Agenda - 01-27-2009 - 3 - Laserfiche WebLink

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