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Sept. 9 public hearing scheduled on water transfer permit in southeastern N.C.
Story Date: 9/4/2013
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Source: NCDENR, 9/3/13
A state commission will host a public hearing in Leland next week on a water transfer permit the Brunswick County Public Utilities is seeking.
The Environmental Management Commission, or EMC, will receive comments on the water transfer certificate at the 7 p.m. Sept. 9 meeting at the Leland Town Hall, 102 Town Hall Drive. Registration will begin at 6:30 p.m. The EMC regulates transfers of large amounts of water between river basins in North Carolina, as part of its responsibility to make rules that protect the environment.
Brunswick County Public Utilities is seeking a permit to transfer a maximum18.3 million gallons of water a day from the Cape Fear River basin to the Shallotte and Waccamaw River basins. The county has a grandfathered transfer capacity of 10.5 million gallons of water a day. The requested increase is based on a 30-year water demand projection through the year 2042.
The utility provides drinking water to more than 34,000 retail customers and 11 wholesale customers through its two water treatment plants. Wastewater in the county is handled through individual onsite septic systems, clustered and centralized land application, reuse and surface water discharging systems. The treatment, service and disposal of water creates an interbasin transfer from the Cape Fear River basin to the Shallotte and Waccamaw River basins, which are subbasins of the Lumber River basin.
The Brunswick County Public Utilities anticipates minimal or no impact to water quality and no impacts to existing and projected withdrawals in the basin, based on the results of an environmental assessment. The assessment accounted for existing and expected withdrawals from the Cape Fear River and discharges from the river. Based on its review of the environmental assessment, the N.C. Division of Water Resources concluded that the interbasin transfer would have no significant impact on the affected river basins.
The public can see the Brunswick County Public Utilities draft petition and supporting environmental documents at www.ncwater.org/Permits_and_Registration/Interbasin_Transfer/status/brunswick/. The documents may also be viewed at the hearing or during normal business hours at the Raleigh offices of the N.C. Division of Water Resources in Room 1106 of the Archdale Building, 512 North Salisbury St.
The purpose of this announcement is to encourage interested parties to attend the public hearing and to provide relevant written and verbal comments. Division staff requests that parties submit written copies of oral comments. Based on the number of people who wish to speak, the length of oral presentations may be limited.
People who are unable to attend can mail written comments to Harold Brady, Division of Water Resources, 1611 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1611. Comments may also be submitted electronically to harold.m.brady@ncdenr.gov. All comments must be postmarked or emailed by Oct. 8.
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