Abstract:
The North Carolina General Assembly recently passed Session Law 2006-246, which
establishes the final administrative rules for the implementation of the EPA NPDES Phase II
stormwater program in North Carolina. According to these rules, any person may petition the
Environmental Management Commission to require an entity that discharges stormwater to
obtain a Phase II stormwater permit. A methodology was developed to guide the collection of the
required data for an adverse impact petition, based on a case study of the municipal separate
storm sewer system of Morehead City, NC. This case study was then used to examine the key
elements of this process in the context of their application to a Phase II petition in a coastal
environment, and to explore the challenges arising during this process.
General petition provisions were originally included in the Phase II rules by the EPA to
provide one of several opportunities for public participation in the NPDES stormwater program.
It was initially thought that the detailed requirements regarding the petition process in North
Carolina would enhance the ability of the general public to play a direct role in requiring more
stringent stormwater management along the coast through the Phase II stormwater program.
However, in developing the adverse impact petition methodology and applying it in a
preliminary case study of Morehead City, it appears that the extensive requirements of the North
Carolina petition rules may actually make the completion of a successful petition quite
challenging, particularly for members of the general public. Thus, rather than simplifying the
process, these rules may instead discourage the submission of Phase II petitions in North
Carolina, at least in the near future, and limit their usefulness as a stormwater management tool.
