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NCACC President: Redouble water conservation efforts As the worst drought in the state’s recorded history stretched into mid-November, NCACC President David Young issued a call for county governments to further their water conservation efforts and encourage their citizens to take additional steps to clamp down on water usage.
During a meeting of the NCACC’s Environment Steering Committee on Nov. 8, Senior Associate General Counsel Paul Meyer said that 15 of the 50 counties that operate water systems have imposed mandatory restrictions, while 12 others have requested voluntary cutbacks. The remaining 23 have taken no formal steps to limit water consumption. “Counties and citizens have come so far already,” Young said, “but we still have so far to go. The drought isn’t going to end anytime soon, and the influx of new citizens to our state is only going to further strain our precious water resources. “There are a lot of good tips on water conservation on the state government Web site. Take them to heart. When you open the spigot at your home or place of business, keep the dire state of our water supplies in mind, and limit your use as much as possible.” Of the 628 water systems tracked by the state’s Division of Water Resources, 173 – representing more than 56 percent of the population on public water – had implemented mandatory conservation restrictions. Voluntary conservation restrictions had been set in 159 systems, representing almost 23 percent of the population, and a little less than half (296) of all systems still had not placed restrictions on water usage as of mid-November. According to Meyer, the state has no authority over public water supply systems but is looking for interim authority to control local usage. He cautioned that a possible legislative push for state regulation will be a hot-button issue. In many counties, Meyer added, it’s not just a matter of people spending less time in the shower or foregoing a car wash. Counties in which livestock is an integral part of the local economy depend on an abundance of water to keep farms in operation. Restrictions can be devastating. Public water system users aren’t the only ones who need to practice conservation habits, steering committee members pointed out. Many well water users have been watering their lawns and washing their automobiles as usual, unaware that the aquifer their wells are drawing water from are the same aquifers that local water systems draw water from. “The groundwater is not getting recharged if it’s not raining,” said committee Co-Chair Jimmy Clayton of Person County. “People just don’t get it.” As of Nov. 13, 28 counties were in an exceptional drought, 31 were in an extreme drought, 36 were in a severe drought, and five were in a moderate drought. In mid-October, Gov. Mike Easley challenged North Carolinians to cut their water use by as much as 50 percent by Halloween. Early indications, based on an analysis of information from the 25 largest systems in the state, revealed an average drop in daily water use of nearly 30 percent from the month of August compared to the last week of October. For more information on the drought:
‘Come and get it!’ Scott Mouw and Elizabeth Self with the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources provided an overview of the electronic recycling laws included in S1492, the Solid Waste Management Act of 2007. As the law currently reads, beginning in 2009, computer manufacturers that sell their products in North Carolina must provide the department with a plan for reuse or recycling of discarded equipment. And beginning in 2012, a ban on disposing computers in landfills and transfer stations takes effect. Counties have the option of participating in a computer collection program, under which counties would provide a “central location” to collect discarded computer equipment and manufacturers would be obligated to pick up discarded equipment at no charge. Mouw said seven states currently have such “producer responsibility” laws in place and that more than a dozen N.C. counties currently run electronics recycling programs. Mouw added that this program is not popular with manufacturers, who will attempt to “water down” the law prior to its 2009 effective date. “I do think that this topic will come up again in 2008,” he said. Energy bill could lead to land-use fights in counties Meyer warned that the provisions of S3, a renewable energy bill that was signed into law in August, could generate land-use battles in many counties and that the issue would likely end up back in the General Assembly as public utilities attempt to overturn local land-use ordinances and regulations. The legislation, which promotes renewable energy resources such as hydroelectric, solar and wind power, makes each public utility provider in the state subject to a Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) that requires the percentage of each public utility’s total retail sales generated through renewable sources to increase to 3 percent by 2012 and eventually 12.5 percent by 2021. In addition, a large percentage of those renewable sources must be generated from within the state. That has put public utility companies in search of areas to place renewable energy collection equipment, such as windmills. While the high winds that can power large windmills is readily available in the state’s mountains and coast, it comes with a cost: The loss of natural scenery could cost counties dollars generated through tourism, and placement of these devices and noise generated by them could impact environmental ecosystems, etc. Also at the meeting, Janice Godfrey of the Division of Air Quality said that the Environmental Protection Agency will take final action on new ozone air quality standards by March 12, 2008, and that the EPA’s decision could result in several counties being designated ozone nonattainment areas. Areas designated as nonattainment must come up with a plan for attainment or face federal funding sanctions. |