State officials are hosting a public hearing Jan. 18 on the Pender County Utilities’ request to transfer more water from a neighboring river basin to meet the system’s projected water demands.
The public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. Jan. 18 at the Public Assembly Room, 805 South Walker Street in Burgaw. Speaker registration will begin at 5:30 p.m. The hearing will enable the public to comment on the petition for the proposed certificate.
The public utility is required to obtain an interbasin transfer certificate from the N.C. Environmental Management Commission to move up to 14.5 million gallons of water a day from the Cape Fear River basin to the Northeast Cape Fear, New, and South River basins. The amount of water the utility is requesting to transfer is based on the anticipated growth in Pender County through the year 2045 and an effort to move residents off private groundwater wells.
Pender County Utilities provides drinking water to residents within the county. The water supplied by Pender County is sourced from the Cape Fear River via the Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Authority. The county is in the process of expanding its water distribution system to accommodate anticipated growth. An interbasin transfer certificate is required for the transfer of more than 2 million gallons of surface water a day between river basins.
If possible, speakers are asked to provide a written copy of their oral comments. Based on the number of people who wish to speak, the length of oral comments may be limited.
Written comments may be submitted by mail to: Division of Water Resources, Attn: Kim Nimmer, 1611 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1611. Comments may also be submitted by email to: dwr.ibt@ncdenr.gov. All comments must be postmarked or emailed by Feb. 19.
The commission will consider all public comments received in making its final determination on whether to issue a certificate for the water transfer. A final determination is expected by mid-2018.
The Pender County IBT Petition, Water Conservation Plan, and Drought Management Plan are available online at: https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/planning/water-supply-planning/interbasin-transfer-certification/pender-county. The documents may also be viewed at the hearing or during normal business hours at the N.C. Division of Water Resources’ Central Office, 512 North Salisbury St., Room 1117G, Raleigh.
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