Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
10 <br /> 1 <br /> 2 E. BOCC WORK SESSION <br /> 3 1. Impact of 2015 Legislative Updates on Orange County's Erosion <br /> 4 Control/Stormwater Programs and Riparian Buffer Regulations —To review how <br /> 5 legislative changes made in 2015 have or will impact the County's Erosion <br /> 6 Control/Stormwater programs and riparian buffer regulations. <br /> 7 <br /> 8 Craig Benedict, Orange County Planning Director, said this item was a product of work <br /> 9 amongst planning staff and the County Attorney's office. He said there have been meetings <br /> 10 over the past month regarding legislative changes that have been passed. He said some of <br /> 11 these changes would be reviewed this evening, as well as some short-term actions that will help <br /> 12 the County adapt to these new regulations. <br /> 13 <br /> 14 BACKGROUND: <br /> 15 • Session Law (SL) 2015-149 (H634) - An act to clarify the definition of built-upon area <br /> 16 (BUA)for purposes of stormwater programs. <br /> 17 The basic change per this SL is, for the purposes of implementing stormwater programs, <br /> 18 "built-upon area" does not include...a surface of number 57 stone, as designated by the <br /> 19 American Society for Testing and Materials, laid at least four inches thick over a geotextile <br /> 20 fabric; or a trail as defined in G.S. 113A-85 that is either unpaved or paved as long as the <br /> 21 pavement is porous with a hydraulic conductivity greater than 0.001 centimeters per second <br /> 22 (1.41 inches per hour)."Please refer to Attachment 4 for a copy of the legislation. This only (at <br /> 23 this time in our planning opinion) affects the stormwater calculations for runoff retention which <br /> 24 would require less storage. This BUA will likely not be widely used. <br /> 25 <br /> 26 • Session Law 2015-246 (H44) - An act to reform various provisions of the law related to local <br /> 27 government including modifications to riparian buffer standards and changes to the enforcement <br /> 28 of voluntary State regulations (i.e. stormwater). <br /> 29 A copy of the legislation is contained in Attachment 5. An analysis on the legislations impact on <br /> 30 the County's stormwater program in contained <br /> 31 in Attachment 1 and Attachment 3 contains our assessment of its impacts on our riparian buffer <br /> 32 program. <br /> 33 This will greatly affect the existing stormwater program in the Jordan Lake watershed where we <br /> 34 implemented rules in advance of pending state regulations (which have been delayed). <br /> 35 A primary consideration relates to what regulations should be implemented if current ordinances <br /> 36 are determined to be non-enforceable? <br /> 37 <br /> 38 • Session Law 2015-286 (H765) -An act to provide further regulatory relief to the citizens of <br /> 39 North Carolina by providing for various administrative reforms, by eliminating certain <br /> 40 unnecessary or outdated statutes and regulations and modernizing or simplifying cumbersome <br /> 41 or outdated regulations, and by making various other statutory changes. <br /> 42 A copy of the legislation is contained in Attachment 6. An analysis on the legislations impact on <br /> 43 the County's stormwater program in contained in Attachment 2. <br /> 44 <br /> 45 Craig Benedict made the following Power Point presentation: <br /> 46 November 23, 2015 <br /> 47 Work Session Item E-1 <br /> 48 Synopsis of Impact(s) of 2015 State Legislation on Orange County's Erosion <br /> 49 Control/Stormwater Program and Land Use Program <br /> 50 Orange County Planning Department <br /> 51 <br />