Showing posts tagged “jordan lake rules”
Samiha Khanna ·
22 Oct 2009, 4:12 PM ·
1 Comment
Starting Monday, Durham city staff and contract engineers will be out in the Third Fork Creek watershed in southwest Durham to study the creek and help develop a clean-up and revitalization plan, the city announced today.
Third Fork Creek flows into New Hope Creek and Jordan Lake, the latter, of course, being the source of attention and lately because of a recent watershed rezoning that could allow for more intense development closer to the reservoir, which is a drinking water source for Chatham County and Cary. Jordan Lake already faces water-quality issues and estimates to improve the conditions and maintain water quality are in the millions of dollars. Read more about recent legislation involving mandates to clean up Jordan Lake >>
Crew members, who will be wearing orange vests for easy identification, plan to complete their field evaluation by the end of December. After the field work, the crew will prioritize potential improvement projects to include in the city’s watershed plan, which it hopes to present in May 2011, the announcement said.
A map of the neighborhoods in the watershed assessment is available here.
Durham, Durham County, North Carolina, environment, news development, Durham, jordan lake, jordan lake rules, New Hope Creek, runoff, Third Fork Creek, water quality
Matt Saldaña ·
9 Jul 2009, 4:58 PM ·
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Snake-birds at Falls Lake. Photo by Matt Saldaña
Wake County has closed two recreational swimming areas at Falls Lake indefinitely due to high levels of disease-causing bacteria. The beaches, Beaverdam and Sandling, are each located on the northern shore of Falls Lake, next to Highway 50, which cuts across Raleigh’s drinking-water source to the east. This is the fourth time this summer that Wake County has shut down beaches (xls, 32 KB) at Falls Lake due to high levels of bacteria, according to records provided to the Indy.
In its most recent finding, Wake County detected levels of the bacteria, enterococci, that were more than twice the EPA-recommended limit at Beaverdam Beach, and more than 1.5 times the limit at Sandling Beach. Enterococci indicate the presence of fecal matter and directly correlate with gastro-intestenal complications such as vomiting and diarrhea. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, sources of the bacteria (PDF, 168 KB) can include agriculture-related runoff such as animal manure, as well as “improperly functioning wastewater treatment plants, leaking septic systems, and storm water runoff.”
Since the late 1990s, portions of Falls Lake have been classified as impaired by the EPA due to runoff from development. In its draft 2008 Impaired Waters report, EPA listed the entire lake as being impaired, meaning it is in violation of the federal Clean Water Act.
A stakeholder process to develop a clean-up plan for Falls Lake–similar to that for Jordan Lake–has been underway for several years. The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has requested that the deadline to develop clean-up rules be delayed until 2011, though activists say the protections must begin no later than 2010.
“There’s an effort in the Legislature to try and do everything possible to speed up the Falls Lake rules process,” Elizabeth Ouzts, state director for Environment North Carolina, told the Indy. “One [idea] is to get temporary rules in place by early January [2010] that would at least provide some protections to the lake while the rules are finalized, and then hopefully the final rules would be done by Fall of next year.”
Like Jordan Lake, Falls Lake is in violation of EPA standards due to the presence of algal blooms, caused by runoff from development. Roads and roofs and other impervious surfaces are the largest sources of pollution; they prevent water from being naturally cleansed of pollutants, which then drain into the lake and kill or damage aquatic life. Discharges from wastewater treatment plants, and other sources of pollution, further contribute to algal blooms.
In addition, portions of the lake have violations due to high turbidity, or excess sediment, also caused by runoff from development and wastewater discharge. According to the EPA, high turbidity increases water temperature, thus reducing the amount of oxygen in water and harming aquatic life. It also reduces the amount of natural sunlight that penetrates water, further decreasing oxygen production and photosynthesis. In addition, high levels of turbidity can kill fish by clogging their gills, lowering their resistance to disease, and smothering their eggs.
Read the Indy’s account of a turbidity-filled day at Falls Lake.
Durham, Durham County, Raleigh, Wake County, environment Falls Lake, jordan lake, jordan lake rules, NC General Assembly
Matt Saldaña ·
17 Jun 2009, 5:31 PM ·
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Update (6/19/09): The House chamber will vote on Monday, June 22, whether to approve the Senate’s technical changes to HB 239–the final vote required before the bill is presented to the Governor for approval. The House previously voted 106-8 to approve a similar version of the bill.
