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

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4 May 18, 2010 Mr. Stephen T. Smith, Chair Environmental Management Commission 1617 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699 -1617 RE: Comments on the draft Falls Lake Nutrient Management Strategy 15A NCAC 02B.0275-.0283 Dear Mr. Smith: Orange County is pleased to be able to provide comments on the draft Falls Lake Nutrient Management Strategy, which is intended to reduce nutrient loading to Falls of the Neuse Reservoir (Falls Lake). The County appreciates the work that the Environmental Management Commission (EMC, the Commission) and the North Carolina Division of Water Quality (DWQ) have undertaken to tackle the issue of reducing the nutrient loading to this important public water body. At a local level, this work is supported by the history of watershed protection that has been a cornerstone of Orange County policies and regulations since the 1970's. The nutrient reduction measures and regulations which the county has already addressed were the first of their kind in North Carolina. These include the implementation of an Erosion Control Ordinance in 1975 as well as the adoption of a Land Use Plan and associated Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations in 1981. Since then, Orange County has continued to enforce and update regulations and procedures to ensure that the water supply watersheds in the county are protected, including obtaining local delegated authority in 2001 to enforce the Neuse River Basin rules. It has long been the policy of the county to rely on land use measures and non- structural methods of protecting water quality — to treat protection at the source as much as possible. Stream buffer regulations in Orange County have long exceeded the minimums established by the State. Other regulations which serve to protect the quality of water in Orange County include extremely restrictive flood damage prevention standards and impervious cover restrictions. For example, the county's designated Upper Eno critical watershed area, which is