Approved Stormwater Erosion Control Fee Schedule in the Durham County FY 2026-27 Approved Budget, levied by Section 7 of the Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026, and unchanged from FY 2025-26.	per project; an extension of the permit costs 25% of the original permit fee, and a performance security of $4,000 per disturbed acre is held on sites of 5 acres or greater	2026-09-30
County Sewer Lateral Inspectiononly if it applies to you	Durham County Engineering & Environmental Services	$360 per building connection, county-only, per the Durham County Utilities Division FY27 Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026 and the Sewer Utilities schedule in the county's FY 2026-27 budget; a 5% non-refundable technology fee applies to all construction inspection fees	per building connection, at construction; a Not Ready Inspection is a further $120.00 for each occurrence and must be paid before as-built approval, and a re-inspection or failed inspection is $120.00 per hour based on the scheduled inspection time	2026-09-30
County Stormwater Utility Fee	Durham County Engineering & Environmental Services	$96 per equivalent residential unit per year for non-residential property, county-only, per the Durham County FY 2026-27 Approved Fees and Other Charges Schedule, levied by Section 7 of the Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026	annual, billed for as long as the property is in the county's stormwater service area; it is a recurring utility charge rather than a permit with a term	2026-09-30
County Stormwater Plan Review and Permitonly if it applies to you	Durham County Engineering & Environmental Services	Charged per project and then annually, county-only: Stormwater Plan Review $225 for less than 1 acre, or $325 per disturbed acre for more than 1 acre; Stormwater Permit $2,500 per Stormwater Control Measure; Stormwater Control Measure Annual Inspection $100 per SCM; Stormwater Permit Renewal $250 per SCM for permits issued 2018 and prior, and none for permits issued January 2019 and after. As published in the FY 2026-2027 Approved Stormwater Erosion Control Fee Schedule in the Durham County FY 2026-27 Approved Budget, levied by Section 7 of the Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026, and unchanged from FY 2025-26.	the plan review and permit are per project; the $100 per SCM inspection is annual, and renewal at $250 per SCM applies only to permits issued in 2018 and earlier, with permits issued from January 2019 onward carrying no renewal charge	2026-09-30

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

About each permit

County Sewer Construction Drawing Review

Durham County's utility reviews plumbing and sewer construction drawings before a project is built, and it prices the review by what the building is: a restaurant or cafeteria's plumbing plans are $605.00 with a $360.00 re-review, a core and shell building the same, and an upfit or renovation of building plumbing plans $970.00 with a $540.00 re-review, which makes converting an existing space the most expensive of the three. A grease trap or pretreatment unit review is $300.00 with a $65.00 re-review, a commercial or industrial development with a single lateral only $735.00 with a $420.00 re-review, and a development extending mains $1,810.00 plus $0.90 per linear foot of main or force main. A 5% non-refundable technology fee is added to all development review fees, which the Utilities Division schedule states once per section. Every figure here is corroborated twice, appearing identically in the Utilities Division's own FY27 Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026 and in the Sewer Utilities schedule of the county's FY 2026-27 Approved Budget levied by Section 7 of the Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026. For a restaurant the ordering matters: this review is the design-stage charge, and the grease trap inspection at $300.00 per unit, the lateral inspection at $360.00 per connection and the certificate-of-occupancy inspection at $120.00 per connection all follow during construction, each listed separately. A field change during construction costs a further $605.00 for all other development.

County Sewer Construction Inspection Charges

Beyond the per-connection inspections, Durham County's utility charges for wasted visits and for the structures a development builds, and the two charges that bite hardest are procedural rather than physical: a Not Ready Inspection is $120.00 for each occurrence and the schedule states it must be paid before as-built approval, so it gates close-out, and a re-inspection or failed inspection is $120.00 per hour based on the scheduled inspection time. The certificate-of-occupancy inspection is expressly excluded from that hourly charge. Structures and linear work are priced separately: a private lift station $605.00, a public lift station $2,625.00, a sewer main or outfall $3.70 per linear foot at 8 to 12 inches and $6.00 per linear foot above 12 inches, and a force main $3.70 per linear foot. The same schedule covers the water side for county utility customers, with a water tap inspection at $300.00 up to a 2 inch meter, a water line inspection for a main extension only at $3.70 per linear foot, a water backflow preventer inspection at $65.00 each, a reclaimed water tap inspection at $300.00 up to a 2 inch meter or $185.00 per inch of meter diameter above that, and a reclaimed water backflow preventer inspection at $120.00 each. A 5% non-refundable technology fee is added to all construction inspection fees. Every figure appears identically in the Utilities Division's own FY27 Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026 and in the Sewer Utilities schedule of the county's FY 2026-27 Approved Budget.

