May 13 WQC Agenda

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
WATER QUALITY COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA

 May 13, 2015
Archdale Building-Ground Floor Hearing Room
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

General Statute § 138A-15 mandates that the Chairman inquire as to whether any member knows of any known conflict of interest or appearance of conflict with respect to matters before the Environmental Management Commission’s Water Quality Committee (WQC). If any member knows of a conflict of interest or appearance of conflict, please so state at this time.

Steve Tedder, Chairman Presiding

I. Preliminary Matters

1. Approval of Summary for March 11, 2015 WQC meeting (attached).

II. Agenda Items

1. Request for a Major Variance from the Jordan Lake Riparian Area Protection Rule by 3M Company for Expansion of the Pittsboro Mine at 4191 Highway 87 South in Moncure, NC – (Action Item) (Jennifer Burdette)

A request has been received for the WQC to grant a Major Variance from the Jordan Lake Riparian Area Protection Rules to 3M Company for the expansion of their Pittsboro mine located at 4191 Highway 87 South in Moncure, NC.  Chatham County has been designated authority to administer the Jordan Lake Riparian Area Protection Rule. Due to the presence of unnamed tributaries to Robeson Creek north of the existing mine, the proposed mine expansion will need to encroach into Zones One and Two of the riparian buffer.  The applicant is proposing mitigation to offset the proposed buffer impacts.  Chatham County and Division of Water Resources (DWR) staff support this request for a Major Variance from the Jordan Lake Riparian Area Protection Rule because all of the requirements in Section 507(B)(2)(a) of the 2014 Chatham County Watershed Protection Ordinance are met.  (Attachments enclosed:  Variance Application, Chatham County Findings of Fact, Watershed Review Board Meeting, and PowerPoint Presentation)

2. Request for a Major Variance from the Neuse Riparian Area Protection Rule by Mr. Gwinn Hedrick for construction of five decks for Riverwinds Condominiums at Oriental, NC– (Action Item) (Jennifer Burdette)

A request has been received for the WQC to grant a Major Variance from the Neuse Riparian Area Protection Rules to Mr. Gwinn Hedrick for construction of five decks that are ADA accessible from inside for Riverwinds Condominiums at 236 Blackwell Point Loop Road in Oriental, NC.  Due to the townhomes’ location at the edge of and within the protected riparian buffer along Smith Creek, the proposed decks will need to encroach into 509 square feet of Zone One and 931 square feet of Zone Two of the riparian buffer.  The applicant is proposing mitigation to offset the proposed buffer impacts and maintenance of diffuse flow by discharging gutter downspouts outside the buffer.  Staff does not support this request for a Major Variance from the Neuse Riparian Area Protection Rules because the request does not comply with evaluation criteria 15A NCAC 02B .0233(a)(i)(A), (C), (E), & (F); ii and iii.  (Attachments enclosed:  Variance Application, DWR Findings of Fact, and PowerPoint Presentation)

3. Request Permission to Proceed to the Environmental Management Commission for Approval of 2016 303(d) Listing Methodology – (Action Item) (Jeff Manning)

Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act requires states to submit a list of waters that do not meet water quality standards o the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) for approval by April 1 of even-numbered years.  The Environment Management Commission(EMC) on March 14, 2013 approved the 303(d) Listing Methodology that was used for the 2014 303(d) List.  The 2014 303(d) List was subsequently prepared by DWR, submitted to US EPA and approved.  There is a subset of waters on 2014 303(d) List on which the State and the US EPA disagree with regard to the appropriateness of including those waters on the 303(d) List. They are listed based upon water quality standards that are outdated.  The State has adopted new, revised standards and is pursuing assessment of waters using the new, revised water quality standards.  Therefore, it is proposed to apply in 2016 the listing methodology that was used in 2014, with minor modifications to reflect that the State has adopted new, revised water quality standards.  Staff are seeking the WQC’s approval to proceed to the EMC for approval of the 2016 303(d) Listing Methodology.  (Attachments enclosed: 2016 Draft Listing Methodology, Qualifiers as used by DWR_2015, Metals Table for 2016 Draft Listing Methodology, and PowerPoint Presentation)

4.  Final Draft of the Tar-Pamlico Phase IV Agreement to the Environmental Management Commission   - (Information Item) (John Huisman)

The Phase IV Agreement is the next iteration of a nutrient control Agreement for point source discharges in the Tar-Pamlico River Basin. The first phase of the Agreement was initiated in 1990 in response to nutrient-driven water quality impairments in the Pamlico River estuary and its Nutrient Sensitive Water designation. The Agreement launched and remains an important part of the overall Tar-Pamlico nutrient management strategy.It establishes the performance goals for the nutrient strategy of 30 percent reduction in nitrogen loading from a baseline year of 1991 and no increase in loading of phosphorus from that baseline.  An association of point source dischargers, the Tar-Pamlico Basin Association, receives collective annual end-of-pipe nitrogen and phosphorus loading caps.  In the event that either cap is exceeded, the Association will fund agricultural practices at a predetermined cost-effectiveness rate to offset those exceedances through the NC Agriculture Cost Share Program.  Phase IV incorporates modifications negotiated during Phase III including updates to the Association membership and inclusion of individual load allocations in member’s NPDES permits. Staff will provide an update of the final draft of the Agreement. (Attachments enclosed: Phase IV Agreement and PowerPoint Presentation)

5. High Rock Lake Nutrient Modeling Update  – (Information Item) (Pam Behm)

Staff will provide an update on the status of the High Rock Lake nutrient modeling and information on the next steps in the process of developing a Nutrient Management Strategy for the lake.  (Attachments enclosed: PowerPoint Presentation)

6. North Carolina Nutrient Criteria Development Plan Update – (Information Item) (Steve Kroeger)

In June 2014 DWR and the US EPA mutually agreed to the NC Nutrient Criteria Development Plan (NCDP).  Staff will update the WQC on the progress made on the NCDP, summarize the discussion of the NCDP-Scientific Advisory Council’s May 6, 2015 meeting and provide an overview of all nutrient advisory committees. (Attachments enclosed: NCDP (June 20, 2014), List of members of the NCDP Scientific Advisory Council, and PowerPoint Presentation)

III. Closing Comments   Chairman Tedder

This agenda is available on the internet at /about/divisions/water-resources/environmental-management-commission/meetings-agendas-minutes/2015/may-13-wqc-agenda