Off-Grid Living in McHenry County, North Dakota

I've been digging into McHenry County, North Dakota for anyone thinking about buying raw land and going off-grid here, and the short version is: it's more regulated than a lot of rural North Dakota counties, but there's still real room to work with if you plan carefully.

Zoning. Unlike many ND counties that skip zoning entirely, McHenry County has adopted a countywide zoning ordinance under authority granted by the state (North Dakota Century Code Chapter 11-33). That ordinance covers agricultural, residential, rural residential, recreational, commercial, and industrial districts, with agricultural (AG) zoning being the most permissive for off-grid-style living. One wrinkle worth knowing: the cities of Balfour, Upham, and Voltaire fall under the county's zoning jurisdiction, while Anamoose, Bantry, Bergen, Deering, Drake, Granville, Karlruhe, Kief, Towner, and Velva are not, meaning those towns set their own rules (or none at all). Also, the county is mid-way through a public update of its zoning ordinance, so double-check current language with the Planning & Zoning Commission before you rely on anything here.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. The ordinance sets a lot-size rule for RVs (a minimum placement footprint), but I couldn't confirm any specific minimum square footage for tiny homes. Confirm directly with the county given the ordinance rewrite in progress.

Building permits. The county requires that any building or structure conform to the zoning district it sits in before it's built, moved, or altered. I didn't find published details on which building code edition is adopted or how inspections work, so ask Planning & Zoning directly.

Septic. This one's clear: McHenry County doesn't run its own health department for this, it's the First District Health Unit (FDHU), covering McHenry and several neighboring counties. FDHU requires a permit for any onsite sewage system installation or repair, work must be done by an NDDEQ-licensed contractor or a certified property owner, and a system without final inspection is considered illegal. The county's own zoning ordinance defers to state health regulations on this too.

Greywater and rainwater. Neither is separately addressed by the county or FDHU in anything I found. Rainwater collection appears to just follow North Dakota's generally permissive state baseline. Greywater reuse is genuinely unclear, treat it as something FDHU would evaluate case-by-case alongside your septic permit.

Wells. North Dakota doesn't regulate where you place a private well or its water quality, but well construction itself (drilling, pumps, pitless units) is regulated under state rules and must be done by a contractor licensed through the ND Department of Water Resources. For larger water use or drainage work, McHenry County's Water Resource District gets involved too.

Utilities. I found nothing in the county zoning ordinance mandating a grid hookup for dwellings, but I couldn't confirm the rules of individually-zoned towns within the county.