Secondary and Cumulative Impacts Master Management Plan - 2014

APPENDIX B – WAKE COUNTY PROGRAMS TO MITIGATE SECONDARY AND CUMULATIVE IMPACTS

Nitrogen and phosphorus limits have been set, with a nitrogen export limit of 2.2 pounds per acre per year (lbs/acre/year) in the Neuse River (Falls Lake) area and 2.2 and 4.4 lbs/acre/year for the Upper and Lower New Hope Creek watersheds respectively of the Jordan Lake watershed. Phosphorus exports limits are 0.33 lb/acre/year in the Neuse River watershed and 0.82 and 0.78 lb/acre/year in the Upper and Lower New Hope Creek watersheds. Stormwater Management Task Force In 2004, the County established a stormwater management task force as part of an inter- local agreement to evaluate, develop, and possibly implement a county-wide collaborative stormwater management program. The Wake County Collective Stormwater Management Evaluation was completed in August 2005 and focused on defining the need for a new, more coordinated approach to county-wide stormwater management. It included a facilitated focus group composed of staff-level representatives from the County and each of the 12 municipalities. Individual needs assessments were performed for each jurisdiction for existing and future stormwater management programs. The assessments identified the existing levels of service provided in the three major stormwater program areas: operations and maintenance, program management, and capital improvements. The evaluation focused on water quality protection and flood prevention through stormwater management and compliance with regulatory mandates, and identified how these programs should respond to future growth. Deficiencies identified in the current levels of service include:  Lack of adequate staffing and program funding exists to enforce current policies.  Operation and maintenance of drainage systems is mostly reactive.  Planning for stormwater impacts resulting from future growth has yet to be considered in many cases.  Unfunded federal mandates, such as NPDES Phase II stormwater regulations, will further strain local organizational resources used to manage stormwater.  Rapid and inevitable growth should be considered when projecting future expenditures for stormwater management because the same service must be provided over a larger and more developed area. The Wake County Collective Stormwater Management Evaluation report recommended the creation of a representative residents’ Task Force. The County and 12 municipalities appointed a 20-member Task Force, which met from February 2006 through August 2007 and was charged with the following activities:  Review and assess current and future required stormwater levels of service.  Identify citizen expectations for stormwater levels of service.  Develop recommendations for a county-wide collaborative stormwater program.  Develop program funding recommendations, where appropriate.  Develop an implementation plan.

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