County Oil, Grease or Sediment Trap Inspection

A restaurant, coffee shop or auto-repair shop connecting to Durham County sewer pays $300.00 for each oil, grease or sediment trap the county inspects, and this figure is unusually well supported because two independently published county documents state it: the Utilities Division's own FY27 Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026, on the Engineering & Environmental Services site, and the Sewer Utilities schedule inside the county's FY 2026-27 Approved Budget, levied by Section 7 of the Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026. The inspection charge is not the whole cost of a trap: the same schedules price the review of the grease trap or pretreatment unit's construction drawings at $300.00 with a $65.00 re-review, so a single grease trap can carry $600.00 of county charges before any plumbing is connected, and a 5% non-refundable technology fee is added to all development review fees and all construction inspection fees. For an auto-repair shop the sediment and oil interceptor is the equivalent unit and is priced identically. The charge falls on premises served by the county utility rather than by a municipal system, so a business inside the City of Durham deals with the city's own utility instead. The sewer lateral inspection at $360.00 per building connection and the certificate-of-occupancy sewer inspection at $120.00 per building connection are separate charges on the same project and are listed separately.

County Sewer Certificate of Occupancy Inspection

Occupying a new commercial building on Durham County sewer needs a certificate-of-occupancy inspection from the county utility as well as the occupancy paperwork from the merged building department, and the county utility charges $120.00 per building connection for all development other than single family, where the charge is $37.00 per lot for each inspection. Both amounts appear identically in the Utilities Division's own FY27 Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026 and in the Sewer Utilities schedule of the county's FY 2026-27 Approved Budget levied by Section 7 of the Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026, which makes them two independently published county sources for the same figures. The schedule treats this inspection specially in one respect worth knowing: the $120.00 per hour re-inspection or failed inspection fee that applies to the utility's other construction inspections expressly excludes the certificate-of-occupancy inspection, so a failed CO inspection does not attract the hourly charge, although the Not Ready Inspection Fee of $120.00 for each occurrence still applies and must be paid before as-built approval. A 5% non-refundable technology fee is added to all construction inspection fees. This is one of three or four county utility charges a restaurant or retail fit-out on county sewer meets in sequence — construction drawing review, grease trap inspection, lateral inspection and then this — each listed separately.

County Land Disturbance Plan Review and Permit

Any Durham County project that breaks ground over about 12,000 square feet needs a land disturbance permit from Engineering & Environmental Services, priced at $275 from 12,000 square feet to an acre, $525 per acre from one to ten acres and $800 per acre above ten acres, with plan review charged separately at $100 up to an acre or $125 per acre above it. The figures that matter most to a contractor are the penalties rather than the permits: unauthorized land disturbance activity is charged at 200% of the required permit fee, so starting work before the permit issues doubles it, and a re-inspection after a notice of violation is $1,000 for the first visit and $500 for subsequent visits where there is no or a minor civil penalty, rising to $5,000 first and $500 subsequent where there is a major civil penalty. A site of five acres or greater must also post performance security of $4,000 per disturbed acre, which is working capital held rather than a fee spent. An extension of an existing permit costs 25% of the original permit fee. All of these amounts sit in the FY 2026-2027 Approved Stormwater Erosion Control Fee Schedule inside the county's FY 2026-27 Approved Budget, levied by Section 7 of the Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026, and every line is unchanged from the FY 2025-26 column. The stormwater plan review and permit charges listed separately apply to the same project, so a one-acre commercial site pays on both schedules.

