Agenda - 08-30-2011 - 1b - Laserfiche WebLink

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Regional Nutrient Management Rules 6 August 2011 turbidity) violations in Falls Lake. Each-set of nutrient management rules requires enormous reductions in the quantities of total nitrogen (N) and-total phosphorus (P), together referred to as nutrients, reaching Falls and Jordan Lakes. Figure 1 illustrates the Jordan Lake watershed while Figure 2 depicts the Falls Lake watershed.. Orange County is nearly equally split between the Falls and Jordan take watersheds, with a small portion in the northwest corner of the county located in the Roanoke River basin. Both sets of nutrient management rules require nutrient reductions from: • Existing development • New development • Agriculture • Wastewater treatment plants • St-ate and Federal facilities, including the NC Department of Transportation This document lists-the requirements for each set of nutrient management rules and details some-of the anticipated implications for Orange County=associated with the implementation of the rules. 111. Purpose and Scope A. Requirements The Jordan Rules (http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/jordanlake/7) were established to reduce the amount of nutrients reaching Jordan Lake. The Jordan Rules divide the Jordan Lake watershed into three main "arms" (Figure 1). Different nutrient reductions are required within-the sub-watersheds associated with each arm of the lake in comparison to the baseline years of 1997-2001, as follows: • Upper New Hope arm (Carrboro, Chapel Hill and New Hope Creek area) must reduce N loading to Jordan Lake by 35 percent and P loading by 5 percent. • Haw River arm (Mebane and Cane Creek area) must reduce N loading to Jordan Lake by 8 percent and P loading by 5 percent. • Lower New Hope arm- (Cary and Morrisville area) must maintain N and P loading at their current levels. Most of the Jordan Rules require reductions to be met within nine years or less, with the exception of the Existing Development rules, which require local governments to propose timelines for meeting the required nutrient reductions. The Falls Rules (http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wg/ps/nps/fallslake) require the "attainment of nutrient-related water quality standards in Falls Lake by 2041" through reductions in nutrient loading reaching the lake of 40% N and 77% P as measured against a 2006 baseline. Staged (adaptive) implementation of the Falls Rules requires: