Off-Grid Living in Clarke County, Mississippi

I'll be upfront: Clarke County, Mississippi is a tough one to research online. The county has a government website, but I couldn't find county-specific zoning ordinance text, an adopted building code, or local septic supplements. A lot of what turns up when searching "Clarke County" building or zoning rules is actually Clarke County, Virginia or Iowa. So for several categories below, I'm telling you what the state baseline is and being honest that the county-level answer isn't confirmed.

Zoning and land use: Mississippi doesn't have a statewide zoning code, it's up to each county whether to adopt one. I couldn't locate an official Clarke County planning or zoning ordinance, so whether the county has zoning districts at all, or how they'd treat rural/agricultural land, isn't confirmed. Start with the county's general government contact to find out if a zoning department even exists.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs: No official Clarke County document addresses tiny homes on wheels, RV living, or minimum square footage. This is a county-by-county call in Mississippi with no state standard, so you'd need to ask the county directly.

Building permits and codes: Mississippi has no mandatory statewide residential building code. Counties decide individually whether to adopt something like the IRC. I found no official record of what Clarke County has adopted, or whether owner-built rural dwellings need a permit at all. Confirm with the county before you build.

Septic and composting toilets: This one I can speak to with more confidence, because it's a state program. The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) runs the On-Site Wastewater program statewide, including Clarke County, through regional environmentalists. You can't self-permit a septic system: a Licensed Professional Evaluator has to do the soil evaluation and a Licensed Installer has to build the system. No separate Clarke County septic ordinance turned up, so the county appears to just follow the MSDH framework.

Greywater: Mississippi has no dedicated greywater law, and I found nothing locally in Clarke County either. In practice greywater gets treated as wastewater under the same MSDH on-site wastewater rules as septic.

Rainwater harvesting: No county restrictions turned up, and Mississippi generally doesn't require permits for typical residential rain barrels or cisterns, so this looks fine to pursue.

Private wells: Also handled through MSDH's environmentalist structure, similar to septic. You'll need a soil/site evaluation and permit/recommendation before drilling, and MSDH also tests private well water. No extra Clarke County well ordinance was found.

Off-grid utilities: No Clarke County document addresses mandatory grid-tie requirements for solar or off-grid power systems. I'm carrying over Mississippi's general caution that electric service connections can carry requirements, but nothing county-specific is confirmed.

Bottom line: for anything involving septic, wells, or greywater, MSDH's statewide program is your real authority here. For zoning, building codes, and dwelling rules, you're going to need to call Clarke County directly, because the public record just isn't there yet.