Today, the N.C. Senate approved House Bill 239 (also known as “Restore Water Quality in Jordan Reservoir”), which would allow a state-mandated pollution-reduction program for Jordan Lake to go forward, while curtailing some of its reach. A critical drinking-water source for the region, Jordan Lake has been on the EPA’s Impaired Waters list since 2002, due to pollution from development. (For more background, see the “Jodan Lake rules” tag on Triangulator.) The House previously approved a similar version; the bill is headed there for a final vote, in order to approve technical changes to the bill’s language, before ratification.
North Carolina, environment jordan lake, jordan lake rules, NC General Assembly
Matt Saldaña ·
9 Jun 2009, 3:46 PM ·
1 Comment
Update: HB 239 is scheduled to be voted on in the Senate on Wednesday, June 10, at 3 p.m.
The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources has approved a bill that would clear the way for a state-mandated program to clean up Jordan Lake, a critical drinking-water source that has been on EPA’s Impaired Waters list since 2002. The bill, “Restore Water Quality in Jordan Reservoir” (also known as HB 239), was previously approved by the House chamber, and will now come up for a vote in the N.C. Senate.
Originally titled “Disapprove Jordan Lake Rules,” HB 239 represents a modification to the nutrient-reduction strategy adopted by the N.C. Environmental Management Commission, and approved by the N.C. Rules Review Commission. In particular, it reduces EMC’s ability to regulate pollution that results from existing development–the principal reason the lake has appeared on the Impaired Waters list for “excess nutrients.” Nevertheless, the bill allows nutrient-reduction goals to go forward, in order to return Jordan Lake to federal Clean Water Act compliance.
For more background on the bill, check out the Triangulator’s “Jordan Lake rules” tag. Check back for updates.
North Carolina, environment jordan lake, jordan lake rules, NC General Assembly
Matt Saldaña ·
12 May 2009, 8:12 PM ·
1 Comment
By a margin of 106-8, the N.C. House of Representatives passed HB 239 (“Restore Water Quality in Jordan Reservoir”), which will now head for a vote in the Senate.
The expected wrangling over pollution controls didn’t happen on the House floor today, so look for an intensified lobbying effort to water down regulations on the Senate side, in advance of a final vote.
The bill that passed is identical to the version approved yesterday by the House Judiciary I committee, which maintains critical pollution control measures, and reduces the cleanup timelines proposed in earlier drafts. The bill–originally titled “Disapprove Jordan Lake Rules”–represents a modification to the nutrient-reduction strategy adopted by the N.C. Environmental Management Commission, and approved by the N.C. Rules Review Commission. In particular, it reduces EMC’s ability to regulate pollution that results from existing development–the principal reason the lake has appeared, since 2002, on EPA’s Impaired Waters list for “excess nutrients.” Nevertheless, the bill allows nutrient-reduction goals to go forward, so the impaired drinking-water source can return to federal Clean Water Act compliance.
North Carolina, environment jordan lake, jordan lake rules, NC General Assembly
Matt Saldaña ·
12 May 2009, 2:24 AM ·
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Following approval by the House Judiciary I Committee, HB 239 (“Restore Water Quality in Jordan Reservoir”)–which modifies portions of the N.C. Environmental Management Commission’s strategy to clean up Jordan Lake–is on its way to the House floor. But the bill’s sponsors, who attended Monday’s meeting, warned that further battles remain.
“I suspect there’ll be changes to this,” bill sponsor Rep. Pryor Gibson (D-Anson) told the committee.
Committee Chair Deborah Ross (D-Wake) confirmed that environmentalists were happy with the changes from last week’s version of the bill, including shorter timelines to implement pollution controls, by asking, “Are there nods out there?”
There were, and the bill passed after no more than ten minutes of discussion.
“This was the best deal that could be struck under the circumstances,” Durham Deputy City Manager Ted Voorhees said in an interview after the vote. “The environmental community would have liked to see things a little stronger, and a little sooner, and the City of Durham would’ve liked to see things take a little longer, and have more protections against unreasonable costs.” Continue reading »
Durham, Durham County, North Carolina, environment jordan lake, jordan lake rules, NC General Assembly
Matt Saldaña ·
8 May 2009, 6:58 PM ·
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Just in time for next Monday’s appearance before the House Judiciary I Committee, the Bill Formerly Known as “Disapprove Jordan Lake Rules” (HB 239) has been freshly minted “Restore Water Quality in Jordan Reservoir.” The original version of the bill would have done just the opposite, by rejecting the N.C. Environmental Management Commission’s strategy to restore the polluted lake to federal Clean Water Act compliance. Earlier drafts of a compromise bill that the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources ironed out last week would have allowed the EMC’s rules to go forward, but weakened critical pollution controls, and delayed their implementation by up to 17 years.
