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Piedmont Nutrient Reduction Sourcebook

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Piedmont Nutrient Reduction Sourcebook Piedmont Nutrient Reduction Sourcebook Piedmont Nutrient Reduction Sourcebook Strategies for Reducing and Managing Nutrients 2011 to Waters of the North Carolina Piedmont Piedmont Triad and Triangle J Council of Governments Piedmont Nutrient Reduction Sourcebook This page intentionally left blank to facilitate double‐sided printing. Piedmont Nutrient Reduction Sourcebook Piedmont Nutrient Reduction Sourcebook Strategies for Reducing and Managing Nutrients to Waters of the North Carolina Piedmont EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Piedmont Nutrient Reduction Sourcebook is a resource tool developed through partnership between the Piedmont Triad and Triangle J Councils of Governments (PTCOG & TJCOG, respectively). This book was created with the support of a federal 205(j) grant distributed by the NC Division of Water Quality (DWQ), and aims to provide a set of strategies for reducing and managing nutrients to waters of the North Carolina Piedmont. In recent years, managing nutrients for water quality and maintaining designated uses for waterbodies has become a critical issue both throughout the country, and in North Carolina. In the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) 2000 National Water Quality Inventory, 39 percent of assessed river and stream miles, 46 percent of assessed lake acres, and 51 percent of assessed estuarine square miles did not meet water quality standards in the US. As such, the USEPA has been giving greater attention to non-point source pollution, and in North Carolina, knowledge and technology for addressing all forms of non-point source pollution are being applied due to a combination of greater environmental awareness and federal and state regulations. The following Sourcebook aims to summarize the tools and regulations that exist in North Carolina to address non- point source nutrient pollution. The PTCOG and TJCOG service areas cover the Piedmont region, and many jurisdictions in these watersheds are governed by legislation designed to address and reduce nutrient inputs to the watershed from both existing and future developments. Regulations such as the Jordan Lake Rules and Falls Lake Rules recognize water quality conditions as a public priority, and aim to restore and protect water quality conditions so that they are safe, reliable resources for drinking and recreation far into the future. These regulations require local governments and water users to evaluate current policies and reassess how land use and development is considered and planned for in North Carolina. The result of these changes is already being seen in the Jordan Lake, Falls Lake and High Rock Lake watersheds, and may soon be extended to additional rivers and streams in the state’s seventeen river basins. The tools needed to successfully comply with these new nutrient management strategies are new to many local governments, who must balance environmental needs with the many other pressing issues in their communities. Furthermore, the soils, geology, and historical land use of the Appalachian piedmont presents many challenges unique to the region that have not been obstacles in other areas where effective nutrient reduction strategies have been implemented (i.e. the Great Lakes basin). i Piedmont Nutrient Reduction Sourcebook This Sourcebook and its corresponding website are designed to provide local governments with background on nutrient reduction strategies that have proven successful, and how to most cost- effectively apply them at the local scale. These strategies are not all required by the State or the USEPA (though some of them are), but they are programs, policies, practices, and partnerships all known to reduce nutrient inputs to Piedmont streams, rivers, and lakes. ii Piedmont Nutrient Reduction Sourcebook TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... I TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................ III HOW TO USE THIS SOURCEBOOK ...................................................................................................... 1 Using the Website ......................................................................................................................... 2 GLOSSARY ......................................................................................................................................... 4 BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................................. 9 NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT IN NORTH CAROLINA ............................................................................. 10 Regulatory Drivers for Managing Nutrients for Water Quality ...................................................... 10 Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) ............................................................................................... 10 Nutrient Management Strategies ..................................................................................................... 11 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) .............................................................. 11 Nutrient Management in Jordan Lake .............................................................................................. 13 Falls Lake Nutrient Management Strategy (Falls Lake Rules) ........................................................... 14 High Rock Lake Special Study ............................................................................................................ 15 Buffer Rules in North Carolina .......................................................................................................... 16 Nutrient Scientific Advisory Board .................................................................................................... 17 STRATEGIES FOR NUTRIENT REDUCTION ......................................................................................... 19 1) New Construction and Development ....................................................................................... 20 Policies .............................................................................................................................................. 21 Practices ............................................................................................................................................ 21 Programs ........................................................................................................................................... 22 Partnerships ...................................................................................................................................... 23 Contacts ............................................................................................................................................ 23 Links................................................................................................................................................... 24 Publications ....................................................................................................................................... 24 2) Enhanced Construction Site Inspections and Enforcement ....................................................... 25 Policies .............................................................................................................................................. 25 Programs and Practices ..................................................................................................................... 27 Contacts ............................................................................................................................................ 29 Links................................................................................................................................................... 29 Publications ....................................................................................................................................... 29 3) Best Management Practices (BMP) Maintenance Program ....................................................... 30 Policies .............................................................................................................................................. 30 Practices ............................................................................................................................................ 31 Programs ........................................................................................................................................... 32 Partnerships ...................................................................................................................................... 32 Contacts ............................................................................................................................................ 33 Links................................................................................................................................................... 33 Publications ....................................................................................................................................... 33 4) Agricultural BMPs .................................................................................................................... 35 Policies .............................................................................................................................................
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