Program History

History of the N. C. Water Supply Watershed Protection Program

1986 Voluntary Program
1989 Ratification of House Bill 156
1990 Public Meetings
1992 Reclassifications and rules
1993 4 Local ordinances due
1995 Amendments
1997 Program challenged in NC Supreme Court

1986: The Environmental Management Commission and the Division of Water Quality (DWQ) have administered a Water Supply Protection Program since 1986. Initially, the program was administered voluntarily by counties and municipalities pursuing protective measures for their water supply watersheds. The measures included limitations on the number and type of wastewater discharges which were allowed in the water supply watersheds. These limits were administered by the Division of Water Quality; and, in turn, local governments would adopt and enforce land use control ordinances to protect surface waters from nonpoint pollution sources, namely stormwater runoff.

1989: In time, it became apparent that minimum statewide water supply protection measures were necessary, especially where multiple local governments had land use jurisdiction within a single water supply watershed. In 1989, the North Carolina General Assembly ratified the Water Supply Watershed Protection Act (the Act), codified as General Statutes 143-214.5 and 143-214.6. The Act mandated the Environmental Management Commission to adopt minimum statewide water supply protection standards by January 1, 1991 and to reclassify all existing surface water supply watersheds to the appropriate classification by January 1, 1992. These dates were modified by the General Assembly in 1991.

1990: Over 40 informational meetings and workshops were conducted across the state to present the requirements of the Act and the proposed water supply protection rules. Eight public hearings on the Rules were held across the state in August of 1990 and were attended by over 800 people, with 160 providing verbal comments. In addition, over 1600 pages of written comments were received. The Environmental Management Commission adopted the Rules in December 1990 in compliance with the January 1, 1991 deadline. However, since the surface water supplies had not yet been reclassified, the Commission postponed the effective date of implementation.

1992: Division staff worked with local governments in determining the location of all surface water intakes and existing land use within the water supply watersheds. This information, in conjunction with information on the types and location of wastewater discharges, was used to determine the appropriate classification for the 208 surface water supplies in the state. Twelve public hearings were held on the reclassifications during August of 1991 in order to receive comments. The Commission also decided to bring the adopted Water Supply Watershed Protection Rules with proposed modifications back to public hearing. Over 2400 people attended the public hearings with more than 400 making verbal comments. Over 3000 written comments were received. The final version of the Water Supply Watershed Protection Rules were made effective on February 13, 1992. The Environmental Management Commission reclassified all of the surface water supplies on May 14, 1992 and the classifications became effective in August of 1992.

1993: The Water Supply Watershed Protection Rules adopted in 1992 required that all local governments having land use jurisdiction within water supply watersheds adopt and implement water supply watershed protection ordinances, maps, and a management plan. The Rules required all municipalities with a population greater than 5000 to submit their adopted ordinances to the Commission by July 1, 1993. Municipalities with populations less than 5000 were to submit their ordinances by October 1, 1993. And all affected counties were scheduled to submit their ordinances by January 1, 1994. In order to assist local governments, a model ordinance was approved by the Commission on July 9, 1992. This document suggests appropriate language for adopting an ordinance under the general adoption powers; however, the language is useful for local governments adopting their ordinances as zoning overlay districts and also for local governments implementing the Rules by amending their subdivision regulations.

1995: All local governments subject to the regulations have submitted ordinances in compliance with the statutory deadlines; however, as of the time of publication of this document, not all of the ordinances have been reviewed and approved by the Environmental Management Commission. The Division of Water Quality works closely with local governments to assist in the implementation of the required local programs. Division staff have met individually with local government officials and planners, and have conducted numerous public information sessions and workshops across the state. During this information exchange, many local governments expressed the need for more flexibility in the administration of the Water Supply Watershed Protection Program. The Division of Water Quality responded to these concerns by proposing amendments to the Water Supply Watershed Protection Rules to allow more flexibility in the local government watershed protection regulatory process. The amendments were approved by the Environmental Management Commission on June 8, 1995 and became effective on August 1, 1995.

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