According to Elizabeth Ouzts, state director for Environment North Carolina, a newer version of the compromise bill now contains improved environmental protections to go along with that fancy new name.
“It’s all about, ‘Do you meet water quality standards or not?’” she said in an interview.
Specifically, the timelines for determining whether sub-watersheds are responsible for pollution controls, and implementing those controls, have been reduced by three years. An additional check-point for the Upper New Hope Creek Arm–which first placed Jordan Lake on the EPA’s Impaired Waters list in 2002, due to excess nutrients–has also been bumped up by three years. And language that would have exempted that sub-watershed, which includes the City of Durham, from enacting critical pollution-reduction measures due to cost concerns has been eliminated, Ouzts said.
The Cities of Durham and Greensboro have been lobbying the Legislature to minimize the EMC’s ability to regulate pollution that results from existing development, arguing that such controls would be financially burdensome for local governments. Ouzts said this latest revision reflects a compromise between that position, and environmentalists seeking protections for the lake.
“It’s not quite as far off from the original [EMC] rules,” she said.
The Judiciary I Committee meets Monday, May 11, at 3 p.m., in LB 1228 to discuss HB 239. If passed, the bill will then come up for a vote on the House floor–where another round of budget vs. environment is sure to take place.
Cary, Chatham County, Durham, Durham County, North Carolina, Orange County, Wake County, environment, media jordan lake, jordan lake rules, NC General Assembly
Matt Saldaña ·
5 May 2009, 4:43 PM ·
Comment
A bill that would delay state-mandated efforts to clean up Jordan Lake until 2017 but preserve much of their pollution-reduction goals cleared the House Environment and Natural Resources committee today.
“People upstream don’t want to do a thing. People downstream want a rule exactly the way it was,” said bill sponsor Pryor Gibson (D-Anson), after rubbing his eyes dramatically at the lectern. “As imperfect as it may be … it’s time for this bill to move forward.”
The unanimous committee vote sent the compromise version of the bill to the House Judiciary 1 committee, and, presuming it passes there, eventually to a House and Senate vote.
“It’s still not there. It’s still not going to protect Jordan Lake,” said Elizabeth Ouzts, state director for Environment North Carolina.
The bill is a modification to HB 239, “Disapprove Jordan Lake Rules,” which would have completely blocked regulations written by the N.C. Environmental Management Commission (EMC) that were intended to bring the polluted reservoir back into compliance with the federal Clean Water Act.
An earlier modification, introduced last week in committee, had more significantly lowered pollution-reduction goals for the most impaired section of Jordan Lake, and based pollution controls on “measurable reductions,” not actual water quality standards. The new modification replaced this version of the bill.
Read the full story at indyweek.com.
Cary, Chapel Hill, Chatham County, Durham, Durham County, Morrisville, North Carolina, Orange County, Raleigh, Wake County, environment jordan lake, jordan lake rules, NC General Assembly
Matt Saldaña ·
4 May 2009, 5:00 PM ·
1 Comment
After seeking to block a state-mandated effort to clean up Jordan Lake, a group of legislators have proposed a compromise bill that would severely limit pollution-reduction goals for the impaired drinking-water source. Introduced last week in the House Environment and Natural Resources committee, and set for a vote during Tuesday’s committee hearing at noon, the substitute bill would reduce pollution controls by more than three-quarters in the most impaired section of the lake, and delay critical protections until 2017.
“These provisions are totally inadequate for the restoration of water quality. It would mean the lake would never actually be cleaned up,” Chatham County Commissioner Tom Vanderbeck said at an April 30 hearing of the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.
Jordan Lake has been on EPA’s Impaired Waters list since 2002, due to excess nutrients such as nitrogen, which causes algal blooms and can render water unfit for drinking. Last year, the N.C. Environmental Management Commission (EMC) adopted a set of 13 rules focused on nutrient reduction measures that seek to restore Jordan Lake compliance with the federal Clean Water Act. Although the N.C. Rules Review Commission approved the measures, the General Assembly has the power to overrule commission decisions with legislation. House Bill 239, “Disapprove Jordan Lake Rules,” and an identical Senate version would reject the rules altogether; the proposed substitute bill would alter them significantly. Continue reading »
Cary, Chapel Hill, Chatham County, Durham, Durham County, North Carolina, Orange County, Pittsboro, Wake County, environment Alice Bordsen, jordan lake, jordan lake rules, Lucy Allen, NC General Assembly, Pryor Gibson, Tom Vanderbeck, Tony Foriest
