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N.C. Environmental Management Commission to meet Jan. 9-10 in Raleigh
Story Date: 1/9/2013
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Source: NCDENR, 1/8/13
The N.C. Environmental Management Commission will meet Thursday to discuss rule changes aimed at better protecting water quality in North Carolina, hear an update on the North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission and discuss several other environmental topics.
The full EMC meets at 9 a.m. Thursday in the Ground Floor Hearing Room of the Archdale Building, 512 North Salisbury St., Raleigh. Several committee meetings will be held on Wednesday at the same location. The agenda and meeting times for the committees and the full commission can be found on the EMC website at: http://portal..ncdenr.org/web/emc/agenda/2013/home.
During the full commission meeting Thursday, the EMC will consider requests from the Division of Water Quality:
· For the reclassification of Maiden Creek and Allen Creek in Catawba and Lincoln counties. The town of Maiden has requested that the streams be reclassified in order to acknowledge that the streams are no longer being used as a source of drinking water.
· To proceed to public notice for revisions in the Jordan Lake Nutrient Strategy and its fiscal analysis. Both are needed to incorporate changes required by laws passed by the N.C. General Assembly in 2009, 2011 and 2012.
· For approval of the methods used to determine streams listed on the 2014 list of impaired waters. Every two years, the Environmental Protection Agency requires that states list waters as impaired when they fail to meet state water quality standards. States are also required to develop a plan to manage the pollutants causing the impairment so that standards can be achieved. In November 2012, the EMC decided to approve future 303(d) listing methodologies, beginning with the 2014 cycle. Last fall, the Division of Water Quality accepted public comments on the methodology used to list impaired waters and received comments from 10 organizations. Staff will summarize comments and proposed revisions to the methodology.
Also Thursday, Tracy Davis, the director of the N.C. Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources, will provide the commission with an update on the North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission. The commission is responsible for developing a modern regulatory program to manage oil and gas exploration and development activities in North Carolina, including the use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Staff with the Division of Water Quality will discuss the water quality rulemaking process related to oil and gas exploration.
The Environmental Management Commission is a 19-member commission responsible for adopting rules for the protection, preservation and enhancement of the state's air and water resources. The commission oversees and adopts rules for several divisions of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
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