A package of compromise coastal storm water rules is headed to the desk of North Carolina Governor Mike Easley, as the state House has passed them. The state Senate has already passed the measure, and the governor is expected to sign it.

The new legislation will replace rules adopted earlier this year by the state Environmental Management Commission (EMC) and designed to control pollution caused by runoff. The previous rules would have taken effect on Aug. 1.

The new measure will apply to 20 counties along the North Carolina coast. It will make pockets of low-density development acceptable without triggering provisions of the rules. Developers will be allowed to create an additional 10,000 ft of impervious surface (i.e., roofs or parking lots) before the rules take effect.

Developers have to contain a smaller amount of runoff than the EMC rules called for. The original rules required developers to control runoff resulting from 3.5 in. of rain in residential developments. Now they will be required to control only the first 1.5 in. of rain.

Some exemptions from buffer requirements will be allowed under the compromise rules. The newly approved rules allow for exclusions of projects that have already received state and local permits. Existing homes and businesses could also be replaced without having to comply with the new rules. The EMC rules did not permit these exclusions.

The new measure retains the commission's original proposal that developers who have an impervious surface exceeding 12 percent of the property must install runoff controls (i.e., cisterns, ponds, and rain gardens) and rainwater collection.

If signed by the governor, the newly passed compromise rules will take effect on Oct. 1.

Source: Environment News Service