3609 Hwy 24 (Ocean) | Newport, North Carolina 28570

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 6, 2002

Ted Wilgis, Cape Fear COASTKEEPER^®
910-790-3275 office or 910-520-6606 cell
coastkeeper-cf@nccoast.org

NCCF Addresses Effect of
Mayfaire Development on Howe Creek

     WILMINGTON – The NC Coastal Federation (NCCF) has asked state officials to consider a proposed subdivision in New Hanover County as a direct source of water pollution requiring stringent controls. This comes after tests done by NCCF found bacteria levels exceeding state standards in stormwater draining off the yet undeveloped but ditched property.
     "Bacteria counts will only increase after the first phase of the Mayfaire Development is built on along Military Cut-Off Road," Ted Wilgis, the Federation's Cape Fear COASTKEEPER^®, argued recently in a petition to the NC Division of Water Quality. "Unless it is strictly regulated, stormwater from the development will continue to pollute Howe Creek, which carries the state's highest stream classifications," Wilgis said.
     State and federal laws prohibit the continued degradation of streams and require that direct, or point, sources of water pollution be regulated by federal discharge permits. The Federation has petitioned the state to require that the developers apply for such a permit, which would place limits on the amount of bacteria and other pollutants that can be dumped into the creek.
     The Division of Water Quality instead considers the proposed development a diffuse or non-point source of pollution and recently issued the developers a less stringent state stormwater permit, which has no pollution limits. "The stormwater management system approved by the state is a prescription for more polluted runoff getting into Howe Creek," Wilgis said. He continued, "The further degradation of Howe Creek is a violation of the Clean Water Act and every effort should be made to stop this loss of the public's right to clean water and the ability to harvest shellfish from our tidal creeks."
     The Mayfaire site, formerly known as the Hardy Parker Farm, covers about 394 acres. A large portion of it is in the headwaters of Howe Creek, and the remainder drains to Bradley Creek. The property owner, Brody Zimmer, LLC, plans to build several high-density developments. Almost half of the first phase, which will cover about 71 acres, will be covered with parking lots, roads, roofs and other hard, or impervious, surfaces. The developer also proposed to fill almost 12 acres of wetlands.
     The impervious surfaces do not allow rainwater to soak into the ground. Instead, the water runs off into the nearest creek or stream unless infiltrated back into the groundwater by a stormwater collection system. Stormwater runoff contains harmful bacteria, toxic metals, fertilizer, herbicides, grease and oil and is now the main source of coastal water pollution.
     State rules require that builders of intense developments, like shopping centers, in the coastal counties and that drain to sensitive waters stop at least the first inch and a half of runoff during a heavy rain.
     Even on properties where infiltration systems work properly, the runoff that occurs when more than 1½ inches of rain falls has proven to be a widespread source of pollution. Waters throughout much of southeastern North Carolina were temporarily closed to shellfish harvest last week after heavy rains produced too much contaminated stormwater runoff.
     "What's particularly disturbing about the infiltration system for this project is that it would not work at all if the water table on the property had not already been artificially lowered by drainage ditches," says Wilgis. "The system of ponds, ditches and pipes that will be built at Mayfaire will only partially treat and infiltrate runoff, and will only add to the pollution flowing out of the ditches into Howe Creek," he said.
     Samples of stormwater collected by the Federation and tested at a state-certified laboratory in Wilmington contained fecal coliform bacteria averaging 131 and as high as 3,060 fecal coliforms per 100 ml after the recent rains. The state bacteria standard is 14 fecal coliforms per 100 ml.
     "Numerous studies have shown that the runoff from parking lots and streets contains high levels of bacteria," Wilgis noted.
     "The development should be required to ensure that runoff from its parking lots and roads will not further degrade Howe Creek," he said. "We have shown that this has not been required and therefore, we are demanding that more stringent measures be put in place."
     Howe Creek is classified as Outstanding Resource Waters from its headwaters to its mouth adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway. The creek was assigned the classification more than a decade ago because of its exceptional water quality. "The state has failed to protect the creek," Wilgis said. Since its classification, the creek has been closed to shellfishing because of high bacteria levels and is now among the most polluted water bodies in the state.
     "As impaired waters, your Division has an obligation to restore the Outstanding Resource Waters of Howe Creek, and then to maintain the creek in a condition that originally warranted its ORW classification," Wilgis said in a letter sent Aug. 28 to Alan Klimek, the director of the Division of Water Quality.
     Wilgis is continuing water quality sampling and monitoring permits for additional proposed developments on the Mayfaire site.