Memorandum

To: Members of the Council of State

From: Bill Holman, Executive Director

Date: November 6, 2001

Re: Clean Water Management Trust Fund Report

Thank you for your interest in the work of the Clean Water Management Trust Fund.

The 1996 General Assembly determined that regulations by themselves would not clean up the Neuse, Tar-Pamlico and other rivers and concluded that a new, incentive-based approach was needed to assist local governments, other state agencies, land owners, and land trusts to protect and restore surface water quality.

Senator Beverly Perdue and others introduced and the 1996 General Assembly enacted the Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF) (GS 113-145) “to clean up pollution in the State’s surface waters and to protect and conserve those waters that are not yet polluted. The General Assembly authorized the CWMTF “to help finance projects that specifically address water pollution problems and focus on upgrading surface waters, eliminating pollution, and protecting and conserving unpolluted surface waters, including urban drinking water supplies” and “to build a network of riparian buffers and greenways for environmental, educational, and recreational benefits.”

The CWMTF is an independent agency housed for administrative purposes in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). An eighteen-member Board of Trustees establishes criteria, reviews and approves grants, hires the executive director, and makes other policy decisions. Six members are appointed by the Governor; six, by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate; and six, by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the House. Governor Mike Easley has appointed Robert D. Howard of Whiteville as Chair. An Advisory Council composed of the Commissioner of Agriculture, Chair of the Wildlife Resources Commission, Secretary of DENR, and Secretary of Commerce or their designees advises the Board of Trustees. A list of the Board of Trustees is attached.

Local governments, or other political subdivisions of the State (such as soil and water conservation districts), state agencies, and nonprofit conservation organizations, such as land trusts, may apply for grants. The deadline for applications is June 1 and December 1 of each year.

As of June 1, 2001 701 applicants had requested over $785 million from CWMTF. The Board of Trustees has approved 258 grants for a total of over $220 million. A list of the grantees and projects by river basin is attached. CWMTF grants have leveraged at least $234 million in private and other public funds. About half of CWMTF grants have funded acquisition and protection of riparian buffers, wetlands and other lands. About a quarter of CWMTF grants have funded local wastewater improvement projects – particularly the repair and rehabilitation of leaky sewer lines, and about a quarter of CWMTF grants have funded projects to reduce and treat stormwater pollution and to restore buffers, streams, and wetlands.

Sixty-six local governments, state agencies, and land trusts requested $87.2 million from CWMTF on June 1, 2001. A list of the applications by name and by purpose is attached. The Board of Trustees will make final decisions on this round of applications on November 15, 2001.

CWMTF and its partners have protected 1560 miles of riparian buffers and preserved 134,673 acres of land. The CWMTF has assisted 63 local governments with wastewater improvements, funded 48 stream and riparian buffer restoration projected, funded 21 stormwater projects, and funded many watershed planning projects.

Attached is the 2001 North Carolina Land Trust Council Directory prepared by the Conservation Trust of North Carolina.

CWMTF estimates that over $10.5 billion is needed to protect and restore surface water quality in North Carolina. The 2001 General Assembly appropriated $40 million to CWMTF in fiscal year 2001-02 and $70 million in fiscal year 2002-03.

Please contact me or see www.cwmtf.net for more information.