Agenda - 03-17-2009 - 7a - Laserfiche WebLink

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2 other local governments relates to the need for State leadership and commitment for substantial funding assistance to enact the measures needed to meet the reductions required. The methods proposed in the rules to address these reductions primarily involve changes to stormwater control for new development standards, existing development, and reductions by agriculture. The provision on existing development, which is likely to require substantial retrofitting of stormwater controls, has raised the most concern among many local governments, due to the likely cost of retrofitting existing development stormwater measures. Historically, Orange County has relied on non-structural measures such as infiltration of the first inch of stormwater and drainage swales in its rural developments, although there are some structural controls required in certain locations. Towns and cities that rely more heavily on structural stormwater measures would be likely to be the most affected by the existing development rules, although rural jurisdictions such as Orange County would be impacted as well. Recently, DWQ personnel involved with the development of the Jordan Lake rules estimated the cost to implement the existing development portion of the rules (across the entire watershed) could cost $26 million dollars per year for 30 years. Finally, local governments (such as Orange County) which have been proactive and already produce low nutrient loads may have difficulty meeting a 35% reduction in nitrogen load, and previous actions to reduce loading implemented prior to 2001 do not count toward the new reductions. One of provisions of the rules calls for a feasibility study which would yield more concrete estimates of the costs and measures needed to achieve the reductions. However, this would not occur until after the rules are implemented, as the proposal currently stands. The proposed resolution provided at Attachment 2 from the Haw River Assembly asks the proposed rules be adopted and implemented as written. At the same time a position statement from the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) proposes to exempt local governments from the existing development retrofit provisions of this and other nutrient management rules. Legislation opposing the rules and proposing their disapproval has also been introduced in the House (HB 3, HB 239, and HB 350) and Senate (SB 166) by legislators from other counties in the watershed. The NCACC position statement and the proposed bills are included as Attachment 3. The Chatham County Board of Commissioners discussed the proposed Jordan Lake rules at a February 16, 2009 meeting. A letter from the Chatham County Manager is provided at Attachment 4 summarizing the Chatham County Board's action. The Legislative Issues Work Group led by Commissioners Foushee and Jacobs has been meeting during the past month to discuss various legislative issues, including the County's direction regarding the proposed Jordan Lake rules. The Work Group is still working on the draft legislative package to present to the full Board, including proposed language on the Jordan Lake rules. Although the Work Group's statement is still in draft form, it is provided at Attachment 5 as information. The Board received a presentation on the status of the rules at a January 27, 2009 work session, and the Powerpoint presentation from that meeting is provided at Attachment 6. As a part of that presentation, several potential implications or key topics or points were identified, including: • The cost of implementing the proposed rules in terms of retrofitting existing development is largely unknown until a feasibility study is conducted,