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Chapter topiCs
££SWCD
££EEP
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LocaL conseRvation
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RiveR basin RestoRation PRioRities
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documents£(and£TLW£selections)£for£each£of£the£17£river£basins£in£North£Carolina£are£updated£periodically£
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priorities.
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III£–£development£of£a£final£Project£Atlas£and£Watershed£Management£Plan.£EEP£collaborates£with£local£
stakeholders£and£resource£professionals£throughout£the£process£to£identify£projects£and£management£
strategies£to£restore£enhance£and£protect£local£watershed£resources.£
There£is£one£LWP£in£the£basin,£Franklin£to£Fontana.££This£plan£is£summarized£in£the£Upper£Little£Tennessee£
Subbasin£section.£££
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In£the£Upper£Little£Tennessee£River£Subbasin,£there£is£one£restoration£project£in£the£Franklin£to£Fontana£
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riparian£area£and£8£acres£of£riparian£wetland£through£old£and£current£cattle£pasture£and£an£old£golf£course.££
In£addition,£EEP£contributed£funds£to£protect£the£4,500£acre£Needmore£Tract,£which£includes£riparian£
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There£is£one£EEP£restoration£project£in£the£Tuckaseegee£River£Subbasin.£The£Junes£Branch£project£will£be£
constructed£in£2012£and£will£restore£the£stream£channel£and£riparian£area£on£a£3,000£ft£reach£on£the£outskirts£
of£Sylva.£
There£are£three£EEP£restoration£projects£that£have£been£constructed£in£the£Lower£Little£Tennessee£River£
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preserves£almost£9,000£ft£of£additional£headwater£forested£stream£channel.£The£Snowbird£Tributaries£project£
restores£only£about£600£ft£of£stream£channel£and£riparian£area£but£preserves£7,500£ft£of£additional£forested£
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additional£stream£feet,£restored£81£acres£of£riparian£wetland,£and£protected£141£additional£wetland£acres.£
section 319 gRant PRogRam
Section£319£of£the£Clean£Water£Act£provides£grant£money£for£nonpoint£source£demonstration£and£
restoration£projects.£In£2009/2010,£approximately£$450,000£was£available£annually£through£base£funding£
for£demonstration£and£education£projects£across£the£state.£An£additional£$2£million£was£available£annually£
through£incremental£funding£for£restoration£projects£on£impaired£waters£statewide.£All£projects£must£provide£
non-federal£matching£funds£of£at£least£40£percent£of£the£project’s£total£costs.£Project£proposals£are£reviewed£
and£selected£by£the£North£Carolina£Nonpoint£Source£Workgroup,£made£up£of£state£and£federal£agencies£
involved£in£regulation£or£research£associated£with£nonpoint£source£pollution.£Information£on£the£North
Carolina Section 319 Grant Program£application£process£is£available£online£as£well£as£descriptions£of£
projects£and£general£Section£319£Program£information.
The£Little£Tennessee£Watershed£Association£was£granted£an£award£in£2010£for£watershed£restoration£
planning£in£the£Upper£Cullasaja£Watershed.£The£project£involves£review£of£past£data£and£collection£of£new£
baseline£data£to£be£analyzed£and£combined£into£an£approved£nine£element£watershed£restoration£plan.£
WaDe
In£the£Little£Tennessee£River£basin,£wastewater£from£many£households£is£not£treated£at£wastewater£
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permitted£septic£systems.£Wastewater£from£some£of£these£homes£illegally£discharges£directly£to£streams£
through£what£is£known£as£a£“straight£pipe”.£In£other£cases,£wastewater£from£failing£septic£systems£makes£
its£way£to£streams£or£contaminates£groundwater.£Straight£piping£and£failing£septic£systems£are£illegal££
discharges£of£wastewater£into£waters£of£the£State.
The£discharge£of£untreated£or£partially£treated£sewage£can£be£extremely£harmful£to£humans£and£the£
aquatic£environment.£Pollutants£from£illegally£discharged£household£wastewater£contain£chemical£nutrients,£
disease£pathogens£and£endocrine£disrupting£chemicals.£Special£study£requests£in£the£Little£Tennessee£
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Impaired£because£of£high£fecal£coliform£bacteria£levels.£The£economies£of£the£counties£in£this£basin£are£
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contamination£is£crucial£for£supporting£a£tourist£economy.£In£order£to£protect£human£health£and£maintain£
water£quality,£straight£pipes£must£be£eliminated£and£failing£septic£systems£should£be£repaired.£
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The£NC£Wastewater£Discharge£Elimination£(WaDE)£Program£was£actively£helping£to£identify£and£remove£
straight£pipes£(and£failing£septic£systems)£in£the£western£portion£of£North£Carolina.£This£program£used£door-
to-door£surveys£to£locate£straight£pipes£and£failing£septic£systems,£and£offered£deferred£loans£or£grants£to£
homeowners£who£had£to£eliminate£the£straight£pipes£by£installing£a£septic£system.£This£program£was£cut£
from£the£State£budget£and£is£no£longer£in£operation.£
As£of£2009,£WaDE£surveys£in£the£Little£Tennessee£Basin£resulted£in£215£wastewater£violations.£
county PRoject aRea sePtic suRvey comPLeteD vioLations RePaiRs
Macon Nanatahala 447 44 18
Swain Upper£Nantahala 266 53 32
Swain Alarka 104 28 6
Graham Tulula 435 90 55
The£following£maps£show£areas£surveyed£by£the£WaDE£program.
Septic System Survey and Repair Project
NantahalaLake
NantahalaRiver
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64
28
106
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0 3 6Miles
C:\1-WaDE\GIS\Projects\MaconMacon_Nantahala_92_10_2009.mxd
TotalHomes Visited 671
CompletedSurveys 447
WastewaterViolations 44RepairsCompleted18PendingPermits0
ProjectStatus
Statusas of:Nantahala 02/10/2009
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Legend
Violation
RepairedViolation
FailingSystem
BlackwaterDischarge
GraywaterDischarge
Other
SurfaceWater
PrimaryRoad
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Septic SystemSurvey and Repair Project
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TululaCreek
143
129
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129 28
143
129
0 2.5 5Miles C:\1-WaDE\GIS\Projects\GrahamGraham_Tulula_9-25-07.mxd
TotalHomes Visited 836CompletedSurveys435
WastewaterViolations 90RepairsCompleted55PendingPermits16
ProjectStatus
Statusas of:
WastewaterDischargeEliminationProgram
TULULA 01/30/2009
Legend
RepairedViolation
USFS
Violation
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BlackwaterDischarge
GraywaterDischarge
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19
19
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ProjectStatus
Statusas of:
WastewaterDischargeEliminationProgram
Alarka 02/12/2009
Legend
Violation
RepairedViolation
FailingSystem
BlackwaterDischarge
GraywaterDischarge
Other
SurfaceWater
PrimaryRoad
AlarkaProjectArea
Septic System Survey and Repair Project
19
NantahalaRiver
19
19
19
28
143
129
28
FontanaLake
0 12,000 24,000Feet
TotalHomesVisited 467CompletedSurveys266
WastewaterViolations 53RepairsCompleted32PendingPermits18
ProjectStatus
Statusas of:
WastewaterDischargeEliminationProgram
UpperNantahala 02/12/2009
S:\WaDE\GIS\ProjectsSwain_UpperNantahala_02-12-09.mxd
Legend
Violation
RepairedViolation
FailingSystem
BlackwaterDischarge
GraywaterDischarge
Other
SurfaceWater
PrimaryRoad
UpperNantahalaProjectArea