Agenda - 09-14-2021; 12-2 - Information Item – Memorandum Regarding Administrative Updates to the Eno River Voluntary Water Management Operations Plan (WMOP)

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2 Orange County Staff Engineer. Additional background information on the Eno River and the WMOP is located at the following DWR website links: http://www.ncwater.org/Eno River Management/ http://www.ncwater.org/Eno River Management/plan.phi) Purpose of Information Item The last revision to the WMOP (the addition of the WFER) was made in 2000, over 20 years ago, and involved regulatory changes that required review and approval by the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) prior to execution. The existing WMOP (i.e. the 2000 version) is in typewritten font and needs to transition to the 21st Century. The existing WMOP does not contain a table of contents or page numbers for reference by the reader, and Resco Products (one of the major water users) is noted erroneously as Piedmont Minerals. In addition, the existing WMOP contains some administrative ambiguities that require minor clarifications and/or refinements. See Attachment 1 for a copy of the existing WMOP. The Orange County Staff Engineer originally initiated the proposed administrative updates with the WMOP partners in early 2020. Since that time, Orange County has received formal consent and input from all WMOP partners, including DWR. The WMOP partners have collectively agreed that it is time to update the formatting of the WMOP and provide more background and explanation of the existing WMOP terms. DWR has confirmed, in writing, that the proposed WMOP updates as contained within this Information Item will not require EMC review or approval due to the administrative/cosmetic nature of the proposed updates. The proposed updates involve converting the late-1980's WMOP document to electronic format, providing a table of contents and page numbers, adding an introductory section, making grammar and editorial updates, and providing a better explanation of the allowable raw water withdrawal allocations (i.e. revisions to Table 1 within the WMOP). The proposed revisions also update the names of the current partners and current state agencies. See Attachment 2 for a copy of the proposed WMOP, inclusive of proposed updates. DWR staff has accepted and integrated all of the requested administrative WMOP updates as such. The Hillsborough Board of Commissioners was made aware of the proposed WMOP updates through a Town staff-initiated information item on consent agenda at their August 9, 2021 meeting; see Agenda/Minutes at the link below: http://archive.hillsboroughnc.gov/WebLink/l/doc/3424/Pagel.aspx. There were no Town Commissioner comments and/or exceptions received. There are no Orange County financial impacts associated with the proposed WMOP updates. NOTE: Any future proposed regulatory/material changes to the WMOP (e.g. changing allocated raw water withdrawals, changing minimum water releases, etc.) would require formal presentation to the WMOP partner government leaders and the EMC for review and approval prior to execution. Please communicate any questions or concerns to Christopher J. Sandt, P.E., Staff Engineer (csandt@orangecountync.gov or 919-245-2583). Page 2 of 2