Meeting Announcement and Request for Comments

Proposed Jordan Lake Watershed Nutrient Limits and Control Strategy

and Draft 2005 Cape Fear Basinwide Water Quality Plan

B. Everett Jordan Reservoir has experienced water quality problems for many years related to excessive algal growth.  Too much algae adversely affects recreation and water supplies and can lead to fish kills.  The growth of algae is stimulated by excess nutrient inputs from the watershed, especially nitrogen and phosphorus.  Jordan Reservoir has historically been one of the most nutrient-rich reservoirs in North Carolina, frequently violating the state’s water quality standards related to excessive algal growth. In addition to natural sources, nutrients stem from many human activities throughout the lake’s watershed.  These activities include agricultural and residential fertilization; livestock and pet waste deposited on the land; and wastewater treatment plant discharges.  As seen in the map below, the watershed encompasses the high-growth areas of Greensboro, Burlington, Chapel Hill, and western portions of Durham, Cary and Apex.  Urbanized land use in the watershed increased 57% between 1982 and 1997. 

In response to these significant and growing problems, the North Carolina Division of Water Quality has drafted nutrient loading limits for Jordan Reservoir and a nutrient control strategy for its watershed.  The strategy proposes stricter limits on wastewater treatment plants and industrial discharges, new runoff controls for development and agricultural operations, protection of vegetated riparian buffers adjacent to waterways, and training and plan certification requirements for people who apply fertilizer to more than ten acres of land in the watershed each year.  New requirements are also contemplated for land application of wastewater, forest harvesting operations, and onsite wastewater systems. 

Public Meetings

May 2, 2005

Alamance Community College, Building 1

1247 Jimmie Kerr Road, Graham, NC

2:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Draft 2005 Cape Fear River Basinwide Water Quality Plan

q DWQ Staff Presentation

q Questions and Answers

6:00 – 9:30 p.m.

Proposed Nutrient Loading Limits and Control Strategy

B. Everett Jordan Reservoir and Watershed

q DWQ Staff Presentations – Jordan Lake Water Quality and

            Loading Limits and Point Source Strategy

q Questions and Answers

q DWQ Staff Presentation – Proposed Nonpoint Source Strategy

q Questions and Answers

q Comments from Audience

The proposed measures have the potential to directly or indirectly affect landowners and enterprises in the watershed and those who provide them services, including local governments.  If you have interest in this proposal, the Division of Water Quality would like to obtain your comments.  This announcement provides basic information on the proposed loading limits and nutrient strategy and sources for additional information. 

The Division will hold a public information meeting to describe the water quality conditions, proposed loading limits and nutrient strategy, and to receive comments.  We invite your participation.  Also on the same day at the same location, the Division will precede this meeting with an afternoon public meeting to present the draft 2005 Basinwide Water Quality Plan for the entire Cape Fear River Basin.  The Basinwide Plan provides a 5-year update on: water quality throughout the basin; land uses and activities that may influence water quality; and recommendations to restore and protect water quality. 

Figure.  The B. Everett Jordan Reservoir and Its Watershed

For Additional Information

During 2003 - 2004, a stakeholder group assisted the Division of Water Quality in developing Jordan Lake nutrient loading limits and a nutrient management strategy for point and nonpoint sources in the lake’s watershed.  Reports and other information considered by the group, meeting summaries, the group’s reports and related outputs are available at the following website maintained by Triangle J Council of Governments: http://www.tjcog.dst.nc.us/jorlak/jlsp.htm

The draft document describing the proposed loading limits and point source and nonpoint source management strategies is available at the following DWQ website: http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/tmdl.

You may obtain a free hard copy of this report by contacting Ms. Robin Markham at either

(919) 733-5083 ext. 558, or:

NC Division of Water Quality

1617 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC 27699-1617

The draft 2005 Cape Fear Basinwide Water Quality Plan is available at the Division’s Basinwide web page at http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/basinwide/.

Guidance for Commenting

The Division seeks your comments on any of the subjects discussed here - proposed loading limits, point source or nonpoint source strategy, or the Cape Fear Basinwide Water Quality Plan.  We invite you to provide written comment on any of the above issues by May 31, 2005. 

Please address your comments to the following individuals at the above address:

q Draft TMDL: Ms. Robin Markham

q Draft Nonpoint Source Strategy: Ms. Robin Markham

q Draft 2005 Basinwide Water Quality Plan: Mr. Cam McNutt

Proposed Point Source and Nonpoint Source Strategies

Jordan Lake Watershed

Previous Management Action: The NC Environmental Management Commission is charged with protecting and restoring water quality throughout the state.  In 1983, the Commission designated Jordan Lake and its contributing watershed Nutrient Sensitive Waters based on evidence of nutrient over-enrichment.  To reduce nutrient inputs from the watershed, the Division of Water Quality placed phosphorus limits on discharges from wastewater treatment facilities.  However, nutrient problems persisted.

