may-11-2016-wqc-agenda
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
WATER QUALITY COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA
May 11, 2016
Archdale Building-Ground Floor Hearing Room
1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
General Statute § 138A-15 mandates that the Chair 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. If any member knows of a conflict of interest or appearance of conflict, please so state at this time.
Julie Wilsey, Chair, Presiding
I. Preliminary Matters
1. Approval of March 9, 2016 Water Quality Committee meeting summary
II. Agenda Items
1. Proposed Reclassification of a Segment of the Catawba River (including Lake James) in McDowell and Burke Counties (Catawba River Basin) to Class WS-IV Critical Area (CA) and WS-IV (Protected Area or PA) - (Action Item) (Elizabeth Kountis, DWR)
McDowell County has requested the reclassification of a segment of the Catawba River in McDowell and Burke Counties (Catawba River Basin). Two portions of the Catawba River segment are to be reclassified: one portion from Class C to Class WS-IV CA and WS-IV (PA), and a second portion (Lake James) from Class WS-V & B to Class WS-IV & B CA. This proposal is necessary because McDowell County seeks to put a new water intake in Lake James for use as a permanent water supply and to meet future local water demands. Lake James is a part of the Catawba River, and serves as a reservoir. These waters meet the existing criteria for the proposed reclassification according to 2015 Division of Water Resources (DWR) studies. The Water Quality Committee (WQC) will be asked to approve this reclassification request in order for staff to proceed to the full Environmental Management Commission (EMC) for approval of the regulatory impact analysis and permission to send the proposed reclassification out to public hearing. (Attachments enclosed: Lake James Proposed Water Supply Memo, Map of Proposed WSIV for Lake James including roads and intake site, 15A NCAC 2B .0308 Rule for Lake James Reclassification, and PowerPoint Presentation)
2. Request for a Major Variance from the Randleman Lake Riparian Area Protection Rule by Waste Industries High Point Landfill LLC for Expansion of the High Point Construction and Demolition (C&D) Landfill at 5822 Riverdale Drive in Jamestown, NC - (Action Item) (Sue Homewood, DWR)
A request has been received for the WQC to grant a Major Variance from the Randleman Lake Riparian Area Protection Rules to Waste Industries High Point Landfill LLC for the expansion of their High Point C&D Landfill located at 5822 Riverdale Drive in Jamestown, NC. The City of High Point has been designated authority to administer the Randleman Lake Riparian Area Protection Rule. Due to the presence of an unnamed tributary to Richland Creek southeast of the existing landfill, the proposed landfill expansion will need to encroach into Zone One and Two of the riparian buffer. The applicant is proposing mitigation to offset the proposed buffer impacts. The City of High Point and DWR staff support this request for a Major Variance from the Randleman Lake Riparian Area Protection Rule because all of the requirements in Chapter 9, Section 9-9-11 of the City of High Point Development Ordinance are met. (Attachments enclosed: Variance Application with addendum and includes the City of High Point Findings of Fact with Watershed Review Committee Recommendation and PowerPoint Presentation)
3. Request for a Major Variance from the Neuse Riparian Area Protection Rule by Truswood Properties, LLC for Construction of a Proposed Addition, Outdoor Living Area and Rain Garden to an Existing Home at 2700 Manning Place, Raleigh, NC – (Action Item) (Jennifer Burdette, DWR)
A request has been received for the WQC to grant a Major Variance from the Neuse Riparian Area Protection Rule to Truswood Properties, LLC for construction of a proposed addition, outdoor living area and rain garden to an existing home within Zone One and Zone Two of the buffer at 2700 Manning Place in Raleigh, NC. The applicant is proposing mitigation to offset the buffer impacts and treatment of stormwater runoff from the site. Based on the information submitted, the DWR supports this request for a Major Variance from the Neuse Riparian Area Protection Rule because all of the requirements in 15A NCAC 02B .0233 have been met. (Attachments enclosed: Variance Application, DWR Findings of Fact, and PowerPoint Presentation)
4. A Survey of In Situ Strategies for Mitigation of Water Quality Impairments in North Carolina - (Action Item) (Rich Gannon, DWR)
Under SL 2015-241 Section 14.5.(d), a report was requested by the NC General Assembly to evaluate currently available in situ strategies to help mitigate water quality impairments in NC waterbodies. The Department of Environmental Quality and the Environmental Management Commission were directed to survey the potential efficacy of such strategies and report their findings to the Environmental Review Commission and other bodies of the General Assembly. The Department has prepared a report and requests that the Committee approve it for consideration by the full Commission at its May 12, 2016 meeting. (Attachments enclosed: In-Situ Study Legislative Report Final_04-29-2016, In-Situ Strategies Legislative Report 2016_track, and PowerPoint Presentation)
5. Request Approval of a Study of the State’s Riparian Buffer Protection Program pursuant to Session Law 2015-246 – (Action Item) (Karen Higgins, DWR)
Session Law (SL) 2015-246 (13.2.)(a) directed the Environmental Management Commission, with the assistance of the Department, to examine ways to provide regulatory relief from the impacts of riparian buffer rules adopted to implement the State’s Riparian Buffer Protection Program for parcels of land that were platted on or before the effective date of the applicable riparian buffer rule. The Department has prepared a study and requests approval to take it to the full EMC. (Attachment enclosed: SL 2015-246 Buffer Study, SL2015-246_Trackchanges_05-10-2016, and PowerPoint Presentation)
6. Update on Triennial Review of Water Quality Standards – (Information Item) (Jeff Manning, DWR)
The Triennial Review revisions were adopted by the NC EMC on November 13, 2014, and became effective for state purposes (in state rules) on January 1, 2015. In a letter dated May 1, 2015, the State of NC Department of Justice certified that the Water Quality Standards revisions (15A NCAC 02B .0200) had been duly adopted according to state law. On May 15, 2015, the US Environmental Protection Agency received the original signed package for review from the Division of Water Resources. In a letter from US EPA to the NC Division of Water Resources Director dated April 6, 2016, the US EPA has completed its review of the State of NC’s 2007-2015 Triennial Review of Water Quality Standards. The EPA’s decision on these revisions is detailed in the enclosed document, Decision Document of the United States Environmental Protection Agency Review of North Carolina’s 2007-2015 Triennial Review of Changes to Surface Waters and Wetlands Standards 15A NCAC 02B .0200 Under Section 303(c) of the Clean Water Act. The DWR staff will provide a high level review of the EPA’s decisions and recommendations for the WQC.
III. Closing Comments - Chair Wilsey