Comment period extended on Union County water transfer
A public comment period on Union County’s request to pipe water from one river basin to another has been extended by one month because of email problems.
Emailed comments weren’t being delivered to an account set up to receive them, the Department of Environmental Quality said.
A comment period on an environmental study of the water transfer expired Friday but will be extended to Nov. 16. “We just want to make sure everybody has a chance to be heard,” said DEQ’s Sarah Young.
Union County seeks permission to pipe 23 million gallons a day from the Yadkin River to the Rocky River basin, which covers much of the county. Most of Union County’s water comes from the Catawba River in South Carolina.
DEQ held a public hearing on the environmental study on Sept. 16. Comments on it may be emailed to dwr.ibt@lists.ncmail.net.
The state Environmental Management Commission is expected to decide whether the study is adequate in January. At least two more hearings would then be held before the commission decides whether to grant the water transfer in late 2016.
Bruce Henderson: 704-358-5051, @bhender
This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 11:38 AM with the headline "Comment period extended on Union County water transfer."