Off-Grid Living in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana

I've been digging through Terrebonne Parish's own ordinances and Louisiana state rules to figure out what off-grid living actually looks like here, and the short version is: this is not a "no zoning, do what you want" parish. Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government (TPCG) exercises zoning authority parish-wide, working with the Houma-Terrebonne Regional Planning Commission (HTRPC), under a Comprehensive Master Plan and a parish-wide Zoning Ordinance. That's actually unusual for rural Louisiana, where many parishes skip zoning entirely.

On dwellings: Louisiana's Act 12 of 2005 lets TPCG exempt certain non-primary-residence structures ("camps") from the State Uniform Construction Code, via an affidavit process through the parish Permit Office. But that exemption comes with a hard string attached: a camp built this way legally cannot be used as your primary or permanent home. If you're picturing a tiny house or off-grid cabin as your only residence, this exemption path isn't for you, and you'd instead need to go through full building permitting. RVs and RV parks get their own separate zoning/permitting review through HTRPC.

For actual construction, TPCG enforces Louisiana's State Uniform Construction Code locally through its own Consolidated Building Code, with permits issued by the parish Permit Office and inspections handled by the South Central Regional Construction Code Council under an interlocal agreement. The Parish President appoints the Building Code Official, confirmed by the Parish Council.

Septic is a state matter here, not a parish one: Louisiana Department of Health's Office of Public Health, through the Terrebonne Health Unit in Houma, issues permits for on-site wastewater systems. Owner-installed non-mechanical septic is allowed only in a narrow licensed-installer exception, and any mechanical/aerobic treatment unit needs LDH approval plus an ID tag. I found nothing official on composting toilets one way or the other, so treat that as unconfirmed and ask the Health Unit directly.

Greywater and private wells fall back to state baseline rules, since I couldn't find parish-specific ordinances on either. Rainwater harvesting itself appears unrestricted, but if you're adding a cistern or catchment system to a permitted structure, TPCG's building permit process includes drainage checklists and a Storm Drainage Design Manual that could affect siting.

On disconnecting from utilities entirely, there's no outright ban I could find, but remember that Act 12 camp exemption again: if your structure was permitted as a non-primary camp, living there full-time off-grid isn't legally allowed under that designation. For a genuine full-time off-grid home, you'd want it permitted as a real dwelling from the start.

Bottom line: confirm everything with TPCG Planning & Zoning and the Permit Office before you buy land or build, because this parish takes an active regulatory role that a lot of "off-grid friendly" Louisiana parishes don't.