A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROTECT AND RESTORE WATER QUALITY AND QUANTITY IN THE UPPER NEUSE RIVER BASIN, FALLS LAKE, AND OTHER DRINKING WATER SUPPLY RESERVOIRS BY DIRECTING THE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION TO PROVIDE CREDIT TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, LANDOWNERS, AND OTHERS WHO REDUCE WATER POLLUTION IN THE UPPER NEUSE RIVER BASIN BEFORE PERMANENT RULES ARE ADOPTED.
Whereas, that portion of the Neuse River Basin that is upstream of the Falls Dam and that includes Falls Lake is often referred to as the Upper Neuse River Basin; and
Whereas, the nine drinking water supply reservoirs in the Upper Neuse River Basin provide water for drinking, sanitation, food processing, cooling, industrial processing, and other essential uses for the citizens of Orange, Person, Durham, Granville, and Wake Counties; and
Whereas, the General Assembly enacted S.L. 1997‑458, the Clean Water Responsibility and Environmentally Sound Policy Act, to protect and restore the waters of the State in 1997; and
Whereas, the General Assembly enacted S.L. 2005‑190, the Clean Lakes Act, to protect and restore the drinking water supply reservoirs of the State in 2005; and
Whereas, the North Carolina Division of Water Quality in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources listed Falls Lake in the Upper Neuse River Basin as impaired waters in 2008, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also classifies Falls Lake as impaired waters due to nutrients and turbidity; and
Whereas, the quality and quantity of the water in the nine drinking water supply reservoirs in the Upper Neuse River Basin are essential to public health, environmental quality, and the economic vitality of the region; and
Whereas, the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission may not develop a nutrient management strategy and rules to implement the nutrient management strategy for the Upper Neuse River Basin by July 1, 2009, as required by law; and
Whereas, delayed development of a nutrient management strategy and rules to implement the nutrient management strategy threatens the quality and quantity of drinking water supply reservoirs in the Upper Neuse River Basin; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  Definition. – For purposes of this section, the term "Upper Neuse River Basin" is that portion of the Neuse River Basin upstream of the Falls Dam, including Falls Lake.
SECTION 1.(b)  Credit for Early Adoption. – The Environmental Management Commission shall encourage local governments, landowners, and others to develop, adopt, and implement policies and practices to reduce the runoff and discharge of nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment, and other pollutants into the surface waters and drinking water supply reservoirs in the Upper Neuse River Basin before it adopts permanent rules to implement the nutrient management strategy and the turbidity strategy for Upper Falls Lake.  The Environmental Management Commission shall, in its permanent rules, provide credit for the early implementation of the nutrient management strategy for the Upper Neuse River Basin and the turbidity strategy for Falls Lake to local governments, landowners, and others who implement policies and practices after January 1, 2007, to reduce runoff and discharge of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment in the Upper Neuse River Basin.
SECTION 2.  Reports. – The Environmental Management Commission shall report its progress in implementing this act to the Environmental Review Commission as part of each quarterly report it makes pursuant to G.S. 143B‑282(b).
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.