NC Register Volume 21 Issue 09 - Office of Administrative Hearings

CONTESTED CASE DECISIONS
21. The Goose Creek TMDL specifically requires a ninety-two point five percent reduction of fecal coliform discharges
from the MS4s in Indian Trail, Stallings, and Mint Hill, in order to meet water quality standards.
22. Petitioners voluntarily agree to dismiss as a non-suit and without prejudice claims brought under Section 9 of the
Endangered Species Act in these consolidated cases.
23. Each of the Exhibits identified above is an authentic copy of the original, is a public record or a business or agency
record kept in the ordinary course of business, and may be introduced into evidence without further identification of proof, all subject
to objections for relevance.
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. Petitioner Central Piedmont Group of the North Carolina Sierra Club is a non-profit organization. Central Piedmont
Group is the local Sierra Club member group in Mecklenburg County. Central Piedmont Group members use, enjoy, and benefit
aesthetically and recreationally from the Goose Creek watershed. Central Piedmont Group also has members who live within the
Goose Creek watershed.
2. Petitioner North Carolina Wildlife Federation is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1945. NCWF, which is an
affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation (“NWF”), has 17,000 members in North Carolina. NWF has approximately 5 million
members, including 25,000 members in North Carolina. NCWF has members who use, enjoy, and benefit aesthetically and
recreationally from the Goose Creek watershed. NCWF also has members who live within the Goose Creek watershed.
3. Respondent North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (“NCDENR”) Division of Water
Quality (“DWQ”) is the state agency charged with protecting water quality and has been delegated the authority to issue NPDES
permits under the Clean Water Act.
4. Petitioners’ witness, Thomas Stewart Blue, is an expert in the field of stormwater engineering and hydrology with a
particular expertise in engineered stormwater controls, impervious surface limits, land development, and water quality modeling
related to developing Total Maximum Daily Loads (“TMDL”).
5. Petitioners’ witness, John Fridell, a wildlife biologist with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”),
is an expert in wildlife biology with a particular expertise in the protection and recovery of the federally endangered Carolina
heelsplitter.
6. Respondent’s witness, Michael F. Randall, is an environmental engineer with the Division of Water Quality’s
Stormwater Permitting Unit. Mr. Randall was involved in discussions regarding the development of the three challenged NPDES
permits, but was not in charge of drafting any of them.
7. Respondent’s witness, Kenneth Bruce Pickle, is an environmental engineer with the Division of Water Quality’s
Stormwater Permitting Unit. Mr. Pickle was involved in drafting and noticing the NPDES Phase II stormwater permits for the Town
of Indian Trail and the Town of Stallings.
8. Respondent’s witness, Tilman Bradley Bennett, is the supervisor of the Division of Water Quality’s Stormwater
Permitting Unit. Mr. Bennett’s responsibilities include oversight for all of the state’s stormwater permitting programs, including the
NPDES Phase II program.
9. Respondent’s witness, Thomas Reeder, is the manager of the Division of Water Quality’s Wetlands and Stormwater
Branch. Mr. Reeder’s responsibilities include oversight of any programs that are associated with wetlands and stormwater
management in the state.
10. None of Respondent’s witnesses were offered as experts or qualified as experts in the field of stormwater
management or wildlife biology.
11. Water quality degradation occurs when alterations are made to the natural character of the watershed. The natural
character of a watershed includes its physical integrity, such as the way in which water travels downstream and the amount of
groundwater recharging the stream’s base flow; its biological integrity, such as the biological diversity of organisms living in the
streams; and its chemical integrity, such as the distribution of chemicals in the water. A system is considered degraded when one of
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