Microsoft Word - 07.28.23.Draft Wastewater Allocation Policy

10 DRAFT January 10 , 2023 Revised July 5 , 2023 Additional Comments – July 28 , 2023 JOHNSTON COUNTY WASTEWATER ALLOCATION POLICY I Purpose and Intent Johnston County County has invested substantial capital in the necessary wastewater transmission and treatment infrastructure to support a growing , prosperous , and healthy community Since 1979 , the County has provided wastewater transmission and treatment services to bulk and retail customers within Johnston County Recognizing that wastewater transmission and treatment capacity is finite and expensive , the intent of this policy is to provide for the judicious allocation of these resources in accordance with the County’s Interlocal Bulk Wastewater Agreements and in conformity with the growth - related priorities of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners Board This policy does not place any legal obligations on the County regarding allocation of wastewater , but rather is intended serve as a guide in to manageing the County’s wastewater capacity as the County expands its utility infrastructure and This policy will be reviewed periodically to ensure it is achieving the intended purpose This policy and may be amended by the Johnston County Board of Commissioners at any time II Scope The scope of this policy is to provide for a fair and reasonable allocation of the County’s available wastewater capacity to meet the needs of both County bulk and retail customers A significant factor influencing the development of this policy is the limitation of available wastewater transmission , treatment capacity , discharge limitations , and the collective potential demands from bulk and retail customers over the next ten years As of January 1 , 2023 , the County’s wastewater treatment capacity is 95 million gallons per day MGD Additional near - term capacity is projected to be available in three phases A Phase I – Initial capacity available with construction of the 210 Wastewater Treatment Facility or WWTF 20 MGD Capacity is available for immediate permitting and is expected to be operational by the end of 2024 B Phase II – Capacity at the time of re - rating the Central Johnston County Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant or WWTP 20 MGD is expected to be available for permitting in 2025 and operational in 2025 C Phase III - Additional capacity at the time of the first 40 MGD expansion of the 210 Wastewater Treatment Facility or WWTF is expected to be available for permitting in early 2025 and operational by early 2027 It is understood that the near - term capacity availability projections are the best preliminary estimates for planning purposes and are subject to change III Policy Applicability A County Retail Wastewater Capacity Allocation 1Page1 All development within the County’s planning jurisdiction , which desires to connect to the Countys public sewer system is required to make a request for a wastewater treatment capacity allocation permit “ Allocation Permit ” 2 Any existing development approval , with or without an Allocation Permit , that is modified or expanded in any way shall be considered a new allocation and will require a new Allocation Permit More specifically , any with an increase in sewer collection treatment impacts , including discharge limits and volume allocation will require a new Allocation Permit 3 All development outside the County’s planning jurisdiction , which in the future obtains development approval by another governing board , that desires to connect to the Countys public sewer system and be a retail customer of the County is required to make a request for a wastewater treatment capacity allocation permit “ Allocation Permit ” Any prior development approval by a governing board other than Johnston County , with or without an Allocation Permit , that is modified or expanded in any way shall be considered a new allocation and will require a new Allocation Permit More specifically , any with an increase in sewer collection treatment impacts , including discharge limits and volume allocation will require a new Allocation Permit 4 In general , parcels of land with an existing wastewater service connection or previously issued valid NC DEQ Sewer Permit at the time of the adoption of this policy are considered to have an existing wastewater transmission and treatment capacity allocation A parcel of land with no wastewater service connection or valid NC DEQ Sewer Permit at the time of the adoption of this policy is considered to not have an existing wastewater treatment capacity allocation 5 Approval of a new or modified Allocation Permit will be at the sole and absolute discretion of the County and shall be evaluated in accordance with this policy Notwithstanding the provisions of Section III above , the following types of developments are exempt from the requirements of this policy i Properties with existing NC DEQ Sewer Permits that are not modified or extended in any way related to sewer collection treatment impacts , including discharge limits and volume allocation ii Property serviced by a septic system , which will not be connected to the County’s wastewater system