Orange County NC Website
2. BMP Nutrient Credit Development <br />CardnoEntrix is continuing to work on a project to develop nutrient reduction Best Management <br />Practice (BMP) credits. The project will be beneficial to UNRBA member governments <br />(including Orange County) by increasing the number of structural devices and other stormwater <br />practices with known nutrient reduction values. These BMPs will then be available for affected <br />parties to use to meet the required nutrient reduction goals under Stages I and II of the Falls <br />Lake Rules. This is sometimes referred to as increasing the number of nutrient reduction <br />measures available in the "BMP tool box ". Subject matter experts are developing nutrient credit <br />values and practice standards for three "batches" of BMPs: <br />BMP Batch 1: Infiltration Devices <br />Filter Strips <br />Soil Amendment <br />BMP Batch 2: Bioretention Devices <br />Land Conservation <br />Pervious Area Nutrient Management <br />Batch 3: Livestock Exclusion <br />Riparian Buffers <br />Elimination of Illicit Discharges <br />After CardnoEntrix develops draft nutrient credits and practice standards for each of these <br />BMPs, the NC Division of Water Resources (DWR) will evaluate this information and determine <br />what nutrient reduction credit is appropriate for each BMP. Once this process is completed, <br />affected parties, including local governments, will be able to utilize these BMPs to meet required <br />nutrient reduction targets. <br />3. Development of Nutrient Credit Calculation Tool <br />Also ongoing is the development of a spreadsheet -based tool for local governments to calculate <br />nutrient reduction credits for specific on -site nutrient reduction measures, as well as for more <br />regional programmatic practices such as street sweeping or fertilizer management. This tool will <br />allow municipalities in the watershed to evaluate the impact of various nutrient reduction devices <br />and practices at different locations in the watershed, allowing local governments to determine <br />the most cost - effective means of meeting required nutrient reductions. <br />4. Falls Lake Rules Review <br />The Regulatory Reform Act of 2013 (HB74) mandated that all State rules expire within ten years <br />of their effective dates, unless readopted. Currently, DWR is concluding an informal comment <br />period for the Falls Lake Rules, which will be followed in 2016 by a public comment period. <br />UNRBA is working to develop comments on the Falls Lake Rules that all UNRBA members can <br />agree on. Several UNRBA local governments, including Orange County, have already <br />submitted informal comments concerning these rules. <br />