Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 6, September 16, 2024
(a)
PURPOSE. The purpose of this Rule is to achieve and maintain the nitrogen and
phosphorus loading reduction goals for the Tar-Pamlico River Estuary set out in
Rule .0730 of this Section from an undeveloped condition on lands in the
Tar-Pamlico River Basin on which development occurs. Nothing in this Rule
preempts local governments from implementing requirements that are more
restrictive than those set forth in this Rule.
(b) APPLICABILITY. The following local
governments shall implement the stormwater management requirements of this
Rule, except as noted in Subparagraph (c)(1) of this Rule where the Department
shall implement them. Municipalities shall implement this Rule throughout their
corporate limits and extraterritorial jurisdictions within the basin, while
counties shall implement throughout their territorial jurisdictions within the
basin. Counties named in this Paragraph may implement this Rule within
municipalities not named in accordance with
G.S.
160A-360(d).
(1) Local governments designated under this
Rule effective April 2001:
(A)
Greenville;
(B)
Henderson;
(C) Oxford;
(D) Rocky Mount;
(E) Tarboro;
(F) Washington;
(G) Beaufort County;
(H) Edgecombe County;
(I) Franklin County;
(J) Nash County; and
(K) Pitt County.
(2) As of the effective date of this
readoption, Wilson County.
(c) LOCAL PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION
REQUIREMENTS. All local governments subject to this Rule shall implement
stormwater management programs approved by the Commission following the
timeframes set out in Paragraph (f) of this Rule, or any subsequent
modification to those plans approved by the Director, according to the
following requirements and the standards contained in Paragraph (d) of this
Rule:
(1) The requirement for local government
approval of a stormwater plan for all proposed development projects not
excluded under Paragraph (d) of this Rule. To the extent permitted by federal
law, including 33 USC
26, and where pursuant to
G.S.
153A-454 and
G.S.
160A-459 a local government program does not
review a development project proposed by a State or federal entity for the
requirements of this Rule, the entity shall obtain Department review and
approval.
(2) A plan to ensure
maintenance of SCMs implemented to comply with this Rule for the life of the
development;
(3) A plan to ensure
enforcement and compliance with the provisions in Paragraph (e) of this Rule
for the life of the development;
(4) A public education program to inform
citizens how to reduce nutrient pollution and to inform developers about the
nutrient requirements set forth in Paragraph (e) of this Rule;
(5) A mapping program that includes major
components of the municipal separate storm sewer system, waters of the State,
land use types, and location of sanitary sewers; and
(6) A program to identify and remove illegal
discharges.
(d)
DEVELOPMENT EXCLUDED. The following development activities shall not be subject
to this Rule:
(1) Projects disturbing less
than:
(A) one acre for single family and
duplex residential property and recreational facilities; and
(B) one-half acre for commercial, industrial,
institutional, multifamily residential, or local government land uses with the
following exception: Projects below one-half acre that would replace or expand
existing structures on a parcel, resulting in a cumulative built-upon area for
the parcel exceeding twenty-four percent, shall be subject to Paragraph (e) of
this Rule;
(2)
Development of an individual single-family or duplex residential lot that:
(A) Is not part of a larger common plan of
development or sale as in
15A NCAC
02H .1002; and
(B) Does not result in greater than five
percent built upon area on the lot;
(3) Existing development as defined in rule
15A NCAC
02H .1002;
(4) Redevelopment as defined in
G.S.
143-214.7(a1)(2);
and
(5) Activities subject to
requirements of the Tar-Pamlico Agriculture rule,
15A NCAC
02B .0732.
(e) DEVELOPMENT PROJECT REQUIREMENTS. A
proposed development project not excluded under Paragraph (d) of this Rule
shall be approved by a subject local government for the purpose of this Rule
when the applicable requirements of Paragraph (c) of this Rule and the
following criteria are met:
(1) The project,
as defined in
15A NCAC
02H .1002, shall meet either a nitrogen
loading rate target of 4.0 pounds/acre/year and a phosphorus loading rate
target of 0.8 pounds/acre/year, or "runoff volume match" as defined in that
Rule. Proposed development projects that would replace or expand existing
structures and result in a net increase in built-upon area shall meet one of
these options for the project less any existing built-upon area.
(2) Regarding stormwater treatment and other
onsite post-construction elements, projects not subject to more stringent
standards under one of the following State stormwater rules or a local
ordinance shall meet
15A NCAC
02H .1003, which includes specifications for
low- and high-density designs, vegetated setbacks, and stormwater outlets for
all projects. Such projects shall use a high-density treatment threshold of 24
percent or greater built-upon area and a storm depth of one inch for SCM
design:
(A) Water Supply Watershed Protection
rules, 15A NCAC 02B .0620 through
02B .0624;
(B) Coastal Counties stormwater rule
15A NCAC
02H .1019; or
(C) Non-Coastal County HWQs and ORWs rule
15A NCAC
02H .1021.
