Effective July 15, 2012, Person County will enforce the first component of the Falls Rules, the new development regulations, which are intended to improve water quality in Falls Lake. The EPA and State have identified Falls Lake as being an impaired water body (Clean Water Act Section 303(d) list), as a result of nutrients being deposited by runoff (nutrient loading). This runoff comes from the entire Falls Lake watershed, which includes much of Granville and Person Counties. As with other areas around the state and country facing water quality concerns, it has become the responsibility of those jurisdictions contributing to nutrient loading to limit their negative environmental impacts. The Falls Rules impact Durham County, Franklin County, Granville County, Orange County, Person County, Wake County, Butner, Creedmoor, the City of Durham, Hillsborough, Raleigh, Roxboro, Stem, and Wake Forest.
Instead of waiting on the federal government to impose one-size-fits-all clean up requirements upon the areas that drain to the lake, Falls Watershed jurisdictions, stakeholders, and state regulators worked together to formulate an adaptive management strategy. The jurisdictions have been working with one another and the state for the last five years to negotiate the most favorable rules possible, which became effective on January 15, 2011. The rules affect new and existing development, agriculture, and wastewater treatment throughout the watershed.
Since all five jurisdictions are facing similar stormwater management considerations, Person County, Granville County, Butner, Creedmoor, and Stem have joined together to form a stormwater utility. The benefits of this cooperation are far-reaching. First and foremost, each jurisdiction will achieve cost savings through sharing staff, technology, and equipment with one another. Furthermore, the support network for stormwater infrastructure will be improved so service provision and customer relations can be managed more efficiently. As stormwater is by nature a regional concern, the cooperative effort makes sense as the best way to approach management.
Unlike neighboring jurisdictions impacted by the Falls Lake Rules, the Person County Board of Commissioners decided not to impose stormwater fees on residents at this time. Instead, Person County will allocate funds to cover the cost of stormwater management. The cost of stormwater management takes into account property features that contribute to stormwater runoff. One such feature is the total land area. Another is hard surfaces such as rooftops and driveways (known as impervious area) within the property. Finally, there are costs associated with the administration of services that are unrelated to the magnitude of property or hard surface area.
Collaboration between jurisdictions will help each jurisdiction continue to provide excellent stormwater services that improve the quality of life for its residents and ensure compliance with regulations imposed upon the jurisdictions.
The Falls Watershed Stormwater Ordinance for New Development requires that anyone undertaking any new residential development disturbing greater than ½ acre or any commercial development disturbing 12,000 sq. ft. or greater to obtain a stormwater permit. In order to receive a permit, developers must submit a storm water application that describes how post-development stormwater runoff will be controlled and managed. Person County has developed step-by-step process guides for residential and commercial/industrial projects that illustrate the changes in the permitting process.
Costs associated with the changes depend on the amount of disturbed area. Only a qualified individual, such as an engineer or surveyor, can provide a cost estimate for a specific property.
Person County will hold public education sessions for citizens to learn about the ordinance and ask questions. The meetings will be held at the location, date and time noted below:
Thursday, July 12, 10am-11am
FEMA room
355 South Madison Boulevard, Roxboro, NC 27573
Tuesday, July 17, 5:30pm-6:30pm
FEMA room
355 South Madison Boulevard, Roxboro, NC 27573
For more information, contact Paula Murphy, Planning Director, at (336) 597-1750 or pmurphy@personcounty.net.
