A public comment period has been extended on a draft Environmental Impact Statement prepared in support of an Interbasin Transfer Certificate for Union County, NC.  The period was extended until November 16, 2015.
A public hearing was held on September 16, 2015, at the Town of Norwood Community Building to receive comments on the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) document that was prepared in support of the Interbasin Transfer (IBT) Certificate requested by Union County. The Union County Public Works Water System (Union County) is a provider of drinking water to citizens of Union County, excluding the City of Monroe, serving customers in both the Catawba River basin and the Rocky River basin.  Union County is requesting a 23 million gallons per day (mgd) transfer from the Yadkin River IBT basin to the Rocky River IBT basin, calculated on an average day of the maximum month basis, per current statutory regulation.  The requested transfer amount is based upon 2050 water demand projections to meet anticipated growth in Union County’s Rocky River IBT basin.
As part of this request, the county has prepared a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to identify alternatives that will satisfy the projected water demand, evaluate the alternatives, and recommend a preferred alternative based on the analysis.  The preferred alternative includes a proposed water intake on Lake Tillery near the existing location for the Town of Norwood’s intake, in the Yadkin River IBT basin.  The supporting environmental documents for this proposed transfer, including the draft EIS, are available for review at:  http://www.ncwater.org/?page-420.
Written comments may be mailed to Kim Nimmer, Division of Water Resources, 1611 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1611.  
Comments may also be submitted electronically to dwr.ibt@lists.ncmail.net.  Mailed and emailed comments will be given equal weight.  All comments must be postmarked or emailed by November 16, 2015.