Introduction | The Sourcebook | Website Navigation | Methodology

Introduction

The Piedmont Nutrient Reduction Sourcebook is a resource tool developed through partnership between the Piedmont Triad and Triangle J Councils of Governments (PTCOG & TJCOG, respectively).  This book was created with the support of a federal 205(j) grant distributed by the NC Division of Water Quality (DWQ), and aims to provide a set of strategies for reducing and managing nutrients to waters of the North Carolina Piedmont. 

The Sourcebook

The Sourcebook and its corresponding website are designed to provide local governments with background on nutrient reduction strategies that have proven successful, and how to most cost-effectively apply them at the local scale.  These strategies are not all required by the State or the USEPA (though some of them are), but they are programs, policies, practices, and partnerships all known to reduce nutrient inputs to Piedmont streams, rivers, and lakes.

Using the Sourcebook local governments can easily assess their community’s specific needs and develop a strategic action plan.  It is designed to evaluate current levels of experience, knowledge and commitment, and identify gaps in knowledge and infrastructure.  The Sourcebook is a resource of immediate benefit to communities requiring guidance on efficient and effective methods to minimize nutrient inputs to receiving waters.  The methods identified in the Handbook are based on successful models throughout the Appalachian Piedmont region of the Eastern United States.

Piedmont Nutrient Reduction Sourcebook  

The Piedmont Nutrient Reduction Sourcebook

  

The Piedmont Nutrient Reduction Sourcebookbook is available as both a tangible document (the “telephone book”) and a more user friendly online resource.  The interactive version is designed to provide communities with a general understanding of rules which may affect them, brief summaries of each topic and contact information.   The hard copy is designed to supplement the more extensive online version which includes links to research, case studies, survey information and additional contact information. You may download the complete handbook from our website.

Website Navigation

Navigation Bar: The drop-down navigation bar at the top of the screen provides supplemental information necessary to understand how communities are impacted by nutrient management. We recommend browsing these pages before investigating the strategies. Please take special note of the glossary. Many terms throughout the website are linked to these terms.

Strategies: Thirteen strategies identified on the left side of the screen take the user directly to the policies, projects, programs and partnerships associated with each requirement. A program is defined as “a plan or system under which action may be taken toward a goal”.  An example of this includes Huntersville stormwater program.   A partnership is defined as “voluntary relationship involving close cooperation between individuals or localities having specified and joint interests, rights, and responsibilities."  An example includes the Clean Water Education Partnership.  A practice is described as “a planned undertaking or action to achieve a certain goal”.  Examples include the Towns of Jamestown and Hickory’s forestry guidelines and enforcement actions.  Finally, a policy is defined as “management or procedure based primarily on material interest, a method of action selected from among alternatives and in light of given conditions to guide and determine present and future decisions, or a high-level overall plan embracing the general goals and acceptable procedures of a governing body”.  An example includes Durham's City-County Unified Development Ordinance.

Contact information for each professional interviewed is provided on each page and on the "contacts" page with links to their organization and/or email address. Each page includes a number of links to external websites and documents. These "links and publications" are available alphabetically at the bottom of each page and arranged by regional, state and federal affiliation on the "links" page. References are linked to the "references" page which also provides a link to the actual document if available.

Methodology

The Handbook was developed using quantitative and qualitative data gathered through extensive surveys, interviews and research.  Twenty-four jurisdictions answered 167 questions addressing current practices and attitudes regarding nutrient reduction.  Qualitative data was gathered through interviews with experts in their field.  Data was summarized and includes links to additional referenced material.  Data is also being used in research projects at UNC and NC State, including the development of the model New Development ordinance for the Jordan Lake Rules. 

*A very special thanks to the many participants who contributed their time and knowledge to this research project. We interviewed professionals across many departments at a regional, State and National scale. Almost all Jordan Lake communities spent many hours completing the extensive survey that was the basis of this project. We would also like to thank our intern, Jae Kim, for his help conducting interviews and meticulously entering survey data.