WATER QUALITY ISSUES FACING INDUSTRIES
IN NORTH CAROLINA

by Dr. Barrett L. Kays

The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission has the authority and responsibility to implement the Clean Water Act in North Carolina and to protect, enhance and preserve the waters of the State. The Commission is required to determine the best usage of waters and to assign appropriate classification and standards to protect the human health and aquatic health of the State's waters.

The Commission has established a series of surface water classes (primary classifications) consisting of Class C, Class B, Class WS-J, Class WS-II, Class WS-III, Class WS-IV, Class WS-V, Class SC, Class SB, and Class SA, as well as a series of supplemental classifications consisting of HQW, ORW, Tr, NSW, and Sw. Each of these primary and supplemental surface water classifications are described in the attached "Summary of North Carolina's Water Quality Classification and Standards." The current draft wetland classes are also included. The wetland classes are proposed to be new surface water classes.

The purpose of the classification and standards is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the surface waters. The goal is to achieve a level of water quality that will provide for the protection and propagation of fish, aquatic life and wildlife, and to support other uses such as recreation, water supplies, agricultural uses, navigation and commerce.

Some of the basic water classes date back to 1963, when the first classifications and water quality standards were established. In more recent years, the water quality classification system has been modified to include protection of surface water supply watersheds and protection of pristine waters. These new approaches are intended to prevent the deterioration of water quality at the source, whether a traditional point source discharge or complex non-point source discharges. For example, many of the standards that apply to water supply watersheds are development limitations that can apply geographically across the entire watershed. Therefore, many of the new standards extend beyond the actual surface water body and may extend to the watershed ridge line. While these new approaches fundamentally encompass regulation of many more primary and secondary water quality impacts, they also have opened a new era of more complex regulations.

The new complexity in surface water quality standards that is emerging makes the process of site selection and permitting for new and expanded industries far more complex. This complexity can perhaps best be illustrated in the following new classes and standards: