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

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5 River Arm, which includes the Mebane area, the southwestern portion of Orange County and remainder of the watershed upstream to Greensboro) must reduce nitrogen loading by 8% and phosphorus by 5%. The rules include provisions that relate to: • Stormwater management from new development • Stormwater from existing development Agriculture Protection of stream and riparian buffers, Water quality/nutrient trading options, and Other nutrient applications (including biosolids) Many of the rules are proposed to be implemented over a 10-year period. At the March 26 Assembly of Governments meeting, the elected boards discussed the Jordan Lake rules and several proposed position statements and resolutions from other jurisdictions and organizations, ranging from full support of the rules to considerable opposition to components of the rules. At the same time, a Board Legislative Work Group has been meeting over the past few months to develop legislative position statements, and has developed a draft potential position statement regarding the Jordan Lake Rules. This draft position statement is built around the County's longstanding support for watershed protection, but also addresses the "unfunded mandate' nature of the impact that addressing existing stormwater measures will have on local governments (some estimates of -the cost of complying with the existing development portion of the rule to exceed $500 million for all jurisdictions over the next decade). The City of Durham has projected that amount for their jurisdiction alone. Orange County has few stormwater control impoundments within the Upper New Hope Arm of the lake in its jurisdiction, but there could still be costs associated with addressing existing -stormwater (especially if percentage-based reductions are still required for low loading rates). The position statement reiterates the need for State financial assistance for any such undertaking, which in itself addresses a larger, regional issue. The statement also asks for recognition of the fact that jurisdictions that have been proactive about watershed protection prior to 2001, such as Orange County, are not well served by a baseline that treats all actions prior to that year as existing conditions. While the County's exact loading rate for nitrogen and phosphorus is not yet calculated, it is anticipated that the actual loading rate from the County's jurisdiction is quite low, since New Hope Creek for example includes large stretches of forested stream buffers and very low density residential development. In this case, meeting a percentage based reduction standard (such as the planned 35% reduction in nitrogen)- may be a difficult if not impossible task.