Contents | Agency Acronyms | Acknowledgements | Introduction | Executive Summary | State of the Air | State of the Water | State of the Land | Issues and Recommendations | Appendix A | Appendix B | Appendix C | Appendix D | Report Cover Page | About MCDEP | MCDEP Home Page
ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Charlotte/Mecklenburg Planning Commission projects that within 20 years Mecklenburg County will have: 200,000 more people, 120,000 more homes, 200,000 more jobs, 250,000 more cars, 29,000 more commuters into uptown, and 135,000 more commuters into Mecklenburg County. At this time there is little evidence to show that Charlotte/Mecklenburg will not continue to grow in a pattern of low-density urban sprawl, much like every other 20th-century urban center that developed under the influence of the automobile. Assuming we continue in our current direction, it is MCDEP’s opinion that without adequate intervention, the influx of numbers of people, cars, jobs and their associated commercial and residential construction could lead to the following environmental consequences:
Return to unhealthful levels of ambient air
Inadequate open space and natural environments
Aesthetically unpleasing creeks
More frequent and severe flooding
Need for higher more expensive levels of water treatment for our drinking water
More expensive disposal of municipal solid waste
The issues, recommendations, and priorities presented in this report represent the opinion of the staff of the Mecklenburg County Department of Environmental Protection written from its perspective as a local service and regulatory agency. Our issues and recommendations are based on the above assumptions of where our current direction appears to be heading and are prioritized based on the urgency of action needed.
Surface Water
Pollutant loading into our creeks continues to increase, gradually turning all these surface waters into mere urban conduits for stormwater runoff and waste assimilation.
Recommendations:
Enact the measures necessary to achieve the BOCC creek policy
Aggressively develop more parks and greenways along creeks, providing much needed natural buffering capacity from stormwater runoff
Support stricter permit limits for new and existing point source discharges to halt additional pollutant loading to surface waters and use local creek monitoring data to develop permits.
Solid Waste
Mecklenburg County continues to generate municipal solid waste at a rate considerably higher than the national average and lacks adequate capacity and options to meet its future disposal needs.
Recommendations:
Consolidate management for the collection and disposal of municipal solid waste into a solid waste management authority to more effectively manage the solid waste stream
Implement mechanisms that will reduce the per capita generation rate such as a per container fee for residential waste collection to "pay for the amount of pollution", tax incentives for businesses which participate in waste reduction, recycling and/or a waste exchange and a local packaging reduction law
Continue to pursue an operating permit for the US 521 regional landfill site.
Ambient Air
The maintenance of acceptable ambient air quality and the achievement of excellent air quality is essential to sustaining Mecklenburg County's livability.
Recommendations:
Advocate an interstate regional approach to improve air quality by promoting stationary source control for counties adjacent to Mecklenburg County and a regional environmental authority to plan and insure implementation of transportation and emission control/reduction strategies on a regional scale
Promote land-use development that minimizes transportation dependent on single occupancy vehicles
Continue to promote environmental education for citizens, including the implementation of a regional ozone awareness and alert mechanism.
Air Toxics
Certain segments of the public may be regularly breathing unacceptable levels of toxic air pollutants emitted from industrial sources throughout the County.
Recommendations:
Continue to coordinate the implementation of the air toxic program employing strategies for meshing local and federal regulations
Evaluate health risk to nearby neighborhoods from significant toxic air pollutant sources
Consider public exposure to toxic air pollutants when designing land use plans and approving rezoning petitions.
Groundwater
An unknown number of citizens are potentially drinking water contaminated by pollution from over 146 sites throughout the County.
Recommendations:
Survey areas surrounding potential sources of groundwater contamination and sample sites that are dependent on groundwater as a potable source
Place all groundwater data in a computer based management system to facilitate retrieval, analysis and planning
Require best available technology for construction and installation of all equipment and facilities that have the potential to impact groundwater resources.
CONCLUSION
Mecklenburg County generally has a good environment which continues to make it a desirable, livable community. We have made tremendous progress in the last 10 to 15 years. Virtually all the visible, smellable and touchable pollutants are gone. Our air meets national standards and we continue to have an adequate, safe source of drinking water.
The relatively easy corrections to our environment have been made. The challenge ahead is to understand and accept that we are all individually responsible for our environment and that our individual choices, actions and votes will determine the future of Mecklenburg's environment. As in past reports, MCDEP continues to urge this community, including the surrounding region, to choose the path of investing in the environment as a way of sustaining the livability of this community and creating a healthy future for our children. It is time to make a decision about where we want to go and what we want to be.
Delaying a decision can only make it harder to achieve the goal of a livable community.