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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 12-04-2000-8tORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: December 4, 2000 Action Agenda Item No. ~_ SUBJECT: Orange County Stormwater Program for Lands within the Neuse River Basin DEPARTMENT: Planning and Inspections PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) NO ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Orange County Stormwater Program for Lands within Craig Benedict, ext 2592 the Neuse River Basin under Separate Cover Phased Implementation Schedule TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel HIII 9f8-4.501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane (33fi)227-2031 PURPOSE: To adopt the Stormwater Ordinance into the Land Development Regulations. To approve the program for implementation. To provide greater nitrogen reduction standards for protection of water quality within the nutrient sensitive Neuse River Basin within Orange County. • Ordinance includes standards for review and approval of nitrogen control measures, and riparian buffers. • Program provides implementation guidelines for non- Ordinance items (i.e. Mapping Requirements, Public Education, and Annual Report Requirements). • Ordinance and Program address development only. The rules for agriculture are being implemented under Orange Soil and Water. BACKGROUND: The Neuse River Basin Nutrient Sensitive Waters Management Strategy is a set of rules adopted in August, 1998 by the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) with a goal of a 30% reduction in nitrogen output from each of the following sources: Wastewater Treatment, Urban Stormwater, Agriculture, and Nutrient Application. Included within the rule is the protection of Riparian Buffers due to their ability to aid in the removal of nitrogen from groundwater. The excess amounts of nitrogen currently entering the Neuse River have been the primary cause of the recent algae blooms and the resulting fishkills in the coastal areas of the basin. The Model Stormwater Program addresses the requirements of the Neuse River Basin Nutrient Sensitive Waters Management Strategy (also known as the "Neuse Rules") as they apply to stormwater. The stormwater section of these rules applies only to the larger local governments within the basin, and includes Orange County. The focus of the stormwater requirements is to reduce nitrogen loaded runoff from leaving urban and rural areas and entering the streams and rivers of the basin. 2 The Orange County Stormwater Program and Ordinance are based upon the Model Stormwater Program and other guidance documents provided by the Triangle J Council of Governments and the Environmental Protection Agency. The Program contains the following components: • Introduction and Purpose • Stormwater Ordinance - • New Development Nitrogen Control Review/Approval New development would have to meet the 30% reduction goal by implementing planning considerations and best management practices, such as constructed wetlands. The rule imposes a 3.6 pounds per acre per year (Ibs/ac/yr) nitrogen loading limit on new development. Nitrogen load from new developments that exceeds this performance standard may be offset by payment of a fee to the Wetlands Restoration. Fund provided, however, that no new residential development can exceed 6.0 Ibs/ac/yr and no new non-residential development can exceed 10.0 Ibs/ac/yr. New development must also comply with the Riparian Buffer Rule (15A NCAC 2B .0233). Orange County is requesting Delegated Authority from the State in order to implement these • Sections of the Ordinance. • Illegal Discharge Program Illegal discharges are substances deposited in storm sewers (which lead directly to streams) that should be handled as wastewater discharges. Depending on the source, illegal discharges may contain nitrogen. Local govemments must identify and remove illegal discharges. • Retrofit Program There are a number of funding sources available for water quality retrofit projects, such as the Clean Water Management Trust Fund and the Wetland Restoration Program that the NC General Assembly has recently established. To assist technical experts, local governments are required to identify sites and opportunities for retrofitting existing development to reduce total nitrogen loads. • Public Education Action Plan Citizens can reduce fihe nitrogen pollution coming from their lawns and septic systems if they understand the impacts of their actions and respond with appropriate management measures. The local governments will develop and implement public education programs for the Neuse basin. • Reporting Requirements Annual Neuse River Basin Stormwater Reports must be submitted to NCDENR-DWQ by October 30 of each year beginning in 2001. The report components are included in the plan. The Program and Ordinance Documents will be forwarded to you under separate cover. NC Administrative Code Section 15A NCAC 2B .0200, and guidance documents (Model Stormwater Program and Appendices) from NCDENR- DWQ were provided for the Public Hearing on May 22,2000. Request To adopt the Orange County Stormwater Program and Ordinance for Lands within the Neuse River Basin. The deadline to implement the Program and Ordinance is March 7, 2001. Location Upper Neuse River Basin within Orange County which includes Upper and Lower Eno, Little River and