Development of an Environmental Sampling and Monitoring Program as a Mitigation Tool to Address Indirect and Cumulative Impacts

In 2006, the City of Raleigh had four major water infrastructure projects in the environmental permitting phase: a major regional wastewater pump station, a major expansion of the City's only wastewater treatment plant, a greenfield water treatment plant, and a major sewer interceptor. North Carolina regulations, specifically the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), requires that direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts be evaluated in the environmental permitting process. Several agencies within the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) rejected these four projects for approval over mitigation for indirect and cumulative impacts (ICI). A comprehensive Sampling and Monitoring Program was established to meet the regulatory requirements for ICI mitigation and is currently in the fifth year of a five year Division of Water Quality (DWQ) basinwide planning cycle. This paper provides a detailed assessment of the indirect and cumulative impacts of urbanization, if any, on the City's service area watersheds and neighboring downstream watersheds as delineated in the Sampling and Monitoring Program.