B County Bulk Wastewater Capacity Allocation 1 All requests for bulk wastewater capacity are initiated when the bulk customer requests to purchase additional capacity allocation in accordance with the County’s Interlocal Bulk Wastewater Capacity Agreements IV General Policy A The County seeks to grant wastewater allocations in a way that supports economic growth , economic diversity , strengthening of the tax base , creation of jobs , promotion of high - quality development , and maximization of existing infrastructure and service delivery capacity To provide a foundation for this policy , the Johnston County Board of Commissioners hereby adopts the following broad development priorities and determines that they are in the best interests of the County , its citizens , and stakeholders 2PageB All wastewater allocation requests , unless specified herein , must be approved by the Johnston County Board of Commissioners It shall be the policy of the Board to generally allocate wastewater capacity when transmission and treatment capacity is available and consistent with this policy Capacity allocation requests shall be evaluated on a first - come , first - served basis , provided capacity allocations are available The total amount of available capacity and each incremental increase in capacity should generally be allocated based on the following parameters 1 A minimum of 200,000 Gallons Per Day of the total available capacity shall be reserved and remain available for potential Economic Development projects Economic Development projects are defined as those projects in which the County makes an appropriation in accordance with the North Carolina Local Development Act of 1925 , codified as NCGS 158 - 71 , and all amendments and additions thereto or replacements thereof The 200,000 Gallons Per Day reserved for Economic Development projects , or any portion thereof , may be allocated to any Economic Development project served by a bulk customer or the County with wastewater flow tributary to the County’s wastewater treatment facilities As Economic Development flow is allocated , the available capacity reserve for economic development shall be restored to a minimum of 200,000 Gallons Per Day , if available It is understood that any Economic Development flow allocated to an Economic Development project must be purchased pursuant to the fee schedule effective at the time of allocation and payment as adopted by the Johnston County Board of Commissioners 2 Of the remaining available capacity , no more than 60 may be purchased by the County’s original four bulk customers Smithfield , Selma , Four Oaks , and Pine Level Capacity purchased and allocated to these customers shall be in accordance with approved Interlocal Bulk Wastewater Capacity Agreements with each town “ County’s Interlocal Bulk Wastewater Capacity Agreements ” 3 The remainder of the available capacity may be allocated to County retail customers C The Johnston County Public Utilities Department Public Utilities shall evaluate and track the capacity of the wastewater transmission and treatment systems , including capacity allocations granted and the amount of capacity available Public Utilities shall complete a wastewater reconciliation once every twelve 12 months Due to weather - related factors , the regulatory environment , and the dynamic nature of wastewater flow and treatment , accounting of available utility capacity is , by its very nature , inexact Such reports do not constitute a policy statement , commitment , or guarantee on the amount of capacity available for allocation V Procedure A Submittal of Allocation Permit Applications 1 Retail Customers The owner or developer of any project requiring an Allocation Permit from the County shall submit a written application via a form provided by Public Utilities , for an allocation reservation and pay the Allocation Permit application fee The application shall include detailed information on the amount of capacity necessary to 3Pageserve the project , the nature of the project , the project schedule , and phasing in relation to the demand of wastewater capacity , proposed sewer system layout , engineering report , and other supporting documentation demonstrating how the project serves the needs and interests of the County Residential requests for allocation shall be submitted with the preliminary subdivision plat to the Johnston County Planning Department Planning Other requests for allocation shall be submitted to Public Utilities with the proposed site plan Upon receipt of the application and application fee , Public Utilities will perform a sewer system capacity availability analysis 2 Bulk Customers The bulk customer shall submit a project - specific Flow Tracking form to Public Utilities for allocation reservation identification for each project If the Town’s total capacity allocation can accommodate the flow requested in the Flow Tracking Form , the Public Utilities Department may execute the form The procedure for additional capacity allocations shall be in accordance with the approved Interlocal Bulk Wastewater Capacity Agreement 3 Previously Approved Projects Due to existing substantial financial and operational commitments