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r Orange Water and Sewer Authority <br />400 Jones Ferry Road <br />OWASA P.O. Box 366 <br />Carrboro, NC 27510 <br />(919) 968 -4421 <br />COMMENTS TO THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />REGARDING DRAFT LEGISLATION ON WATER TRANSFERS <br />NOVEMBER 5, 1990 <br />Submitted by <br />Lois T. Herring, Chairman <br />Orange Water and Sewer Authority <br />GOOD EVENING, I'M LOIS HERRING, CHAIRMAN OF THE ORANGE WATER AND <br />SEWER AUTHORITY. I'M SPEAKING TONIGHT ON BEHALF OF THE OWASA <br />BOARD OF DIRECTORS. <br />YOUR AGENDA PACKAGE INCLUDES AN OWASA RESOLUTION OPPOSING <br />LEGISLATION UNDER REVIEW BY THE SURFACE WATER STUDY COMMITTEE. <br />OWASA IS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF SUCH A BILL <br />ON WATER MANAGEMENT IN ORANGE COUNTY. WE HAVE EXPRESSED SIMILAR <br />CONCERNS IN A SEPARATE LETTER TO REPRESENTATIVE ANNE BARNES AND <br />COPIED TO COMMISSIONER CAREY. <br />THE LETTER IN YOUR PACKAGE FROM COMMISSIONER HARTWELL TO THE <br />STUDY COMMITTEE PROVIDES A STARTLING LIST OF THE BILL'S <br />AMBIGUITIES, AND ILLUSTRATES THE BASIS OF OUR OPPOSITION. <br />THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE EMC TO DOCUMENT A POSITIVE FINDING ON <br />EACH OF 13 SEPARATE CRITERIA AMOUNTS TO VIRTUAL VETO POWER BY ANY <br />OPPONENT TO A PROPOSED WATER TRANSFER. AN UNFORTUNATE OUTCOME OF <br />THIS PROCESS COULD BE,TO DEPRIVE COMMUNITIES WITH REAL WATER <br />NEEDS OF CRITICAL SUPPLEMENTS FROM NEARBY AREAS WITH EXCESS <br />WATER. WE NEED LOOK NO FARTHER THAN CENTRAL ORANGE COUNTY - TO <br />HILLSBOROUGH AND THE ENO RIVER - FOR A RELEVANT EXAMPLE. <br />ALTHOUGH THIS BILL WOULD GRANDFATHER IN ALL EXISTING TRANSFERS, <br />IT WOULD REQUIRE THAT ANY INCREASE OVER CURRENT LEVELS OF <br />TRANSFER BE APPROVED THROUGH THE 13 -POINT PERMITTING PROCESS. <br />An Equal Opportunity Employer <br />