Off-Grid Living in Morgan County, West Virginia

I've been digging into Morgan County, West Virginia for readers who want to go off-grid, and the honest headline is: this is one of the looser counties I've researched, but "loose" doesn't mean "no rules." Here's what I found on official sources, and where I hit walls.

Zoning and raw land. Morgan County does not have a traditional use-based zoning ordinance. That's unusual and it's a real draw for off-gridders. But the county Planning Commission does require an Improvement Location Permit for construction and improvements, and it separately enforces subdivision/stormwater rules and a floodplain ordinance. So while nobody's telling you what "district" your land sits in, you can't just start building without going through that permit process. I couldn't confirm any rule addressing simply living on raw land with no structure, so I'm treating that as unaddressed rather than clearly legal.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. I could not find a Morgan County ordinance that specifically deals with tiny homes or RVs used as permanent residences. West Virginia's state baseline is also silent on this. I'm marking this unclear, not permitted, until someone at the Planning Commission confirms how they'd treat it.

Building permits. The Planning Commission issues the Improvement Location Permit, and the county publishes a fee schedule and a separate commercial/industrial permit ordinance. Whether the state building code is fully enforced through inspections locally wasn't something I could confirm from county pages. The towns of Berkeley Springs (Bath) and Paw Paw have their own permit offices if you're inside town limits, which is a completely separate layer from the county.

Septic. This one's state-set: West Virginia's Bureau for Public Health, Office of Environmental Health Services (OEHS) administers the statewide sewage system rule, and local health department sanitarians handle permit review and installer certification on the ground. I could not find a Morgan County-specific septic permitting webpage, so call the county health department directly. Composting toilets aren't addressed anywhere I could find, state or county.

Greywater. No county-specific rule found; this falls under the same statewide onsite wastewater framework, meaning greywater disposal generally needs to be part of an approved design.

Rainwater harvesting. No ordinance found at county or state level restricting this, so I'm calling it permitted, but that's an absence-of-restriction call, not a confirmed green light.

Wells. Individual well construction is state-regulated through the Bureau for Public Health's Water Well Certification Program. Interestingly, Morgan County's Planning Commission has done its own groundwater studies (the Rural Water Report, covering the Cacapon Mountain Aquifer and other areas) for regional planning, but that doesn't change the state permitting process for your own well.

Utility disconnection. I found no ordinance requiring hookup to public water, sewer, or electric. This seems to ride on septic and well compliance rather than a standalone mandate, but treat that as unconfirmed.

Bottom line: Morgan County gives you real flexibility compared to zoned counties, but the Improvement Location Permit, floodplain rules, and state septic/well requirements are all real and enforced. Call before you build.