In the late 1990’s, the Division determined that additional actions were needed to curb nutrient inputs to the lake.  To determine how much reduction was needed and the sources that contribute nutrients, the Division’s water monitoring data and other information about the watershed were used in computer simulation models.  Based on this modeling, the State has determined that runoff from rainfall and other sources contributes approximately two-thirds of all the nitrogen that reaches the lake.  These “nonpoint sources” contribute even more of the phosphorus reaching the lake – approximately 84% of all inputs.  Remaining inputs come from wastewater discharges, or point sources.  The modeling also showed that both nitrogen and phosphorus play roles in feeding the excessive algal growths.  Thus, both nutrients must be targeted in clean-up efforts.

Improvement Needed:  In late 2004, the Division used input from the stakeholder group described above and its modeling results to establish nutrient reduction targets for the lake and to propose point and nonpoint source management plans.  Flows enter the lake in three main areas, referred to as the Haw River Arm, the Upper New Hope Arm, and the Lower New Hope Arm.  Each arm receives different amounts of nutrients, and the magnitude of problems varies in each.  Based on the modeling and stakeholders’ input, DWQ established the following nutrient reduction goals for the three lake arms, relative to the baseline period of 1997-2001.  Management efforts in the watershed of each arm were proposed to meet that arm’s reduction targets:

Lake Arm	Nitrogen Reduction Target	Phosphorus Reduction Target
Haw	8%	5%
Upper New Hope	35%	5%
Lower New Hope	0% (no increase)	0% (no increase)

Proposed Point Source Strategy:  Municipal and industrial wastewater dischargers in the watershed of each arm will be required to reduce their nutrient loads to the lake to comply with that arm’s percentage reduction targets.  All the dischargers in an arm will be required to meet equivalent discharge concentrations for nitrogen and phosphorus, with different concentrations for large and small facilities.  In the Upper New Hope watershed, this will require using the limits of current technology.  Over time, these requirements may limit the amount of new flow that municipal wastewater dischargers can receive and still meet permit limits without seeking alternative disposal methods.

Proposed Nonpoint Source Strategy: State law requires that responsibility for achieving the nutrient reductions be spread equally among the various point and nonpoint sources in the watershed.  The stakeholders considered several scenarios for nonpoint source management before providing final recommendations. The Division adhered to stakeholder recommendations to the greatest extent possible in developing a proposed strategy for public comment. 

The proposed nonpoint source management strategy builds from concepts implemented in the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico River Basins.  The following table provides a brief overview of the proposed strategy.  To help account for progress, the reduction targets above were converted into N and P loading targets for each arm’s watershed.  The following table refers to these loading targets.

Proposed Nonpoint Source Strategy for Jordan Lake Watershed

Category	Proposed Strategy
Agriculture	New state rule.  The agricultural community would collectively meet the loading targets within 5 years using local committees in each county.  · Local committees would register farmers, estimate reduction needs, facilitate farmer activities, and account for reductions annually.  · Individual producers could comply automatically by implementing standard BMPs or they could contribute as needed to their collective local strategy. · The Division would enforce compliance.
Urban Stormwater	New state rule.  Local governments would implement several programs to address urban stormwater runoff, adopting local ordinances as needed: · Regulate new development to require runoff to meet the loading targets and reduce runoff flows. · Retrofit stormwater controls into existing developed areas toward loading targets. · Find and remove illegal discharges into the stormwater system. · Educate the public and development community about stormwater.
Trading	New state rule.  The Division would explore options for sources to trade reduction credits among each other to allow the most cost-effective attainment of targets.
Riparian Buffers	New state rules.  The Division would require protection of existing vegetation within 50-foot wide buffers along waterways.  Existing activities within buffers could continue.  New buffers would be required when land uses change.  Local governments would assist and could seek delegation of program responsibility.
Fertilizer Management	New state rule.  The Division would require that fertilizer and biosolids applicators receive training, complete and follow management plans for the lands that they fertilize, and receive continuing education.  The Cooperative Extension Service would provide training.  The Division would enforce compliance.
Wastewater Land Application	The Division would seek to strengthen its current permit requirements for the land application of wastewater.  Steps could include broader requirements to meet reclaimed water effluent standards and establishment of riparian buffers on existing operations as well as new ones.
Forestry	The Division would work with the Division of Forest Resources to explore requiring harvest notification to improve accountability by forest harvest operations.  To establish such notification, new statutory authority would likely be required.
Onsite Wastewater	The Division would work with the Division of Environmental Health to pursue strategies to reduce N and P loading from onsite wastewater systems.  Best options would vary for specific areas, and could include extending centralized sewer connections, remedying failing systems, improving maintenance, or installing alternative onsite designs.  DWQ would also work with local governments to address individual residential discharging sand filter systems.