of private sector development entities based on good faith preliminary plat or site plan approvals previously issued by the County or another governing board in compliance with existing sewer service policies and or interlocal agreements at the time this policy is adopted , these projects will be considered forwill receive an allocation of necessary wastewater capacity to support the project commencement and completion on a first come first serve basis and consistent with paragraph E Projects with preliminary plat or site plan approval must adhere to the Allocation Permit procedures described in this policy These projects willmay also be subject to a phasing plan as described in Section V D 2 of this policy B Allocation Permit Application Consideration 1 Public Utilities shall provide each retail Allocation Permit application to the Board for consideration Specific deadlines for consideration of the application and corresponding review schedules will be established by the Johnston County Department of Public Utilities The Public Utilities Department shall present the Allocation Permit requests to the Board for consideration Approval of the Allocation Permit request is contingent on an approved preliminary plat or site plan and in conjunction with pending state wastewater permits In addition to the Allocation Permit Application Priorities described in Section V C , the Johnston County Board of Commissioners may consider the following i Whether , in the Board’s opinion , the application is for land use that is consistent with the County’s adopted policies concerning growth and development ; and ii Such other factors may be identified by the Board in its deliberations , which either suggest that a particular application promotes or undermines public interest , public health or safety , or the general welfare of the County 2 Until the County has allocated two - thirds 13 MGD of the total sewer capacity for the initial phase of the 210 WWTF 20 MGD , the Director of Public Utilities may approve 4PagePage pageNumber5the Allocation Permit when the requested wastewater allocation is 5,000 gallons per day or less This shall not include development requiring Board of Commissioners approval for Priority 4 projects C Allocation Permit Application Priorities At such time the total available capacity is less than 10 MGD , or at any time there exists greater wastewater capacity demand than is available wastewater capacity , the ranking procedures identified below shall determine how the available capacity is allocated 1 This policy provides that all development projects seeking an Allocation Permit fall into one of four 4 categories as described below The priorities are ranked in order the first being the most important i Priority 1 projects include the following a Developments approved vested rights by the Board or other governing board prior to the effective date of this policy b Bulk capacity commitments allocated in approved bulk customer interlocal agreements c Economic development projects that include job creation , as identified by Johnston County Economic Development - These projects or project sites include commercial , office , and industrial development and similar uses which create a significant tax base , create jobs , and require limited public resources d County - funded projects de Johnston County Public Schools ii Priority 2 projects include the following a Additional bulk customer capacity allocations requested under an approved Interlocal Bulk Wastewater Capacity Agreement b Johnston County Public Schools iii Priority 3 projects include the following County retail customer uses a Industrial development b Commercial development c Institutional development charter schools , private schools , churches iv Priority 4 projects include the following County retail customer uses a Residential development in compliance with the “ Johnston County Residential Sewer Service Policy ” D Approved Allocation Permits 1 Allocation Permits issued by the County will reserve the approved wastewater transmission and treatment capacity and permit the completion by the applicant of construction drawings The Allocation Permit issued by the County will be followed by 5PagePage pageNumber6the corresponding NC DEQ Sewer Permit and Flow - Tracking Form following the final approval of construction drawings by the County 2 Allocation Permits for all Priority 4 projects shall be approved on a phase - by - phase basis A phasing plan for the entire development must be submitted with the initial Allocation Permit application Residential Allocation Permit approvals shall be phased to allow a maximum of 50 units per year phase or 25 of total lots units per development project , whichever is greater The initial Allocation Permit for residential projects will be issued for Phase 1 only All subsequent phases shall submit separate Allocation Permit applications Approval of allocation for subsequent development phases will not occur until the prior development phase has recorded all of the lots in the previously approved phase The County does not guarantee the availability of capacity for subsequent development phases that have not received an Allocation Permit 3 