Agenda - 09-04-2014-13 (7) - Laserfiche WebLink

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INFORMATION ITEM PLANNING & INSPECTIONS DEPARTMENT Craig N. Benedict, AICP, Director Current Planning 131 W. Margaret Lane (919) 245 -2575 Suite 201 (919) 644 -3002 (FAX) ORANGE COUNTY P. O. Box 8181 www.orangecountync.gov NORTH CAROLINA Hillsborough, NC 27278 R • � - AIL WI 14J*:, "I", qraw MEMORANDUM TO: Board of County Commissioners Bonnie Hammersley, County Manager FROM: Craig Benedict, Planning Director Michael D. Harvey, Current Planning Supervisor DATE: September 4, 2014 SUBJECT: Information Item — State Clarification of What Constitutes Impervious Surface Please accept the following memorandum as an update on recent changes in State law concerning the types of surfaces that constitute impervious surface from a watershed stormwater management perspective. This information was requested by a BOCC member sin the spring. BACKGROUND: During the 2013 legislative session, N.C. General Statute 143 - 214.7, dealing with stormwater management standards, was amended to exclude "gravel" from the definition of "built -upon area." Since that time, the State Environmental Management Commission (EMC) has attempted to define the term "gravel" in an effort to provide local governments and State agencies with guidance on what the exemption means (i.e. what type of gravel is considered exempt). This was necessitated by the fact there are several existing State statutes and industry standards that define the term `gravel' differently from one another. Some examples of what the EMC found during their review process were: • Within the stone, sand and gravel industry, gravel is defined as "a loose aggregate of small rounded water -worn or pounded stones." • Per the Unified Soil Classification System, gravel is considered rock /stone with a diameter from 0.08 inches up to 3 inches in size.