(3) The following are exceptions to the
onsite requirements of Subparagraph (2) of this Paragraph:
(A) Proposed development projects may utilize
an offsite SCM that is dedicated to treating an area encompassing the project,
provided the SCM is designed to meet all applicable requirements identified in
Subparagraph (2) of this Paragraph; and
(B) Proposed development undertaken by a
local government solely as a public road expansion or public sidewalk project,
or proposed development subject to the jurisdiction of the Surface
Transportation Board, may meet the loading rate target of this Paragraph
entirely through use of permanent nutrient offset credit pursuant to Rule .0703
of this Section.
(4)
Where in satisfying the onsite requirements of Subparagraph (2) of this
Paragraph, a project does not meet the loading rate target of this Paragraph,
it may do so through use of permanent nutrient offset credit pursuant to Rule
.0703 of this Section. Persons doing so shall provide proof of credit
acquisition to the permitting authority prior to approval of the development
plan.
(5) Untreated nutrient
loading rates from the project area shall be determined through the use of the
tool most recently approved by the Division to have met the following criteria,
or through an alternative method that meets or exceeds the following criteria,
as determined by the Division:
(A) Provides
site-scale estimates of annual precipitation-driven total nitrogen and total
phosphorus load;
(B) From all land
cover types on a project site at build-out;
(C) Based on land-cover-specific nitrogen and
phosphorus loading coefficients and annual runoff volume; and
(D) Is supported by the weight of evidence
from available, current, and applicable research.
(6) Nutrient loading rate reductions
resulting from the use of SCMs shall be determined through the use of the tool
most recently approved by the Division to have met the following criteria, or
through an alternative method that meets or exceeds the following criteria, as
determined by the Division:
(A) Provides
project site loading reduction estimates from the installation of
DEMLR-approved SCMs;
(B) Reductions
apply to the portion of the project's runoff volume that is directed to the
SCMs;
(C) The method partitions the
runoff volume processed by the SCM among hydrologic fates and assigns nutrient
concentrations to each of those fates; and
(D) The method is supported by the weight of
evidence from available, current, and applicable research.
(7) Proposed development projects shall
demonstrate compliance with the riparian buffer protection requirements set
forth in 15A NCAC 02B .0259.
(f) RULE IMPLEMENTATION
(1) Within eight months of the effective date
of this Rule, the Division shall submit a model local stormwater program
embodying the elements in Paragraphs (c) through (e) of this Rule to the
Commission for approval. The Division shall work with subject local governments
in developing this model program.
(2) Local governments designated pursuant to
Subparagraph (b)(1) of this Rule and additional local governments designated
pursuant to Subparagraph (b)(2) of this Rule shall submit a local stormwater
program for approval by the Commission within six months and 12 months,
respectively, of the Commission's approval of the model local program. These
local programs shall meet or exceed the requirements in Paragraphs (c) through
(e) of this Rule.
(3) The Division
shall provide recommendations to the Commission regarding proposed local
programs. The Commission shall approve programs or require changes based on the
standards set out in Paragraphs (c) through (e) of this Rule. Should the
Commission require changes, the applicable local government shall have three
months to submit revisions, and the Division shall provide follow-up
recommendations to the Commission within two months after receiving
revisions.
(4) Within six months
after the Commission's approval of a local program, the local government shall
complete adoption of and implement its local stormwater program.
(5) Local governments administering a
stormwater program shall submit annual reports in electronic format to the
Division documenting their progress regarding each implementation requirement
in Paragraph (c) of this Rule and net changes to nitrogen load by October
30th of each year. Annual reports shall also include
as appendices all data utilized by nutrient calculation tools for each
development stormwater plan approved in accordance with this Rule.
(6) Any significant modifications to a local
government's program shall be submitted to the Director for approval.
(g) COMPLIANCE. A local
government's authority to approve development stormwater plans for compliance
with this Rule pursuant to Paragraph (e) of this Rule shall be contingent upon
maintaining its own compliance with this Rule. A local government that fails to
submit an acceptable local stormwater program within the timeframe established
in this Rule, fails to implement an approved program, or fails to comply with
annual reporting requirements shall be in violation of this Rule.
Authority
G.S.
143-214.1;
143-214.7;
143-214.26;
143-215.1;
143-215.3(a)(1);
143-215.6A;
143-215.6B;
143-215.6C; 143B -282(d);
143-215.8B; S.L. 1997-458; S.L. 2006-246;
Eff. April 1,
2001;
Recodified from
15A NCAC
02B .0258 Eff. April 1, 2020;
Readopted April 1, 2020.
