Agenda - 05-20-2003-8r - Laserfiche WebLink

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17 Gooding-Ray: There was concern about the amount of the civil penalties at the Public Hearing. The County Commissioners expressed a concern about individuals having an opportunity to come before them. Why does the extension of time limit have to be in writing? There are quite a few members in the community that can't write. If you could ask therm for the information over the phone I believe that would be better. Davis: I'm not sure that would be the best avenue since the document would be posted several different places. King: We could develop a simple form with the technical information already completed and they could sign it. c. Stream Classification Text Amendments PURPOSE: To make a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners regarding the proposed Stream Classification and Buffer Amendments to the Zoning Ordinance. BACKGROUND: The North Carolina Division of Water Quality (DV'JQ) in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is the agency responsible for statewide regulatory programs in groundwater and surface water protection. The DWQ mission is to preserve, protect and enhance North Carolina's water and groundwater resources through quality monitoring programs, efficient permitting, responsible management, fair and effective enforcement and excellence in public service. This charge is carried out through resources at both the state and local levels. The statewide watershed protection program is an example of state and local government regulatory powers. The County's watershed protection program requires stream buffers be; established and enforced along all solid and intermittent blue line streams as identified on the iJnited States Geological Survey (USGS) topographic maps. Presently, stream buffers within Grange County's zoning jurisdiction are only required along streams identified on USGS topographic maps. The USGS maps do not protect all water features that are important to water quality. The DWQ estimates that streams represented on USGS topographic maps underestimate thE; actual presence of streams by approximately 25%. These underrepresented types of streams, which have a high level of impact on water quality, are not protected at all under the County zoning stream buffer regulations. Another major shortcoming of the sole use of USGS maps is that the streams, which are identified on the maps, are based on aerial photography with no field verification. This lack of field verifications by the USGS creates problems, acknowledged by the DWQ, with regard to enforcement of the stream buffer regulations on a lot-by-lot basis. Three common problems encountered include, but are not limited to, disputes as to whether a USGS stream actually exists, disputes as to whether the location of said USGS stream is as shown on the map and disputes concerning whether the floodplain is properly mapped based on the inaccurate location of a USGS stream.