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TOWN OF ELIZABETHTOWN
RESOLUTION # R-06-016
A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF
THE BLADEN BLUFFS REGIONAL SURFACE WATER SYSTEM
Town Council member Sylvia Campbell, seconded by Town Council member
Herman Lewis _, moved that the following be adopted:
WHEREAS, the Town Council of the Town of Elizabethtown (the Board) finds that the
availability of water suitable for industrial use, irrigation, and human consumption is instrumental
to the economic well-being of the region, particularly as it relates to the growth of industry and
agriculture, and the development of commercial and residential properties; and
WHEREAS, the Board finds that the continued availability of such water requires
management of long-range sustainable water supply sources; and
WHEREAS, the Board finds that the preservation of regional groundwater resources in
Elizabethtown and surrounding areas necessitates the evaluation of alternative water sources,
including surface water; and
WHEREAS, the Lower Cape Fear Water & Sewer Authority (the Authority) is a non-
profit public agency organized under the provisions of the North Carolina Water and Sewer
Authorities Act; and
WHEREAS, the Authority is authorized to construct and operate water and sewer
systems located within its service area consisting of Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New
Hanover, and Pender Counties, and the City of Wilmington; and
WHEREAS, Bladen County is a member of the Authority; and
WHEREAS, the Authority and Smithfield Packing Company, Inc. (SPC) signed a
Memorandum of Understanding dated January 9, 2006 regarding the development, construction
and operation of a raw water intake behind Lock and Dam Number 2 on the Cape Fear River and
a raw water storage reservoir and a water treatment plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina and with the
possibility of additional capacity to serve the needs of regional, local government and other
industrial users (the Project); and
WHEREAS, the name of the Project shall be the Bladen Bluffs Regional Surface Water
System; and
WHEREAS, the Authority and SPC have negotiated and executed a Project
Development Agreement (the PDA) that specifies the rights and responsibilities of both parties
with respect to the Project; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the PDA, the Authority is responsible for obtaining all
approvals relating to the construction and financing of the Project, including obtaining all
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required local, State and Federal, land -use, environmental and other regulatory approvals and
water rights; and
WHEREAS, the preparation of an Environmental Assessment by the Authority and the
issuance of a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) by the North Carolina Department of
Environment and Natural Resources is a prerequisite to the issuance of several required permits
for the Project; and
WHEREAS, the construction of the Project and use of surface water for water supply
purposes will require a reclassification (the Reclassification) of a portion of the Cape Fear River
from a Class "C" surface water to a "WS-IV" water supply classification; and
WHEREAS, the Reclassification must be approved through rulemaking by the North
Carolina Environmental Management Commission; and
WHEREAS, the Authority has initiated work on the Project by awarding contracts for
the preparation of the Environmental Assessment and the Request for Reclassification; and
WHEREAS, the Authority intends to submit the Environmental Assessment and the
Request for Reclassification for approval by appropriate State and Federal regulatory agencies.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor and Town Council of
Elizabethtown hereby endorse the Project and support the issuance of the required regulatory
approvals, including the FONSI and the Reclassification; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Mayor and Town Council of Elizabethtown
resolve to consider purchasing water from the Authority upon completion of construction of the
Project and in accordance with the terms of an executed Treated Water Service Agreement.
Adopted this the 2nd day of October, 2006.
ATTEST:
Ouanita Hester
Town Clerk
Kenneth R. Kornegay
Mayor
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