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48 <br />11/23115 Page 2 of 4 <br />BOCC Effects of SL 2015 -286 (H13 765) on Orange Co. <br />2. Session Law 2015 -286 (HB 765) amends the laws governing isolated wetlands. <br />a) Regulated discharges to isolated wetlands and isolated waters were <br />modified by this legislation to apply only to Basin Wetlands and Bogs <br />and no other wetland types and shall not apply to an isolated man -made ditch <br />or pond constructed for stormwater management purposes or any other man- <br />made isolated pond. <br />b) No later than March 1, 2016, the EMC is to establish three zones (Coastal, <br />Piedmont and Mountain) for purposes of regulating impacts to isolated <br />wetlands. Orange County is in the Piedmont. Our threshold for impacts <br />not requiring mitigation will be less than or equal to one -half acre of <br />isolated wetlands. Mitigation requirements for impacts to isolated <br />wetlands greater than this threshold shall only apply to the amount of <br />impact that exceeds the threshold. The mitigation ratio remains the <br />same (1:1). <br />c) Impacts to isolated wetlands shall not be combined with the project impacts <br />to 404 jurisdictional wetlands or streams for the purpose of determining when <br />impact thresholds that trigger a mitigation requirement are met. <br />d) These regulations have a "delayed effective date" per as provided in G.S. <br />15013-21.3, which is full of entirely confusing language. Most likely, these <br />regulations will become effective sometime during the 2016 spring <br />session of the General Assembly. <br />e) The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is directed to <br />study a number of issues surrounding "isolated wetlands" and report its <br />findings and recommendations to the EMC on or before November 1, 2014. <br />The year of this date must be in error, as it predates the ratification date. <br />The implications are that this study could reverse or amend the very rules <br />discussed above. It almost reads as if the legislators are saying, "please <br />confirm our direction ". <br />3. EMC development deadline for developing fast -track permitting for stormwater <br />management systems has been pushed back to November 1, 2016. NC DEQ <br />has staff working on this. Their current direction is paired with the <br />development of the Minimum Design Criteria (MDC), which applies to the <br />Best Management Practice (BMP) Manual. The MDC are currently <br />published and are undergoing public review. We assume there may be <br />some eventual downstream implications for Orange County to implement a <br />clone process. <br />4. Apparently effective immediately, as no effective date paragraph was included. <br />§143 -214.7 Stormwater runoff rules and programs is modified to allow <br />"...any acceptable engineering hydrologic and hydraulic methods." (Genesis and <br />intent unknown; other related provisions do not apply in Orange County.) <br />S:\2BOards\BOCC2015 Pubiie HearingsNov QPI-AWork Session Items\2015 Session Law EffectsUtt 2 - ImpactsOtSL2015- 286(BB 765 )EC- SW- ProgramOfOC- 111215.doc <br />