Agenda - 03-12-2013 - 2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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In addition, many people consider the required nutrient reductions unattainable at nearly any expense. The Falls Lake Rules include provisions for the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) to consider additional information starting in 2020 for the re- examination of Stage II of the rules. In 2011 the UNRBA hired a consultant "for the development of methods by which the regulatory framework associated with the recently adopted Falls Lake Nutrient Management Rules can be evaluated ". This consultant, CardnoEntrix, recently completed four technical reports to begin the process of analyzing available means for altering Stage II of the Falls Lake Rules. These reports, completed during the initial phase of what has been termed "The Path Forward" process, are as follows: 1. Develop Framework for a Re- examination of Stage II of the Falls Nutrient Strategy 2. Review Existing Data and Reports for Falls Lake and the Watershed 3. Estimation of Nutrient Loading to Falls Lake 4. Review of Existing Models and Recommendations for Future Studies These reports summarize existing water quality information for Falls Lake and the surrounding watershed, evaluate the lake modeling that DWQ completed during the development of the Falls Lake Rules, assess other available models for representing the lake and watershed, investigate the regulatory "framework" that guides water quality issues in North Carolina, and detail a "roadmap" for the UNRBA to pursue in order to modify Stage II of the Falls Lake Rules. As a result of this process, CardnoEntrix has provided the UNRBA a draft list of studies that are recommended for completion in order to gain necessary information for incorporation into the re- examination process (Attachment B). The ultimate goal of The Path Forward process is to lower the nutrient reduction requirements of Stage II of the Falls Lake Nutrient Management Strategy, while preserving the water supply of the City of Raleigh. In addition, the UNRBA is interested in increasing the number of Best Management Practices (BMPs) that have nutrient reduction credits established by DWQ for their use. The UNRBA is beginning to work on determining nutrient reduction credits for a large number of BMPs that should prove to be very helpful for both the agricultural community as well as more developed urban areas to use in meeting their required nutrient reductions. Without this work, urban areas would have only a few BMPs available to use in meeting the nutrient reduction targets. The agricultural community has even fewer BMPs approved for use at this time. Developing additional BMPs could prove to be extremely beneficial to the agricultural producers in the Falls Lake watershed. Given the amount of data that should be collected in pursuit of altering Stage II of the rules, it is likely that the UNRBA will need to complete multiple studies of Falls Lake and the surrounding watershed in the next five to ten years. At this time, the Path Forward Committee of the UNRBA recommends that the studies listed on Attachment 2 under the objectives entitled "Lake Response Modeling, Support of Regulatory Options and then Source /Jurisdictional Loading" be completed. The Falls Lake Rules specify that a minimum of three years of data must be collected to even be considered by the EMC during the re- examination process. This fact, coupled with the volume of information that is in need of collection, as well as the 2020 deadline for submitting data, underline the need to initiate water quality monitoring in the near future. During the development of the Falls Lake Rules, the majority of local governments in the Falls Lake watershed adopted a document entitled Consensus Principles to Guide Falls Lake