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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: October 23, 2007 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. ~°- ~ <br />SUBJECT: Amendments to the Orange County Stormwater Ordinance for Lands within the <br />Neuse River Basin <br />DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections. PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />Erosion Control Division <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />1. Resolution of Approval <br />2. Required Amendments to Orange <br />County Stormwater Ordinance <br />3. Excerpt from Approved July 11, 2007 <br />Planning Board Minutes <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Craig Benedict 245-2592 <br />Ren Ivins 245-2586 <br />Terry Hackett ~~ 245-2588 <br />PURPOSE: To consider approval of required amendments to the Orange County Stormwater <br />Ordinance for Lands within the Neuse River Basin to reflect changes in the Nitrogen Reduction <br />Offset payment calculation presented at the May 21, 2007 Quarterly Public Hearing. <br />BACKGROUND: To protect water quality at the local level and provide a higher level of service <br />to citizens and clients, Orange County adopted the State's model stormwater ordinance in <br />March 2001. The title of the ordinance as adopted is, "Stormwater Ordinance for Lands within <br />the Neuse River Basin." The Neuse basin covers most of northern Orange County including the <br />Town of Hillsborough. The Neuse Basin does not include the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area which <br />lies in the Cape Fear River Basin. <br />Control of nitrogen runoff, or export, from development projects is a key feature of the program. <br />As an option, developers can pay an in-lieu fee to the North Carolina Ecosystem Enhancement <br />Program (NCEEP) to offset nitrogen runoff. In March 2006, the NC Department of Environment <br />and Natural Resources Division of Water Quality (NCDWQ) changed the Nitrogen Offset <br />Payment Fee calculation method for in-lieu payments to the NCEEP to, reflect increased costs. <br />The County subsequently amended the Stormwater Ordinance for Lands within the Neuse River <br />Basin to reflect this change. <br />The previous new calculation method resulted in a significant increase in fees paid by <br />developers to NCEEP. In response, the development community lobbied the NC General <br />Assembly to review the fee increase. Subsequently, the General Assembly passed a session <br />law in August 2006 that rescinded the increased fee. The law required NCDWQ to revert to the <br />