Henry County commissioners adopt 25-foot minimum for drainage pipe discharges

The Henry County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday adopted a resolution that requires drainage pipe discharges to be located at least 25 feet from a property line.

The change, presented by a county presenter during the meeting, will be added to Chapter 4, Section L of the Henry County stormwater technical standards. The presenter said the county previously lacked a specific numeric standard and that the 25-foot figure reflects what staff considers "best practice." The presenter said, "the distance from any drainage pipe discharge cannot be any closer than 25 feet from a property line."

Commissioners discussed a variance process for small properties. Commissioner (unnamed) noted that when a property cannot meet the 25-foot requirement without encumbering another property owner, the county can consider a variance and evaluate whether the discharge can be routed to another exit point. The presenter confirmed a property owner would need to request a variance from the drainage board if no feasible alternate route exists.

A motion to approve the resolution was made, seconded and approved by voice vote, recorded as "Motion passes 3, 0." The county indicated the variance procedure will remain available for properties that cannot meet the new setback.

The new requirement will be incorporated into the county—s stormwater technical standards as described by staff; the commissioners did not specify an effective enforcement date during the discussion.