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Con/Kan IBT Update 71-ERC Meetings on Water Allocation StudyHi all,
Just a quick note to follow up on one of the items that we included in the new NC IBT law that our NC legislators overhauled this year:
Per our wishes, the state of NC is moving forward with a comprehensive study of water resources. As part of the study process, General Assembly staff members are conducting public hearings across the state. The Charlotte hearing will be on December 20, 2007 at 5:00 pm.
The issue of interbasin transfers and the state’s drought response will be discussed as well as many additional items related to ensuring we have enough water in our rivers and lakes for the future. Pasted below and attached are the potential issues to be discussed at the hearings.
Also pasted below and attached is the public notice about the hearings with times, dates and locations. Since the citizens of the Catawba River basin were the instigators of this whole water supply initiative and since we have so much experience now with record setting low water levels in our river and lakes, I hope you will make every effort to participate in these public hearings.
For those of you who cannot attend the Charlotte or Asheville hearings, comments may be submitted in writing. See below and attached for the mailing address. Please forward this email. If you attend the hearings, I hope you will take a moment to thank our General Assembly staff and our own Catawba Basin legislators for making this an open and transparent process. We appreciate the fact that the legislative staff is seeking public input so early in the process. I imagine several of our legislators will come to the hearings to keep an eye on the process, since this is something our Catawba river basin citizens, legislators, lake/river organizations and local governments initiated and pushed hard to get. We like it when our government includes us in decisions about our water!
I hope to see you at the Charlotte hearing on December 20. Your input into the development of new state laws and policies is critical. I suspect that Concord and Kannapolis will participate and they will probably say the law should be changed to make IBT’s easier and allow more of them in the future. Since these hearings are going to be held all over the state, we have to work hard to make sure our perspective is heard loudly and clearly!
Donna Lisenby
Catawba Riverkeeper
Potential Issues for Water Allocation Study
Interbasin Transfers
• How difficult should it be to get permission to move water from one river basin to another? What should the process be?
Water Supply and Allocation Policy Generally
• Is the State making full and efficient use of its water supply? Should more be done with the reclaiming and reuse of water? Are there other ways in which supply could be created or demand reduced?
• What role should the State play, if any, in future water allocation decisions?
• How aggressive should the State be in requiring or incentivizing water suppliers to connect to each other so that water can be shared in times of shortages?
• Is additional information needed to guide public and private water use decisions?
• Does the price of drinking water, stormwater and wastewater services in your area adequately cover the costs of providing those services? Should it cover those costs? Should the State play a larger role in encouraging public and private utilities to set adequate rate structures? Conservation rate structures?
• The legislature has created the State Water Infrastructure Commission (SWIC) to study and make recommendations on the state's water and wastewater infrastructure needs. What should SWIC focus on?
Allocation of Limited Supplies
• In areas of the State where water supplies are limited or declining, how should the State allocate water among users?
• Is the capacity use area program a good model to use to allocate water in other regions of the State when water supplies become limited?
Local and State Water Supply Planning
• Should all users of water over a certain threshold (such as 25,000 gallons per day) be required to register their use with the State? Should all major users be required to report their use to the Division of Water Resources in DENR more frequently, such as monthly? Required to post on a web site?
• Are the local water supply plans useful in helping understand where water resource problems are likely to occur? Is the State water supply plan useful? How could the planning process be improved?
• Would a statewide study of water efficiency opportunities be useful?
• Would a statewide study of regional water, wastewater and stormwater opportunities be useful?
Drought Response
• How well has State government responded to the current drought? Local governments? Citizens? Industrial users? Commercial users? Agriculture?
• Should State and/or local government have greater power to limit the use of water, including private wells in times of water shortage? If so, what should that power be?
TO: Interested Parties – Water Allocation Study
FROM: George F. Givens, Commission Counsel
Jessica K. Bennett, Commission Clerk
RE: Notice of Public Meetings on the Water Allocation Study
PUBLIC MEETING:
The Commission Counsel of the Environmental Review Commission (ERC) will hold public meetings from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on the dates and at the locations listed in the schedule below. The purpose of these meetings is to receive public comment on behalf of the ERC on the study of the allocation of water resources in the State. Additional information about these meetings is set out in other sections of this notice.
SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS:
Below is the schedule of public meetings on the Water Allocation Study. This schedule may be modified in the event that it becomes necessary to cancel a scheduled meeting due to hazardous weather conditions.
Public Meeting Location
Thursday 20 December 2007
4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Room 280*, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center
600 East 4th Street
Charlotte, North Carolina 28202
* Meeting will move to Room 267 after 5:00 p.m. if additional space is required
Friday 4 January 2008
4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Room 153, Fulford Building
Pitt County Community College
1986 Pitt Tech Road
Winterville, North Carolina 28590
Wednesday 9 January 2008
4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Lecture Room, Simpson Administration Building
Asheville Buncombe Technical Community College
340 Victoria Road
Asheville, North Carolina 28801
Wednesday 23 January 2008
4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Room 544, Legislative Office Building
North Carolina General Assembly
300 North Salisbury Street
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603
Thursday 24 January 2008
4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. New Hanover County Public Library
201 Chestnut Street
Wilmington, North Carolina 28401
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Environmental Review Commission (ERC) is an entity of the General Assembly of North Carolina. The ERC is established by G.S. 120.70-41 et seq. to serve as the principal legislative entity responsible for legislative oversight and study of matters related to protection of the environment and conservation of natural resources. (Note that the ERC is a separate entity from the Environmental Management Commission (EMC), which is an executive branch agency within the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) responsible for implementation of various environmental laws.)
Section 1.(a) of S.L. 2007-518 (H.B. 820), which was enacted by the 2007 Regular Session of the General Assembly directs the ERC, with the assistance of DENR, to study the allocation of water resources and their availability and maintenance in the State. The ERC intends to enter into a contract with the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for significant portions of the study. In its work on the study, the School of Government may subcontract with other academic institutions. Other portions of the study will be conducted by DENR or directly by the ERC. Overall responsibility for the study will remain with the ERC.
The ERC is holding this series of initial meetings to receive comment on the scope, direction, and conduct of the study. These meetings will also provide an opportunity for professional staff of the School of Government to receive information from interested parties on the subject matter of the study. The ERC intends to provide additional opportunity for public comment on the draft findings and recommendations of the study as it progresses.
MEETING PROCEDURES:
All persons interested in the Water Allocation Study are invited to attend any of the public meetings. The conduct of these public meetings will be determined by the Commission Counsel based on the attendance at each meeting and other factors. To the extent possible, the meetings will be informal so as to promote dialogue among attendees. The Commission Counsel may however determine that attendees who wish to be heard must make oral statements within a specified period of time and in a specified order. Any person who desires to comment is requested, but is not required, to submit a written statement for inclusion in the record of the public meetings. Written statements should be on standard size (8½" x 11") paper with sufficient margins for binding. The record of proceedings will remain open until 1 February 2008. To be included in the record, a written statement must be received by the ERC by 1 February 2008.
Written statements should be sent to:
Jessica K. Bennett, Commission Clerk or email to: erc@ncleg.net
334 Legislative Office Building
300 North Salisbury Street
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603
ATTACHMENTS (2):
Authorizing legislation for the Water Allocation Study – Section 1.(a). of S.L. 2007-518 (H.B. 820)
Potential issues for consideration during the Water Allocation Study
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Persons who have questions about the public meetings, the Water Allocation Study, or other matters related to the ERC, may contact the Commission Counsel or other Commission staff at (919) 733-2578 or by email at erc@ncleg.net.
Donna Marie Lisenby
Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation, Inc.
421 Minuet Lane, Suite #205
Charlotte, NC 28217
704-679-9494
Become a member today by visting us on the web at www.catawbariverkeeper.org
Member of Waterkeeper Alliance, Inc.
2007-12-09 16:35:14
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