Agenda - 06-01-2010 - 7a - Laserfiche WebLink

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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 1, 2010 Action Agenda Item No. —] - CA SUBJECT: Draft Comments - Proposed Falls Lake Nutrient Management Rules DEPARTMENT: Planning PUBLIC HEARING: (Y /N) No Environment, Agriculture, Parks & Recreation (DEAPR) ATTACHMENT(S): Draft Letter to EMC Proposed Rules Summary Ag Preservation Board Comments INFORMATION CONTACT: David Stancil, DEAPR, 245 -2522 Tom Davis, DEAPR, 960 -3878 Craig Benedict, Planning, 245 -2592 Terry Hackett, Planning, 245 -2588 Gail Hughes, DEAPR- Soil & Water 245 -2753 Tom Konsler, Environmental Health, 245 -2370 PURPOSE: To consider draft comments for submittal to the N.C. Environmental Management Commission on the proposed Falls Lake Nutrient Management Rules, which are to be presented for public comment this summer. BACKGROUND: On March 16, the Board received a presentation on the Triangle Mayors and Chairs "Consensus Principles" regarding the proposed Nutrient Management Strategy for the Falls of the Neuse Reservoir (Falls Lake) watershed. The draft Nutrient Management Strategy (usually referred to as the "Falls Lake Rules ") was forwarded to the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) in March. A summary of an earlier version of the Falls Lake Rules prepared by the North Carolina Division of Water Quality is attached. The summary includes discussion of the rules development process. This document, dated January 2010, summarizes an earlier set of rules which are slightly different from the current set of draft rules. Based on recent conversations with the Division of Water Quality (DWQ) staff, the EMC is likely to authorize the DWQ to publish the proposed Falls Lake Rules in the June 2010 State register, which will in turn initiate a 60 -day "window" for the public to comment on the draft rules. This 60- day period is likely to begin on or about June 15 and end circa August 15. The 60 -day public comment period may include public hearings in Raleigh and Durham. The Falls Lake rules are expected to go into effect in February 2011, initially as "temporary rules ", and then later as permanent rules once they are approved by the Rules Review Commission and the North Carolina General Assembly.