Allocation Permits are not transferrable except upon written consent of the County Allocations granted are parcel specific E Expiration of Allocation Permits 1 Due to the limited wastewater treatment capacity , it is the intention of this policy to prohibit “ capacity banking ” where valuable wastewater treatment capacity is allocated but not used by a development project within a reasonable timeframe More specifically , the following allocation execution timeframes shall apply to the priority categories i Priority 1 and Priority 2 a Projects identified as Priority 1 and Priority 2 , that are to be retail customers of the County , must submit the required water sewer review fee , construction drawings , technical specifications , and the NC DEQ Sewer Permit Application to the County within one year of the approval of an Allocation Permit b Priority 1 and Priority 2 projects must commence with off - site and or on - site sewer line installation within 180 days of the construction drawing approval c Notwithstanding the above , if contractual obligations between a developer and the County for example , developer upsizing agreement or public funding appropriations provide a different schedule for securing these approvals the contractual obligations shall become the requirement ii Priority 3 a Projects identified as Priority 3 , which are granted wastewater allocation , must submit the required water sewer review fee , construction drawings , technical specifications , and the NC DEQ Sewer Permit Application to the County within 180 days of the approval of an Allocation Permit b Priority 3 projects must commence with off - site and or on - site water and sewer line installation within 180 days of the construction drawing approval In cases where no utility extensions are necessary , building permits must be obtained and building foundations constructed within 180 days of construction drawing approval 6PagePage pageNumber7c Notwithstanding the above , if contractual obligations between a developer and the County for example , developer upsizing agreement provide a different schedule for securing these approvals the contractual obligations shall become the requirement iii Priority 4 a Projects identified as Priority 4 , which are granted an Allocation Permit , must submit the required water sewer review fee , construction drawings , technical specifications , and the NC DEQ Sewer Permit Application for Phase 1 to the County within 180 days of the approval of the Allocation Permit b Priority 4 projects must commence with off - site and or on - site sewer line installation within 180 days of construction drawing approval c Notwithstanding the above , if contractual obligations between a developer and the County for example , developer upsizing agreement provide a different schedule for securing these approvals the contractual obligations shall become the requirement 2 Upon request by the project applicant and at the discretion of the Public Utilities Director , an Allocation Permit execution timeframe may be extended in periods not to exceed ninety 90 days per extension Such requests must provide documentation of extenuating circumstances causing the need for the extension 3 An Allocation Permit will expire if a project has not progressed in accordance with the timeframes described in Sections V E 1 above and any approved extensions Projects with an expired Allocation Permit will be required to submit a new application 4 An Allocation Permit will expire if the land use approval expires in accordance with the Johnston County Land Development Code Projects with an expired Allocation Permit will be required to submit a new application 5 If a project is unsuccessful in obtaining any required Federal , State , or local government permit , the Allocation Permit shall be revoked and the allocation will automatically revert to the County The County shall bear no liability for any costs incurred by the applicant , or any further responsibility in the matter 6 Allocation permits are granted to specific development s located on a specific parcel or parcels of land and based on the approved development that received an allocation Upon completion of the development or permit expiration , the unused allocation will automatically revert to the County 7 The expiration or revocation of an Allocation Permit revokes the corresponding NC DEQ Flow Tracking or NC DEQ Sewer Permit 8 Approval of an Allocation Permit does not imply or confer approval of any other applications or reviews as may be required by County Ordinance or policy and does not imply or create any vested right VI Appeal Process Staff decisions under this policy may be appealed to the Johnston County Board of Commissioners Appeal requests must be in writing and include a detailed description of the proposed development , the 7PagePage pageNumber8allocation requested , and the reason for the appeal All decisions rendered by the Johnston County Board of Commissioners shall be final VII Term This Policy shall be effective on and after ___________________________ In accordance with the Allocation Agreement , this policy shall remain in effect until the Board amends the policy or adopts a new policy 8Page