director of the service. Each shows base-map data such as 

 roads, streams, urban areas and counties, plus other data on 

 erosion rates, drainage and conservation areas, land use and 

 soil depths. 



Matching these factors helps pinpoint areas likely to 

 erode, says Bill Holman, a lobbyist for the Conservation 

 Council of North Carolina. Mapping is important not only 

 to scientists and farmers, but also the policymaker judging 

 which areas need attention, and to developers considering 

 sites for construction. 



And right now, "There's so much construction in this 

 area it just overwhelms you," says Steve Conrad, director of 

 the Division of Land Resources. Part of his job is to see that 

 builders use an approved erosion control plan when con- 

 structing. But since this was made a law in 1973, some 

 builders have complied and some haven't, says Conrad. For 

 this reason, $158,000 were budgeted for the division to im- 

 prove monitoring of construction sites in the three 

 watershed areas. 



Photo by Jim Page 



Budget calls for improved planning of development 



Monitoring of a different kind will be taking place in the 

 Chowan, Jordan and Falls. The Clean Water Budget in- 

 cluded about $350,000 for the study of the water quality 

 standards of each, says W. Lee Fleming Jr., chief of the 

 Water Quality Section of the Division of Environmental 

 Management. Researchers will sample and analyze 

 nutrients taken from these areas. 



A major concern of Fleming's is the regulation of 

 phosphates. He says if the legislature had passed the con- 

 troversial phosphate ban, the problem would have been 

 reduced by 25 percent. 



But the municipal discharges of phosphate are just part 

 of the problem. "We still need to know how many nutrients 

 are going into the rivers and who's contributing what. You 

 want to be fair in asking different groups to decrease 

 nutrients," says Holman. And to do this, "more information 

 is needed to make better decisions." 



Statewide Toxics Program 



In some of North Carolina's waterways, toxics are 

 streaming in from a variety of sources. Researchers aren't 

 sure, however, what these toxics are or where they are 

 originating. 



To answer a few of these questions, appropriations will 

 aid Fleming and his staff in setting up extensive screening 

 procedures to test discharges and their toxicity on fish and 

 other organisms in the water. In addition, a mobile lab is 

 taken to different waterways twice a month to test waters 

 all over North Carolina. 



Pollution Prevention Pays Program 



In 1983, 7.3 billion pounds of hazardous wastes were 

 generated in North Carolina. The culprits include everyone 

 from chemical companies to homeowners. 



To help prevent our state from becoming a large 

 wasteland, the state initiated the PPP program, patterned 

 after one used by the 3M Corporation. According to the 

 program's director, Roger Schecter, it is "a way of looking 

 at or reducing pollution and/or toxics before they become a 

 problem." 



Schecter and his staff, in conjunction with other state 

 agencies, work on an individual basis with each client to 

 determine what types of pollutants the companies discharge 

 and to suggest ways to reduce, prevent, recycle or eliminate 

 those materials before they reach the air or water. 



And it's paying off, says Schecter. Companies such as 

 Burlington Industries, Burroughs Wellcome and Duke 

 Power have saved thousands of dollars by finding more ef- 

 ficient methods of disposing of or recycling wastes. 



While elements of the Clean Water Budget are not 

 specific to the coast, the benefits it will reap cannot be un- 

 derestimated, says Taylor. With the waterways upstream 

 and the coast downstream, there have to be some positive 

 effects. But, she says, this budget is only the beginning step 

 to cleaning up our state's waters. 



— Sarah Friday 



More troubled waters 



Researchers know that problems exist in the waters 

 near the coast. And the answers to those problems are of- 

 ten as muddy as the waters themselves. There's a new 

 project in the making, though, that may be able to clean 

 up them both. 



In the past few years, there have been several state, 

 federal and local studies focusing on the Pamlico and 

 Albemarle sounds and the waters surrounding them. As a 

 result, the scientists who looked at subjects like fishing 



resources, drainage and peat mining have identified some 

 of the most common and pronounced problems. 



Now, the N.C. Department of Natural Resources and 

 Community Development is organizing a comprehensive 

 program to find some solutions. Spurred by the action of 

 N.C. Congressman Walter Jones, through his Merchant 

 Marine and Fisheries Committee, to designate Albemarle 

 Sound as an "estuary of concern," the program will be 

 carried out by NRCD, UNC Sea Grant and other 

 governmental agencies. Jim Smith, coordinator of the 

 Coastal Energy Impact Program, says a few of the pro- 

 jects will include studying the changing land uses, sub- 

 stances coming from the rivers and vegetation of the 



