Agenda - 04-07-2009 - 5a - Laserfiche WebLink

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14 P.O.* Box 187 Bynum NC 27228 (919) 542 -5790 info @hawnwer.org February 12, 2009 Dear Chairwoman Foushee, and Members of the Orange County Board of Commissioners: The Jordan Lake Rules were approved by the NC Rules Review Commission on. November 20, 2008. This brings to a close a very long recess that started with DWQ convening a stakeholder g rY g P grou p to craft the rules *in 2003, a long public comment period, and the Environmental Management Co sion (EMC) adopting them earlier in 2048. The rules that have emerged from this process are strong, fair and sensitive to economic conditions. The work is not over however - the rules will now have to be passed as law by the NC General Assembly due to continued objections led by Burlington, Greensboro, Durham and certain homebuilder and realty lobbies. Supporting the rules are many of the local governments that know just what is at stare for their residents if we don't clean up Jordan. Lake a vitally im ortant resource for drinking water and recreation in our area. we are aslong Chatham p County, e County, Chapel Mill, Carrboro, Pittsboro, Cary, Apex, wake County and Orange Morrisville to pass resolutions in favor of the current rules adopted by the EMC. We urge Orange County to join. the many citizens and other local governments who are supporting these new rules to reduce pollution m Jordan Lake. we believe the rules are fair and pP g proportional, and will result in cleaner water not only in Jordan Fake, but in all the tributaries that are upstream of it. we urge you to pass a resolution directed to members of the General Assembly in favor of the rules that were adopted by the EMC and approved by the RRC: What are the proposed rules? To develo p the rules, the state estimated the total nitrogen and phosphorus pollution that Jordan Labe can absorb and still be healthy. The state then calculated how much pollution is currently flowing into the lake -- and its much more than the lake can take.. Jordan Lake operates as three distinct sections -- so the reductions needed are based on which part of the lake the pollution flows to as measured for the 2002 model) Nitrogen will need to be reduced by 8% in the Haw River arm and 35% in. the Upper New Hope arm. Phosphorus will need to be reduced by 5% in each arm.. The rules spread the needed reductions in nutrients among all the sources of pollution: * wastewater treatment plants. The proposed rules require wastewater treatment plants to reduce ph9sphorus one year after the rules tape effect, and to reduce nitrogen by 2014. Wastewater treatment plants contribute approximately 32% of total nitrogen delivered to the