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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: August 3D, 2D11 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. ~...- c. <br />SUBJECT: Update on Upper Neuse River Basin Association Activities <br />DEPARTMENT: Environment, Agriculture, <br />Parks and Recreation <br />(DEAPR) <br />PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Commissioner Pam Hemminger, Chair of <br />UNRBA, 245-2130 <br />David Stancil, 245=2510 <br />Thomas Davis, 245-2513 <br />PURPOSE: To inform the Board of recent and possible upcoming Upper Neuse River Basin <br />Association (UNRBA) activities. <br />BACKGROUND: The State of North Carolina's Falls Lake Nutrient Management Strategy <br />(Falls Lake Rules) became effective in January 2011. These rules require massive reductions <br />in the amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus entering Falls Lake from agriculture, wastewater <br />treatment plants, State and Federal facilities, and existing and future development activities. <br />The fiscal analysis prepared by the NC Division of Water Quality (DWQ) estimated the cost of <br />compliance with these rules to be $1.5 billion in 2010 dollars, with the majority of the expense <br />anticipated to be borne by local governments in the upper Falls Lake watershed, mainly to <br />comply with the regulations involving wastewater treatment plants and existing development <br />(urban areas). While the regulations require the implementation of several measures in the <br />next ten years, significant action will be needed during Stage II of the nutrient reduction process <br />(2021-2041) to meet the overall reduction goals established in the rules. <br />As a result, in July 2011 the Upper Neuse River Basin Association (UNRBA) began the process <br />of hiring a consultant "for the development of methods by which the regulatory framework <br />associated with the recently adopted Falls Lake Nutrient Management Rules can be evaluated." <br />According to the UNRBA's request for proposals, "The Falls Rules are costly and require <br />actions on the part of UNRBA member governments and other regulated parties that are <br />unprecedented. In light of the potential financial impact of these rules and importance of the <br />resource, the UNRBA wishes to secure assistance in evaluating the technical bases and <br />regulatory framework for the Falls Rules, particularly the more costly Stage II." <br />