Off-Grid Living in Greene County, Tennessee

I've spent some time digging through Greene County, Tennessee's official pages to figure out what's actually allowed if you want to live off-grid there. Here's what I found, and where the trail runs cold.

Zoning. Greene County isn't one of those wide-open unzoned counties. It has an adopted county-wide Zoning Resolution, run by a Planning Board and Board of Zoning Adjustment, covering unincorporated land. But if your property sits inside Greeneville's town limits, or even in the town's Urban Growth Boundary, you fall under the Town of Greeneville's separate zoning ordinance instead. Which set of rules applies to your parcel depends entirely on that line, so I'd confirm with the county Zoning & Building office before assuming anything.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. I couldn't find a Greene County page that specifically addresses tiny houses, Appendix Q, or how RVs get classified as dwellings. That's a gap in the public record, not necessarily a "no." Ask the Zoning & Building office directly.

Building permits and codes. Outside Greeneville's corporate limits, Greene County requires a building permit for construction, with an exception for agricultural buildings. The county has adopted the International Building Code. The Greene County Zoning and Building Office handles this. I'll flag that the code-adoption detail came from a local newspaper's guidebook piece rather than the county's own site directly, so it's worth double-checking the exact code year with the office.

Septic and composting toilets. This is a hybrid situation worth understanding. Greene County's Environmental Health department used to process septic applications itself, but it no longer accepts applications or payment for septic permits. Everything now routes through Tennessee's TDEC online portal (tdec.tn.gov/septic), with the Washington County TDEC office handling this region. The county's underlying authority is TDEC's groundwater protection rules on subsurface sewage disposal. There's no dry-cabin exemption I found, and composting toilets fall under state NSF 41 standards, not a separate county rule.

Greywater. No county-specific rule turned up. This inherits Tennessee's general ambiguity, subsurface irrigation of greywater is technically allowed, but enforcement consistency is unclear.

Rainwater harvesting. Nothing restricting it at the county level. This defaults to Tennessee's generally permissive baseline.

Wells. Wells are permitted, but anyone drilling, redrilling, or working on well pumps and treatment devices must be a state-licensed well driller under Tennessee rules. Greene County's Environmental Health office will also do bacteriological testing of private water supplies on request, and county building permit applications ask you to disclose your water source.

Utility disconnection. No county-specific rule found either restricting or blessing full off-grid disconnection. It inherits the state baseline, electric disconnection is unrestricted, water/sewer gets murkier where municipal service is available nearby.

Bottom line: Greene County is workable for off-grid living but not a free-for-all. Zoning and building permits are real requirements administered locally, while septic now runs through the state's TDEC portal. Confirm your parcel's zoning status and any dwelling-type questions directly with the county before you buy or build.