Flat River watershed basins. Existing and Proposed Conditions Existing: Erosion and Sedimentation Control, and Water Supply Watershed Requirements currently in place. Proposed: Stormwater control requirements to regulate and reduce development impacts. For farming impacts, Soil and Water is currently implementing the Neuse Rules as they apply agriculture. Development Process. Schedule, and, Action • Public Hearing held May 22, 2000 with no speakers from the public. • Forwarded Draft Program to NCDENR-DWQ upon approval by the Board. • Approved by DWQ, the Environmental Management Commission- Water Quality Committee on October 11, 2000. • Adoption of Program and Ordinance on December 4, 2000 per the Board's approval. • December 2000 through March 2001: implement Phase 1 of the Program and Ordinance with the focus being on Nitrogen Reduction standards and measures, and Public Education and Outreach. Phase 2 of the implementation process will address the Neuse River Buffer requirements. While these requirements are included within the current Ordinance, NCDENR-DWQ has not begun granting Delegated Authority. They anticipate that this will begin before the end of the year. FINANCIAL IMPACT: As the Board may recall, this program is an unfunded state mandate. Existing Erosion Control staff will be responsible for the Program submittals and revisions until implementation in March 2001. The Planning and Inspections Department is gauging the impact of the Program by developing a process where this additional data collection, plan review, inspection, monitoring, reporting, enforcement, and public outreach is included. It is important to note that even with coordination and cooperation with Soil and Water, Engineering, Environmental Health, and state agencies, additional County staff may be required to maintain the program. Preliminary estimates indicate that one staff position may be required in fiscal year 2001-2002 with possibly an additional position in the 2002-2003 fiscal year. This will enable the County to meet the phased implementation of the most extensive section of the program, Illegal Discharges, by the required implementation date of October 2002. The phased implementation approach from DWQ is attached. Staff recommends that the Board implement a new Nitrogen Export Removal Best Management Practice Inspection fee of $150 to off set initial costs of this program. This annual maintenance fee is in-line with other local governments in the area. Planning Staff completes an estimated 15 major subdivision reviews in one year. Estimated annual revenue generated from the new fee will range from slow-end estimate of $2,250 to a high-end projection of $6,750. The law-end estimate assumes one permanent storm water device is located in each major subdivision while the high- end estimate assumes three devices located in each major subdivision. It is important to note that the recommended fee does not provide full cost recovery for the mandated program. Staff will soon conduct a comprehensive review of the Erosion Control program including Storm Water Management activities to present various cost recovery scenarios. RECOMMENDATION(S): Administration recommends adoption and implementation of the Orange County Stormwater Program and Ordinance for Lands within the Neuse River Basin. Administration recommends adoption of Ordinance Section 3 Riparian Area Protection within the Neuse River Basin and Ordinance Section 4 Table of Uses, with implementation pending Delegated Authority from the State. 4 s *Implementation Schedule (from the Model Stormwater Program provided by NCDENR-DWQ) In keeping with their goal of having an efficient and cost-effective program, the Neuse Stormwater Team has created a phased implementation schedule for illegal discharges (Table 3d). The schedule allows for collecting jurisdiction-wide information during the first year of implementation and then screening the high priority areas during future years. This phased schedule is also intended to allow communities to evaluate and make improvements to their programs as they progress through high priority areas. Table 2: Implementation Schedule and Annual Reporting Requirements Year Im lementation Re uirements Annual Re ort Re uirements By February Establish legal authority to • Submit report identifying 2001 address illegal discharges established legal authority to meet re uirements. By October 2002 . Collect jurisdiction-wide Report on completion of information, jurisdiction-wide information • Select high priority area for collection. additional screening. • Submit map of high priority • Initiate illegal discharge areas and reason for hotline. selection. • Report on initiation of illegal dischar a hotline. Each • Complete mapping and field Submit map of stormwater subsequent year .screening for high priority collection system in high after 2002 area. priority area upon request • Select next high priority area. by DWQ. • Identify and remove Illegal Document illegal discharges discharges as encountered. found and resulting action. • Continue operating illegal • Report on hotline usage and discharge hotline. actions taken. • Submit map of next high priority area and reason for selection. *Phases 1 and 2 that are discussed within the abstract represent the internal approach that Planning staff would like to use based on the pending Delegated Authority for Sections 3 and 4 of the Ordinance.