A HISTORY OF THE SET PROJECT

Communities throughout North Carolina are increasing standards for stormwater management as a response to various stormwater regulations, including the federal NPDES Phase I and Phase II requirements, the Neuse River nitrogen reduction rules, and the Tar-Pamlico nutrient reduction requirements. Some larger communities are grappling with the daunting task of restoring watershed functions or meeting Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements through retrofitting sites.

A few local governments are even considering innovative, performance-based stormwater management beyond state and federal requirements. The Upper Neuse SET is a useful tool for all these situations. Environmental performance standards are limits set on the amount of a particular agent (pollutant, increased flow, etc.) an ecosystem can tolerate. Implementing such performance standards is not a simple matter, and tools such as the Upper Neuse SET are needed.

In 2003, the Upper Neuse River Basin Association, Tetra Tech, and other partners won a 319 water quality grant from the NC Division of Water Quality to develop the SET. A task group met several times to guide Tetra Tech, Inc.. Once the SET was developed, the UNRBA and Tetra Tech, Inc. held two trainings under the same 319 grant. (For more information on training, contact Sarah Bruce)