Agenda - 05-19-1998 - 9h - Laserfiche WebLink

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O W o r l d C l a s s R e g i o n DISTRIBUTED s ~/~ ,~'~.~(- April 24, 1998 Ms. Margaret Brown Chair, Board of Commissioners Orange County P.O. Box 8181 Hillsborough, NC 27278 Dear Ms. Brown: 100 Park give, P.O. Box 12276 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 919.549.0551 Fnx:919.549.9390 The Board of Directors of the Upper Neuse River Basin Association hereby requests the Orange County Board of Commissioners' approval of $7,609 of financial support for the Association for Fiscal Year 1999. The requested funding will be used to hire a staff person and carry out projects to assist the Association in accomplishing its established goals and objectives. The following information is provided in support of this request. In March, 1996 Orange County and several other local governments with planning and zoning jurisdiction in the 770-square mile Upper Neuse River Basin formed the Upper Neuse River Basin Association. Since its inception, the Association's Board of Directors has met on a regular basis to address water resources planning, management, and protection issues of mutual concern. The Association is being cited by the State as an innovative model approach to cooperative watershed management and protection. In addition to providing an important ongoing forum for local governments to work together, the Association has achieved several accomplishments. These include: (a) development of legislation that was subsequently enacted by the State, establishing a framework for cooperative local and state water resources planning and management in river basins and sub-basins; (b) development of extensive technical comments on the Neuse River Basin Nutrient Management Strategy rules; (c) receipt of a grant from the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund to develop a riparian buffer protection plan for the Upper Neuse River Basin; and (d) evaluation of state and local sediment and erosion control programs in the watershed. Attachment #1 summarizes the goals and objectives, accomplishments to date, and examples of expected benefits to the Association's member governments. In January, 1998 the Board of Directors considered the need for ongoing staff support for the Association, and concluded that such support was necessary if substantial and meaningful progress is to be made in accomplishing the Association's goals and objectives, including development of a detailed watershed management plan. The Association's Board of Directors agreed to pursue local funding support from member governments in amounts shown on APR ~ ? ~Q9% 3 TRIANGLE J COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS ~2~9