LEFT: They also raise oysters in "chubs, " or floating mesh bags. These oysters grow faster but involve more work to harvest. RIGHT: Bonnie 

 Swartzenberg's family has harvested oysters in Holly Ridge for more than two generations. 



Management Act (CAMA) land-use plans and 

 the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 

 Storm Water Rules. 



The CAMA land-use plans apply 

 specifically to each of North Carolina's 20 

 coastal counties. Using guidelines from the 

 N.C. Coastal Resources Commission (CRC). 

 each county is required to develop its own 

 land-use plan to protect its environmental 

 resources. 



The CRC adopted revisions to the 

 planning guidelines in 2002, including a 

 requirement that each county conduct an 

 extensive land-use suitability analysis. 



These analyses are intended to help 

 counties meet requirements for future EPA 

 Storm Water Rules, a phased, successive 

 process to address stormwater in urban, 

 suburban and rural areas. For coastal counties 

 with more urbanized areas, such as Onslow 

 and New Hanover, the CAMA land-use 

 suitability analyses will help local officials 

 meet the requirements of the Phase II EPA 

 Storm Water Rules. 



Developing land-use and stormwater 

 plans and regulations may be steps in the 

 right direction, but some experts fear such 

 regulations are not enough to protect fragile 

 coastal ecosystems. 



"Although EPA's Phase II program 

 and the CAMA land-use plans are a good 

 start, people shouldn't be lulled into thinking 

 that water quality is being adequately 



addressed and protected by various levels of 

 government," Ardizone says. 



"The CAMA land-use plans have no 

 mandate that they must be implemented by 

 localities," she adds. 



"And most of the coastal counties are 

 not subject to EPA Phase II Storm Water 

 Rules, which target more urban areas," 

 Ardizone explains. "All of this still leaves 

 a lot of 'ifs' in terms of effective resource 

 protection." 



And those "ifs" cause experts to worry 

 that the pace of growth in coastal North 

 Carolina will eclipse the future effectiveness 

 of the many plans and regulations designed to 

 protect water quality. 



"If development continues 'business as 

 usual,' impervious cover will increase along 

 with shellfish bed closures," warns Mallin. 



Fowler agrees: "As we see an increase in 

 development along the coast, we'll probably 

 see an increase in conditionally approved 

 shellfish areas." 



For the Swartzenbergs, closing their 

 shellfish beds for a few days out of the year 

 usually isn't a big deal, Jim says. 



"But there are times when it matters," 

 he adds. After several days of rain at the 

 end of November, Swartzenberg vented his 

 frustration. 



"We've been closed all week and my 

 restaurants are begging for more oysters in 

 the height of their season." a 



THE UNIVERSAL STORM WATER 

 MANAGEMENT PROGRAM 



The Division of Water Quality (DWQ), 

 within the N.C. Department of Environment 

 and Natural Resources, has drafted what it 

 hopes will be a "common-sense" solution to 

 North Carolina's stormwater woes. 



Called the Universal Storm Water 

 Management Program (USMP), the proposal 

 is designed to develop one plan that would 

 replace many of the individual stormwater 

 plans on local and regional levels. These 

 existing plans often have overlapping or 

 conflicting post-construction requirements, 

 making them difficult to administer at city or 

 county levels. 



Proponents say that the USMP would 

 be easier to administer and implement 

 throughout North Carolina, and better 

 protect water quality and aquatic habitats. 



Opponents say it over-simplifies and 

 omits some regulatory elements necessary to 

 effectively protect water resources. 



DWQ hopes to have the plan available 

 for statewide public hearings this winter. 



For more information on the USMP 

 visit the DWQ online at http://h2o.enr.state. 

 nc.us. 



Coastwcttch I Winter 2006 I www.ncseagrant.org 9 