County Sewer Lateral Inspection

Every new building connection to Durham County sewer is inspected at $360.00 per connection, a figure that appears identically in the Utilities Division's own FY27 Fee Schedule effective July 1, 2026 and in the Sewer Utilities schedule of the county's FY 2026-27 Approved Budget levied by Section 7 of the Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026. Two charges commonly ride along with it and are worth budgeting for at the same time: a Not Ready Inspection Fee of $120.00 for each occurrence, which the schedule states must be paid before as-built approval, and a re-inspection or failed inspection fee of $120.00 per hour based on the scheduled inspection time, excluding the certificate-of-occupancy inspection. A 5% non-refundable technology fee is added to all construction inspection fees. Larger work is priced by the foot or by the structure on the same schedule: a sewer main or outfall is $3.70 per linear foot at 8 to 12 inches and $6.00 per linear foot above 12 inches, a force main $3.70 per linear foot, a private lift station $605.00 and a public lift station $2,625.00, so a development extending the system rather than simply tapping it faces a much larger bill. The charge applies to premises served by the county utility, and a business inside the City of Durham deals with the city's own utility instead. The certificate-of-occupancy sewer inspection at $120.00 per building connection is a separate step listed separately.

County Stormwater Utility Fee

A non-residential property in Durham County's stormwater service area is billed $96.00 per equivalent residential unit per year, so the annual cost scales with how much impervious surface a business occupies rather than being a flat charge. The amount is in the FY 2026-2027 Approved Stormwater Erosion Control Fee Schedule inside the county's FY 2026-27 Approved Budget, levied by Section 7 of the Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026, and it is unchanged from the FY 2025-26 column. The residential side of the same schedule is tiered — Tier 0 at $0.00 a year, Tier 1 at $48.00, Tier 2 at $96.00 and Tier 3 at $192.00 — which is useful context for a home-based business and shows that the non-residential rate is set at the Tier 2 equivalent per ERU. This is a standing utility charge rather than a development permit, so it continues for as long as the business occupies the property, unlike the stormwater plan review, stormwater permit and land disturbance charges listed separately, which attach to a project. A business adding parking, an extension or any other impervious surface should expect its ERU count and therefore this annual charge to rise, as well as triggering the project-stage charges. Engineering & Environmental Services administers the fee alongside the county's land disturbance and erosion and sedimentation control programme.

County Stormwater Plan Review and Permit

The single largest county development charge a Durham County business is likely to meet is the stormwater permit at $2,500 per Stormwater Control Measure, and because it is priced per measure rather than per project a site needing two devices pays $5,000. Plan review comes first, at $225 for a project under an acre or $325 per disturbed acre above an acre, so the review of a three-acre site is $975 before the permit is considered. After construction the measure carries a $100 annual inspection per SCM for as long as it exists. The renewal line rewards newer permits: a stormwater permit issued in 2018 or earlier renews at $250 per SCM, while a permit issued in January 2019 or later carries no renewal charge, which is a genuine distinction between two otherwise identical sites. All of these amounts are in the FY 2026-2027 Approved Stormwater Erosion Control Fee Schedule inside the county's FY 2026-27 Approved Budget, levied by Section 7 of the Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026, and every line is unchanged from the FY 2025-26 column. The same schedule prices a stream delineation in the Cape Fear River Basin at a $750 base fee plus $100 per acre. Land disturbance review and permitting are charged and listed separately, and the annual stormwater utility fee of $96 per ERU continues alongside all of it.

Contact

Jurisdiction: Durham County
Phone: Not verified — use the website
Website: dconc.gov/Engineering-and-Environmental-Services/Utilities/FeeSchedule

Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.

Sources

Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.

Durham County Approved Budget, Fiscal Year 2026-2027 — Annual Budget Ordinance adopted June 8, 2026 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2027, whose Section 7 levies 'Charges for services and fees by county departments … in the amounts set forth in the attached Fee and Other Charges Schedules', with the Environmental Health, Animal Services, Fire Prevention and Protection Code, Sewer Utilities and Stormwater Erosion Control divisions of that scheduleDurham County Budget and Management Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30
Durham County Utilities Division FY27 Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2026 — construction inspection fees, development review (construction drawing review) fees, water and reclaimed water inspection fees, and the 5% non-refundable Technology Fee applying to all development review and construction inspection feesDurham County Engineering & Environmental Services, Utilities Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-30

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