Commission Proceedings 



February 17, 2000 



Water quality 



William E. Holman, Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, reported to the 

 ERC on current water quality issues. These included pollution from animal waste, 

 municipal waste, and nutrients from fertilizer used to melt ice and snow. Mr. Holman 

 noted that temporary rulemaking to require buffers along the Catawba and Cape Fear 

 Rivers was progressing with the input of stakeholders. ERC members expressed concerns 

 that animal operations and mimicipal treatment plants may not face equal enforcement 

 actions. A request was made that reports on compliance with water quality laws include 

 better information on the types of enforcement actions taken and the volumes of the 

 discharges involved. 



Air quality 



Mr. Holman and Brock M. Nicholson, Chief of the Planning Section of the Division of 

 Air Quality in DENR, presented the Governor's draft clean air plan and an update on 

 rulemaking to reduce emissions from utilities and other major point sources. There was 

 some discussion about altemative energy sources and efforts to cooperate with other 

 states to reduce air pollution that is transported across state lines. Daniel F. McLawhom, 

 DENR General Counsel, gave updates on various legal actions and rulemaking steps at 

 the federal and State levels that affect air quality controls. Janet D'Ignazio, Chief 

 Planning and Environmental Officer for the Department of Transportation, explained the 

 process of determining conformity of transportation plans with federal air quality 

 standards. She noted that federal money for transportation improvements can be 

 withheld if an area cannot show how its transportation plans are compatible with 

 achieving federal air quality standards. 



Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen 



George C. Murray, Chief of Ae Ambient Air Monitoring Section of the Division of 

 Air Quality in DENR, and Dr. Viney P. Aneja, Professor in the Department of Marine, 

 Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences at North Carolina State University, gave an update on 

 research on the atmospheric deposition of nitrogen. They said nitrogen oxides (NOx) 

 from power plants and automobiles and ammonia from animal waste management 

 systems are the major sources of nitrogen deposited in estuaries from the air. 



Dry-cleaning Solvent Cleanup Program 



Bruce I. Nicholson, Head of the Special Remediation Branch in the Superfund Section 

 of the Division of Waste Management in DENR, explained that the current dry-cleaning 

 solvent cleanup program doesn't work. This is because obtaining environmental 

 insurance is a requirement for accessing the fimd, and this insurance has since become 

 unavailable. In addition, the program does not have enough frmding to meet the need for 

 cleanups. Mr. Nicholson noted that studies indicate that 95% of dry-cleaning facilities 

 established prior to 1990 and 60% of facilities established after 1990 may be 

 contaminated. Senator Odom requested specific legislative recommendations for how to 

 make the dry-cleaning solvent cleanup program work. 



