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assistance. This would also allow loading rates to be calculated <br /> consistently across the watershed. <br /> • Establishment of a local nutrient trading process <br /> Staff will be required to develop a Load Reduction Program as well as an <br /> Administrative Program to address the requirements for existing development. <br /> The components of these programs were discussed above and staff hours will be <br /> necessary to meet the requirements of these programs. If stream monitoring is <br /> also pursued as part of the Load Reduction Program, additional staff labor will be <br /> needed. Staff will be working to assess the financial impact to the County of <br /> implementation of the rules, as they progress through the General Assembly <br /> approval process. <br /> 2. Possible Difficulty in Meeting Upper New Hope Target <br /> Each jurisdiction is asked to meet the same loading rate (2.2 lbs/acre N, 0.8 <br /> lbs/acre P) and reduction target (35% N, 5% P). However, in Orange County's <br /> case, loading rates for N and P in the Rural Buffer (New Hope Creek, Morgan <br /> Creek) are expected to be quite low, pending the formal loading rate to be <br /> determined. Recent communications from the State indicate that this will now be <br /> accomplished by each jurisdiction, using a spreadsheet to be supplied by DWQ. <br /> The nature of the New Hope Creek corridor in Orange County jurisdiction, for <br /> example, is very rural and heavily forested, with little agriculture or residential <br /> development (the total residential land use in the entire Upper New Hope arm is <br /> only 25%, and the vast majority of this development is outside of County <br /> jurisdiction). As New Hope Creek leaves Orange County, it has passed through <br /> three miles of Duke Forest and the future New Hope Preserve. In this case, the <br /> current existing loading rate for N may already be very low. In such a case, <br /> making a 35% reduction in an already low number may be difficult. <br /> Uncertainties remain as to whether or not a 35% reduction in N loading would be <br /> required if the load data determined for Orange County indicates that our <br /> jurisdiction's Nitrogen load is already less than the overall goal of 2.2 <br /> lbs/acre/year. <br /> 3. Nutrient Trading Possibilities <br /> With substantial pressures on the Towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro and the <br /> City of Durham to reduce nutrient loading from new and existing development, an <br /> opportunity may arise for the County to partner with these jurisdictions to protect <br /> New Hope Creek and Morgan Creek upstream through acquisition of stream <br /> buffers, creation of wetlands, and other upstream techniques. <br /> The details of possible nutrient trading networks are still being worked out and <br /> are complicated, but this approach has been explored conceptually with the <br /> 12 <br />