Off-Grid Living in Humphreys County, Tennessee

I'll be upfront: Humphreys County, Tennessee doesn't have much of an online paper trail when it comes to off-grid rules. There's no dedicated county zoning ordinance or planning department page that I could find, and that gap runs through nearly every category below. What I can tell you with more confidence is what Tennessee handles at the state level, because that fills in a lot of the blanks by default when a county hasn't built its own program.

Zoning and raw land. I found no published countywide zoning map or ordinance for Humphreys County outside the incorporated towns (Waverly, McEwen, New Johnsonville). That doesn't necessarily mean "anything goes," it likely means zoning is handled case-by-case through a county planning application process, or possibly not enforced at all outside city limits. Confirm directly with the county before assuming anything.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. No county-specific rule turned up. Absent a locally adopted residential code, Tennessee's state building code program (via the State Fire Marshal's Office) would apply as the default baseline.

Building permits. This is the one area with real state-level teeth. Tennessee runs a State Residential Building Code Enforcement Program for one- and two-family homes in any county that hasn't opted out (by a two-thirds vote of the county legislative body) or gotten a local exemption. Whether Humphreys County has opted out isn't confirmed in what I found, so check with the State Fire Marshal's Office. Inside Waverly city limits, the town's own Codes Department issues permits.

Septic. Humphreys isn't one of the handful of Tennessee counties that runs its own septic program (that short list is Blount, Davidson, Hamilton, Jefferson, Knox, Madison, Sevier, Shelby, and Williamson). So septic permitting here flows through TDEC's Division of Water Resources and its regional Environmental Field Office. Composting toilets don't have a known county exemption, meaning the state's standard rules likely apply.

Greywater and rainwater. No county ordinance found for either. Rainwater collection isn't restricted by Tennessee law, so that one's genuinely fine. Greywater reuse inherits whatever the state plumbing code says, since there's no local guidance layered on top.

Wells. Straightforward state process: any driller must be licensed under the Tennessee Water Well Act, and a Notice of Intent has to go to TDEC before drilling starts. A newly formed Humphreys County Water Authority exists now, but it's about public water/wastewater infrastructure, not private well permitting, so it shouldn't affect your well plans directly.

Utility disconnection. No mandatory sewer-hookup ordinance was found for the county, though that could shift over time as the new Water Authority builds out lines.

Bottom line: for anything county-specific, a phone call beats a web search here. Start with the county itself, then lean on TDEC and the State Fire Marshal for the state-level programs that fill the gaps.